By Roger J. Kreuz
During an interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown on Oct. 2, 2021, NBC sportscaster Kelli Stavast made a curious observation. She reported that Talladega Superspeedway spectators were chanting “Let’s go Brandon” to celebrate the racing driver’s first Xfinity Series win.
In reality, however, the crowd was shouting a very different phrase: “F–k Joe Biden,” a taunt that had become popular at college football games earlier in the fall.
The deliberate misinterpretation of the crowd’s chant was a deft bit of verbal legerdemain on Stavast’s part. Although she hasn’t publicly explained herself, it seems likely that she was defusing the obscene, politically charged epithet so as not to offend her network’s sponsors and viewers.
The phrase, however, quickly took on a life of its own. It provides an interesting example of how language and politics make strange bedfellows – for conservatives and liberals alike.
Making the unacceptable acceptable
Judging from recordings of the interview available online, it is unlikely that Stavast misheard the crowd’s chant. If she had, her error would be classified as a mondegreen, which is a slip of the ear. Examples include mishearing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” as “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”
The enthusiastic adoption of the phrase by President Joe Biden’s detractors suggests that “Let’s go Brandon” is best described as a minced oath. These are euphemisms used in place of a taboo or blasphemous expression.
Such oaths have a long history in English; an early example is “Zounds,” a euphemism for “God’s wounds” that started being used around 1600. “Darn” in place of “damn” emerged by 1800, while “heck” and “shoot” became popularized by the 1870s and the 1930s, respectively.
Minced oaths have also been used extensively on television. In these cases, the goal is to circumvent constraints imposed by a network’s standards and practices, with certain terms used by characters in place of profane language, whether it’s “frack” in “Battlestar Galactica, ”fork“ in “The Good Place” or “fudge” in “South Park.” Even Homer Simpson’s oft-repeated cry of dismay – “D’oh!” – is a minced oath for “damn.”
Taking language back
The “Let’s go Brandon” phenomenon also illustrates the process of linguistic reappropriation or reclamation.
Some Biden supporters are turning the phrase into one of support for him. And as a variant, some of the president’s supporters have begun to employ, “Thank you Brandon.”
This is itself a callback to the earlier “Thanks, Obama.” Republicans often used the phrase to sarcastically criticize the 44th president, but it was later reappropriated by Democrats who used the phrase literally. The dizzying linguistic arms race eventually rendered the phrase meaningless.
As with minced oaths, there’s an equally long history of insults being adopted by the groups being disparaged.
During the English Civil Wars, for example, Parliament supporters mockingly referred to the backers of Charles I as “Cavaliers.” In a feat of verbal judo, the royalists adopted the moniker to refer to themselves. By doing so, they drained away the epithet’s negative connotation.
A similar process has occurred for the use of the word “queer.” Once a highly offensive slur directed at gay people, the LGBTQ+ community adopted and rehabilitated it.
Several other cases of linguistic appropriation have recently occurred in U.S. politics. A good example is “Nevertheless, she persisted.” Republican senator Mitch McConnell first used it to rebuke Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, who read from a letter by Coretta Scott King during a confirmation hearing after McConnell had warned her not to.
Warren’s supporters quickly seized upon the slogan, proudly using it to celebrate women who resist being silenced. Chelsea Clinton went on to publish a series of books honoring women entitled “She Persisted.”
Republicans have proved just as adept at this as Democrats. In 2016, when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that half of Donald Trump’s supporters could be put in a “basket of deplorables,” the Trump campaign released commercials using it. Clinton’s words were played over clips of Trump’s admiring supporters.
A universal phenomenon
These phenomena aren’t limited to U.S. politics. Citizens in repressive societies employ coded criticism as a way to challenge authority.
Following the crackdown on dissent after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, demonstrators in China smashed glass bottles in public places to protest the policies of leader Deng Xiaoping. Although the connection is lost on those who don’t know Chinese, “Xiaoping” and “little bottle” are pronounced the same way in Mandarin.
