The stark contrast between liberals and conservatives reacting to the Fourth of July on social media magnifies the deep cultural wedge in the US, with the left calling the holiday a “sham” and the right mourning what once was.
While Independence Day is typically a time for celebration in the US, it’s taken a different turn this year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.
The hashtag “F**ktheFourth” is trending on Twitter, with the “u” in the curse word cleverly switched out with a “v.”
“There is NOTHING to celebrate today. America is a failed state,” podcaster Ryan Knight tweeted, highlighting growing poverty in the US.
“What r we celebrating? Kids in cages? Police brutality? COVID? Poverty? No healthcare? Ur celebration is a sham. Ur greatness? Ur rejoicing is empty. Ur shouts of liberty & equality? Hollow. A thin veil to cover up crimes that would disgrace a nation of savages,” another user added.
The frustration has been repeated by many others, who have kept the phrase popular on Twitter.
I’m not in the mood for hearing how great Independence Day is.I woke up, and trump has the freedom to declare war on people who didn’t vote for him, Qarens still using cops as murder weapons, and cops who killed Breonna Taylor have STILL NOT BEEN ARRESTED.#FvckTheFourth
Why do black people celebrate the day a bunch of slave owners achieved independence? #FvckTheFourth
But as is typical in today’s divided culture, conservatives have responded to the hashtag by expressing the opposite sentiment, highlighting the positives of the US and shaming those trying to cast the holiday in a negative light.
“The men who signed the Declaration of Independence put their families and fortunes on the line so that 244 years later a bunch of morons living in the greatest country to ever exist could tweet #F**kTheFourth. Imagine what they’d be thinking right now,” tweeted Republican senate candidate JT Lewis.
“Now we have #F**kTheFourth trending, so this is a reminder of just how disgusting and ignorant/sh**ty the left truly is,” actor and outspoken conservative Antonio Sabato Jr. added.
No conservatives are not pissed at your #FvckTheFourth message. We are sad for our nation that we have a generation of such gutter trash.No one keeps you in the United States at gunpoint. Leave and go to where you think it is better.
There has never been an Independence day in my half-century of life that feels like this morning, I woke up to #FvckTheFourth trending, and my feed filled with hate for the greatest country on Earth. I’m a proud American, and not ashamed to say it. Here’s to the #RedWhiteAndBlue
The divided messages follow a Friday speech given by President Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore, where he blasted “cancel culture” and “left-wing fascism” while protesters called the long-standing monument itself an example of historical racism in the US, a theme central to the demonstrations across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
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