L.D. Burnett
2 min readDec 31, 2020

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Since Nick Grossman included the Covington situation in his essay, I needed to address it in my reply. Grossman discussed an array of faux pas or embarrassing responses from the kids assembled, including the kid who was the main focus of internet ire, that Grossman considered to be normal signs of immaturity. But now the Covington kid is now on the anti-cancel-culture speaking circuit; his burgeoning career as a right-wing cause celebre very much depends on conceding no fault on his part, not even immaturity, and on villainizing others.

The right-wing outrage industry -- and it is an information industry, with investors and supply chains and distribution and marketing --has been around for a while (it is something I study and am writing about). So I can say with confidence that this young man is working in a very crowded lane. For every aspiring Charlie Kirk there are thousands of young men who waste their 20s, 30s, even 40s ginning up outrage and to barely make ends meet and be minor players in rightwing counter-movements. He should do fairly well financially as the poster boy du jour for laments about "the liberal media" and "the internet mob." But if he ever so much as suggests that anything about his response or his peers' response was even slightly confrontational, or slightly immature, or contributed in even a small way to escalating a fraught situation, his gravy train will end.

So I guess it's a good thing for him that he has champions who see him as a symbol of righteousness and impunity. That will help him stick to the script

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L.D. Burnett
L.D. Burnett

Written by L.D. Burnett

Writer and historian from / in California’s Great Central Valley. Book, “Western Civilization: The History of an American Idea,” under contract w/ UNC Press.

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