NASCAR’s concern with its family-friendly image has caused its president, Steve Phelps, to distance the organization from the ongoing “Let’s Go Brandon” imbroglio. And a Southwest Airlines pilot is under investigation for using the phrase while airborne.
Others, however, have been happy to make use of the association. On Nov. 18, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, made a point of signing bills outlawing COVID-19 vaccine mandates in an unincorporated community nearly 300 miles from the state capital.
Its name?
Roger J. Kreuz is Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology at the University of Memphis.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
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Jackson1955 says
I think this is all the Republican party has left. Though the grade school taunts and bullying are not new, that is exclusively all they have to offer. A party without policies and principles cannot be defined better than what has become of the Republicans.
The GOP, specifically Trump supporters are in a perpetual state of the adolescence. They don’t know how to behave like adults. Maybe it comes with being uneducated.
I’m embarrassed for them. It’s so juvenile and potentially dangerous. There are gun manufacturers putting that slogan in AR 15s. The Republicans have officially hit rock bottom.
The dude says
It’s looking more and more like there is no “bottom” with them.
New to PC says
I’m fairly new to the area and wanted to give business to local shops, so I was excited to see a new souvenir store go in recently in Flagler Beach. I literally took 2 steps in the door and saw a ridiculous, offensive “Brandon” shirt so I walked out. The owner was telling me something and I just politely said “no thank you”. It’s bad enough that the intelligence challenged wave their flags, but for a business to promote hate? Nope, I won’t give you a dime.
Jimbo99 says
The phrase really doesn’t hurt Biden’s feelings, does it ? I mean Dec 2020, he told a panel of people that he intended to appeal (dupe for a better descriptor) to 74+ million Americans that didn’t vote for him & really not give them much of anything. And true to his word, he’s given the masses this inflation. As much as anyone ever wanted Trump out last year, anyone wants the next 3 years to be over with already in terms of who is POTUS at the very least.
John Stove says
It doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings….we all laugh every time we see or hear the phrase!
Its hard to appeal to anyone who still believes that Trumpo won, that the election was stolen, that Covid is a hoax cooked up by the Democrats, not to mention the imbecilic comments of Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Greene, Lauren Boebert and on and on and on…..The President he is trying to appeal to the adults in the room and in the GOP there are very few if any.
So yeah…keep making the Brandon souvenirs, the “Dont Fauci my Florida” paraphernalia, the “Trump Won” flags” etc etc as the shining example of what the GOP really stands for and we will keep laughing!!
The dude says
What specifically did the president do to “cause” this inflation?
curious george says
I’m curious too, how did he start inflation?
Alan Kornman says
Kelli Stavast was trying to ‘gaslight’ her TV audience, reporting the crowd was chanting “Let’s Go Brandon” rather than the truth “F Joe Biden.”
Most people hate being lied to more than anything. However, being lied to and the reporter thinking the viewer is stupid is the fuel that made ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ part of our pop culture.
Dr. Kreuz used every academic word in his vocabulary to articulate what I said above. The other thing I hate is pompous academics who try to gaslight their readers with their skillful use of one’s ‘words’ when performing verbal tricks.
Thank you
Mary Koonce says
Trump said he loved the uneducated. Now they all have shown their face and idiotic acts.
Timothy Patrick Welch says
uneducated?
Do you mean those educated in public schools.
John Stove says
Brandon Won…..Thank You Brandon
The dude says
Awwww…. the olds found them a cute little meme that makes them happy.
After 3 years of living here, it’s painfully obvious that the boomers in the area are not happy people, indeed it’s exactly the opposite.
I say let them have their little meme, and it makes me happy to see them giggle after they say it as they think they’ve just gotten away with something or did something cool… when in reality they’re just delighting in being old, shitty, mean people
.
Timothy Patrick Welch says
Yep, its sad the way our leaders are ridiculed.
Pray for them, that we may live in peace.
justsayin says
Of course it does not bother Joe, Remember what happened to Corn pop when he confronted Big bad Joe.