Ingraham: The hat that dare not show its brim
Why is the left so triggered by MAGA hats? Democrats view hats as symbols of 'white supremacy.'
There's so much news to cover every day in Trump World, that you'd think the press would stick to real reporting and analysis on important political developments.
But, nooo. So, move over Anna Wintour, because left-wing malefactors are now in the business of dissing fashion accessories -- The Trump "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) hats.
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"The MAGA hat carries a certain connotation that provokes a conditioned reaction from many people, especially from marginalized people," CNN's Don Lemon said.
"This 'Make America Great Again' hat is just as maddening and frustrating and triggering for me to look at, as a KKK hood," said CNN commentator Angela Rye.
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In the wake of the Covington Catholic High School fracas, the red MAGA has now become a talisman of evil and a symbol of white supremacy. Savannah Guthrie brought it up with a student at the center of the controversy, Nick Sandmann, on "Today." "Do you think if you weren't wearing that hat this might not have happened or it might have been different?" she asked him. Sandmann replied, "That's possible. But I would have to assume what Mr. Phillips was thinking and rather let him speak for why he came up to us."
So the red hat now is apparently the Annabelle of head coverings, a thing capable of unleashing evil wherever it's seen. There is also a subtext here that's meant to intimidate. The left wants to take away your right to wear whatever the heck you want. It's weird.
This is a kind of left-wing version of Puritanism, their own version it, where they get to dictate what goody fill-in-the-blank is allowed to wear. And anyone who dares to violate their dictates is either shamed or just labeled hateful and xenophobic, misogynistic, unreasonable, stupid and of course, racist.
Bishop Talbert Swan, a Harvard Divinity School grad tweeted, "When Trayvon Martin was murdered, y'all said Black parents shouldn't let their boys wear hoodies if they didn't want them perceived as thugs. But y'all don't want your boys perceived as racist little jackasses for wearing MAGA hats. #CovingtonBoys."
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This leftist narrative that a Make America Great Again hat is akin to wearing some Nazi uniform, it's patently ridiculous and it's offensive. It's just plain stupid. But this is the defamation and intimidation that the left happily perpetuates, by the way, with little to no pushback.
Predictably, of course, "Never Trump Republicans" are also taking up the chorus. Ross Douthat of the New York Times tweeted in part, "Good rules for life: Don't let your Catholic school's students wear MAGA hats on for a field trip for the March for Life."
And of course, Bill Kristol, who never misses an opportunity to hit the president and his supporters even when he has his facts wrong, said the following on Twitter: "The contrast between the calm dignity and quiet strength of Mr. Phillips and the behavior of MAGA brats who have absorbed the spirit of Trumpism -- this spectacle is a lesson which all Americans can learn."
Whether a piece of clothing says "Feel the Bern" or "I'm with Her," it's all the form of political expression. And thus, it is speech protected by the First Amendment. You can be offended by it, but you can't purposely use it to intimidate and frighten people and even terrorize them.
In the end, it's really not about the hat, is it? It's about 2020. Trump-hating fanatics aim to deprive the president of any opportunity to brand his re-election campaign. In other words, any Trump paraphernalia will be verboten.
But today's left, joined by the rabid "Never Trumpers," are so desperate to be proven right about the president. They seize on symbols instead of solving problems. It's a lot easier, isn't it, to brand kids racist for what they're wearing than to debate adults on things like immigration and trade policy.
For some the MAGA hats symbolize something very different. Remember when Kanye West said the hat made him feel "like Superman"? Well, Kanye kind of saw this all coming when he said, he didn't want people to control him, to tell him what or how to think, because of the color of his skin.
Today's real rebels are the kids who dared to show up for the March for Life last Friday. Today's real rebels are the faithful who refused to genuflect to what's popular, and instead defend what they think is right. Today's real rebels, they reject the collectivist mindset of Hollywood, the media, and the universities that obliterate history, instead of actually teaching it.
And, yes, today's rebels will wear MAGA hats, knowing that they might be abused for doing so, like the Covington kids were.
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Even in the end, it's really not about the hat, is it? It's about 2020. Trump-hating fanatics aim to deprive the president of any opportunity to brand his re-election campaign. In other words, any Trump paraphernalia will be verboten.
I thought about this today, and it's actually in its own way a form of voter intimidation and potentially lethal with consequences that are incredibly destructive. By the way, you can't scream fire, right, in a crowded theater, and you can't scream racist when someone in a crowd wears a hat you don't like.
Adapted from Laura Ingraham's monologue from "The Ingraham Angle" on January 23, 2019.
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