“Let’s Go Brandon” Isn’t Going Anywhere Soon
Canada has not banned the “Let’s go Brandon” meme, as earlier reported by sections of media. On Monday (18th October) afternoon, Shared Services Canada released a statement to clarify that the memo circulating on social media claiming that the Canadian government banned “Let’s Go Brandon” is fake news.
The memo, alleged to be from the Canadian government, banned “Let’s Go, Brandon,” which quickly became an anti-Biden catchphrase. The memo supposedly came from Shared Service Canada on 14th October and was addressed to all government employees. It purportedly prohibited government employees from using the slogan or phrase.
What is In the Fake Memo?
The memo read: “The uses of colloquialism or sayings with intended double meaning or offense are strictly prohibited in all means of correspondence or communication … specifically, the use of the wording ‘let’s go Brandon’ and any variation thereof.”
It further added that anyone who failed to comply with the directive would suffer “…immediate dismissal without recourse or labor union representation.”
This might have paused the spread of the slogan, but not for long. The memo was soon discovered to be fake. The National Post tracked the fake news to a small, anonymous Twitter account @halory based in Richmond, Va. The account has less than 200 followers.
In effect, it means the slogan and the related meme are not going anywhere soon. It’s still spreading like wildfire, especially among the Donald Trump supporters and conservatives who feel President Biden is getting many things wrong as far as running the US is concerned.
What’s “Let’s Go Brandon” About?
Who is the Brandon behind the slogan? If you have not been following the news of late, or checking the Twitter top trends, you may understandably wonder where Brandon and the speaker are going.
So, here is the Brandon story behind the meme story behind the Canada meme ban story:
At a NASCAR event in Alabama, NBC reporter Kelli Stavast was interviewing Brandon Brown, the newest NASCAR race winner. Meanwhile, the crowd chanted in the background.
The winner, overwhelmed with joy, said: “Oh my God, this is just everything we’ve hoped and dreamed for. Everything I’ve ever wanted to do is take the trophy home to mom and dad.”
Just the right words a humble winner ought to say. So far, so good.
The interviewer commented, “…you can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s Go Brandon.’…”
Those are just the right remarks a good-natured interviewer should make, except that the crowd was chanting something else, and it was not close to what the interviewer reported. The crowd was addressing President Biden with the words “F*** Joe Biden.”
Here is the video
As you can see, this “Let’s go Brandon” was just a tiny part of the interview. Maybe the interviewer pretended not to have heard the actual words; maybe he honestly misheard the chanting.
Whichever the case, his “Let’s go, Brandon” remark has now become the most popular anti-Biden hashtag across various social media sites. Talk of the law of unintended consequences. Since then, Trump supporters have chanted it at various sporting events.
A “Let’s go Brandon” hip hop is out and already topping the charts. It might find its way in a dictionary one day.
Other Usage of the Slogan
Other people now use the slogan as an alternative to vulgar slogans they should not utter near kids. It is now the code phrase you use to express your displeasure with Biden’s government.
It is also a summary of just everything that is wrong with Biden and his Administration. When Southwest Airlines canceled flights, the anti-Biden groupings simply remarked, “Let’s Go, Brandon.”
If you want to make fun of the President without being too harsh, you simply say, “Let’s Go, Brandon,” and you are done. No swearing.
“Let’s Go Brandon” is not just a meme now. It’s been printed on t-shirts and photoshopped onto at least one picture of AOC’s Tax the Rich dress from the 2021 Met Gala. That’s how fast things move these days.
Can Canadian Federal Employees Resume Sending “Let’s Go, Brandon”?
It is not clear just how many Canadian employees were sending this slogan to one another. The number might have been high, if it inspired someone to hatch a fake memo.
When the fake memo surfaced, another fake news claimed that it was one of Biden’s representatives who pressured the Canadian government to ban the slogan because the memes were likely to hurt the President’s feelings. This only added to the fun.
The Canadians might have stopped sending the slogan or hashtag, but they can now heave a sigh of relief, now that the memo has been shown to be fake. It is time to resume posting and sending the “Let’s go Brandon” if there is still juice left in it.
