# Freakouts of the Right **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631 "2022-04-28T22:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/381 "2023-01-26T16:27:13Z")
I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/382 "2023-01-26T17:16:49Z")
Yep, it’s for real. > **[Moron Conspiracists Are Totally Convinced Damar Hamlin Is Dead](https://www.thedailybeast.com/moron-conspiracists-are-totally-convinced-damar-hamlin-is-dead)** > > Even the Buffalo Bills’ star QB Josh Allen had to confirm that the internet’s favorite new conspiracy is as dumb as it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/383 "2023-01-26T17:24:50Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > He came from an era when conservatives liked classical music and believed that rock and roll was destroying western civilization. Sure, from 40 years ago, but what the hey… > **[Beach Boys banned](https://ew.com/article/1993/04/09/beach-boys-banned/)** > > Beach Boys banned -- In 1983, politician James Watt vetoes rock at the Washington Mall concert ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/384 "2023-01-26T17:38:04Z")
That would be for the Freakouts-of-the-left list, imho. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/385 "2023-01-26T18:00:04Z")
James Watt, Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior, was a leftist? Huh. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/386 "2023-01-26T18:01:48Z")
No, the Left freaked out over the BB ‘ban’. If the guy in charge wanted Sousa night or whatever, c’est la vie. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/387 "2023-01-26T18:06:12Z")
Since the freakers included Nancy Reagan, I don’t think it’s accurate to portray it as a freakout of the left. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/388 "2023-01-26T18:15:38Z")
Plus, the BB had been there several times before Watt came along with his riff on US Grant: I only know two songs. One of them is “Amazing Grace” the other is not. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/389 "2023-01-26T18:23:26Z")
Guys, I’m not defending Watt. I just don’t think it belongs on the list because the _reaction_ wasn’t from the _Right_. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/390 "2023-01-26T18:37:22Z")
So Watt’s reaction counts for nothing? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/391 "2023-01-26T18:41:56Z")
He didn’t react. He initiated. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/392 "2023-01-26T19:03:38Z")
IIRC, he initiated with ban _in response to_ the fact that they had been booked for the concert (which strikes me as being something of a reaction). If I’m misremembering, I’d be grateful for correction. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/393 "2023-01-26T19:14:29Z")
Did we do backward masking yet? > **[Backmasking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backmasking)** > > Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional. > Artists have used backmasking for artistic, comedic and satiric effect, on both analogue and digital recordings. It has also been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of explicit songs. > In 1969, rumors of a backmasked message in the Beatles song "Revoluti... > [@](#): > > In early 1982, the [Trinity Broadcasting Network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Broadcasting_Network)’s [Paul Crouch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Crouch) hosted a show with self-described neuroscientist William Yarroll, who argued that rock stars were cooperating with the [Church of Satan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Satan) to place hidden subliminal messages on records. Also in 1982, fundamentalist Christian pastor Gary Greenwald held public lectures on dangers of backmasking, along with at least one mass record-smashing. During the same year, thirty North Carolina teenagers, led by their pastor, claimed that singers had been possessed by Satan, who used their voices to create backward messages, and held a record-burning at their church. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/394 "2023-01-26T20:00:39Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > IIRC, he initiated with ban _in response to_ the fact that they had been booked for the concert (which strikes me as being something of a reaction). > > If I’m misremembering, I’d be grateful for correction. Along with the Grass Roots, the Beach Boys had played at the Mall on July 4th for the previous three years. But they hadn’t been booked for the 1983 concert when Watt pre-emptively announced that there would be no rock bands, because they ‘attract the wrong element’ and encourage ‘drug use and alcoholism’. So I think one could argue that Watt was reacting to the 1960’s, albeit fourteen years too late. The link posted in #383 quotes Watt as preferring that Wayne Newton (from wholesome, alcohol-free Vegas) perform instead. [James G. Watt - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G._Watt#Beach_Boys_concert) ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/395 "2023-01-26T20:48:56Z")
I seem to recall the Reagans rebuking James Watt, saying they liked the Beach Boys. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/396 "2023-01-26T22:20:00Z")
Guys, just as I don’t have Trump proposing to buy Greenland on this list, James Watt doing something stupid doesn’t qualify for the same reason: this list isn’t about bad policy decisions made (or floated) by people with authority to make them. If it were, it would be filled with specific legislation, Supreme Court decisions, and the like. And his reasons given actually fall under item 6: > [@JohnT](#): > > |6|Music X is inciting violence/sex/drugs|1955 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/397 "2023-01-28T23:46:38Z")
PANTLESS A&W BEAR - I shit you not. > **[Fox News Fell for an A&W Joke About Its Pantsless Mascot](https://thetakeout.com/aw-rooty-root-beer-bear-pants-fox-news-joke-tv-mms-post-1850030754)** > > A joking social media post was ridiculed the conservative news channel. " The A&W post was intended to be a cheeky response to M&M’s splashy announcement this week that it would be [replacing its iconic spokescandies] with new M&M’s brand ambassador Maya Rudolph. In the below Twitter post, the image card used to display the message is the same brown block of text that M&M’s used, and A&W begins by swiping M&M’s opening of, “America, let’s talk.” The language of the A&W announcement goes on to mimic virtually every sentence from M&M’s statement." “First it was an M&M’s, now a bear has to wear [pants],” noted Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone. “This is the woke police. Cancel culture has gone—ridiculous.” Later, however, after all that lamentation, Fox realized the error, [clarifying](https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/aw-root-beer-puts-pants-polarizing-mascot-bear-rooty-pants-mms-pauses-spokescandies) that A&W followed up its original tweet with another one that said, “Is now a good time to mention that this is a joke?” ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/398 "2023-01-29T13:59:09Z")
Michelle Obama and School Lunches - There was right-wing freakoutery over that. Teletubbies - I think something here related to their gender identity or sexuality or something that was an “assault on our culture”… The list is endless. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/399 "2023-01-29T16:08:54Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > Teletubbies - I think something here related to their gender identity or sexuality or something that was an “assault on our culture”… Jerry Falwell said in February 1999, ‘[Tinky Winky], whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse. He is purple – the gay pride color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle – the gay pride symbol.’ I bought my Jeep Cherokee (that I still have) in February 1999. It looked like it was dark metallic blue in the catalogue; but when it arrived at the dealership I found out it was dark metallic purple. (It’s ‘Deep Amethyst’, but I’m a guy, so…) So there I was driving a purple Jeep, with Jerry Falwell saying purple is gay. (I actually like the colour, and I’m glad for my mistake.) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631/400 "2023-01-29T17:41:53Z")
_Any_ masking will generally inflame the right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freakouts-of-the-right/963631.md?page=21)