Thu. Dec 12th, 2024


by Ken Carman
  There’s a lot of things I do get. I “get” that some company every presidential election year makes money off of stupid stuff that actually doesn’t represent the election: like an expensive chess set with political figures from an election year where who the major players on one side isn’t even clear yet. 5-10 years from now it will be Inspectionabsurdly dated, but a collectible. I understand what happened in Iowa. While we had most of the count in less than 24 hours, all the blame rocks being thrown should target the very concept that computers and apps should count ANYTHING election year-related.
 What’s wrong with paper, and a slow; accurate, count? Speed isn’t important. Apps and computers are fine as long as we can trust all those doing the programming, doing the apps. Of course NO ONE would ever mess with that, would they? Would they?
 Anyone with an ounce of skepticism knows better than that.
 I understand we live in a time of alternate realities where ‘our team’ can do little to no wrong, their team do nothing right. We live in, to paraphrase Spamalot; “a very dark and expensive forest” of newsfotainment that poses as news, but is more propaganda for one side or the other. “Expensive,” if for no other reason, because of what it has done to national discourse both on the net and in our homes, among relatives, friends. Yes, the old 3 network model had its problems, but nothing like the various alternate reality sources we have now posing as “news.” When our side does something preemptive it’s righteous: to prevent the other side from doing what we knew they were going to do. Regardless of there being a lack of any REAL evidence. When the other side does even close to the same thing they’re evil, doing what we knew they were going to do: they’re cheaters, traitors. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…
 I get all that. But Trumpie Bear? I don’t get Trumpie Bear.
 To me he seems a case of very bad marketing. No matter which side I attempt to view him from he’s an insult to their framing. Perhaps he should be renamed ‘Trumpie Bear Don’t Care Bear?’
 Oh, and I forgot one more reaction, which is, “What the %#!?”
 On the right Trump is viewed as making necessary changes, making America great, remaining tough, in your face to the left, fighting the deep state, so a soft, plushy bear? Seems counter intuitive and insulting to that very image. Maybe the framing is that deep inside he’s actually soft, cuddly and gentle. I don’t see it, but the metaphor would be useful for those who believe that… until we get to flag. It’s NOT the flag’s existence. Patriotism I get. It’s where the flag is pulled out of: a very, very inappropriate place to put any American flag. If “taking a knee” is offensive, what is pulling and American flag out of Trumpie’s tush? Did Trumpie Bear run out of TP?
 Oh, the left might get a kick out of that but the rest? Huh? What?
 So maybe it’s meant to be an insult, mocking? The soft and cuddly framing is contradiction to that. And the butt crack flag still misses the mark even as an insult. Now if they had taken a cue from the old Groove Tube ad:, a product called Brown 25, might suit the mocking Just smear it with a little Brown 25; as extremely dated and obscure as that reference is. Trump is supposed to be building a strong, better society, replacing the deep state, building a wall to protect us. Brown 25 could do all that, if it were real!
  If you haven’t figured out what Brown 25 was I’ll provide a link. I won’t type what it was.
 Apparently some folks are buying Trumpie Bear, or at least someone is spending mega bucks advertising it… mostly in the early hours. But, personally, if I was a Trump supporter, or a Trump hater, I would find it beyond offensive.

                                             -30-
Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 40 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks, and into the unseen cracks and crevasses, that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
©Copyright 2020
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
all rights reserved

By Ken Carman

Retired entertainer, provider of educational services, columnist, homebrewer, collie lover, writer of songs, poetry and prose... humorist, mediocre motorcyclist, very bad carpenter, horrid handyman and quirky eccentric deluxe.

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