You’re not actually reading this because you’re looking for an explanation of why you’re hearing/reading about this ‘trend.’ If you actually needed that, you’d have Googled “Let’s Go Brandon” and read the CNN explainer or NPR explainer or Wikipedia page.

I’m writing this because I can shed some light on being a Brandon.

Brandon is a great name. I love it. It’s common enough to be pronounced and spelled correctly more often than not. It’s not tied to any one nationality, giving everyone from everywhere a claim to the name. I’ve met Brandon’s of every race, creed and color. It’s a name relatively unsullied by any one horrible Brandon. There are no famous criminals named Brandon (I’m sure there are well known criminals in true crime circles that are well known, but to the average Brandon, our name is still clean.).

Because Brandon is not a crazy popular name, there’s only been a few dominant Brandons in my lifetime. The most popular Brandons, in chronological order since 1982, are Brandon Walsh from Beverly Hills 90210, Brandon Lee from The Crow, Brandon Boyd from Incubus, Brandon Flowers from The Killers, Brandon Marshall from the NFL and finally Brandon Routh from Superman Returns. That’s about it. There has not been a dominant Brandon in pop culture in the last decade. I love it.

So this meme, both Let’s Go Brandon and Thank You Brandon, is somewhat surprising. Not because memes are predictable, but because us Brandons are not used to hearing and seeing our name so often and incorrectly.

Let’s Go, Brandon! should be Fuck You, Biden! but some folks on the right don’t like to say what they mean.

Thank you, Brandon! should be Thank You, Biden! but some folks on the left like to think they’re sticking it to people on the right with memes.

Just say and write fuck. It’s fine. I’m a Brandon. I’m giving you permission.

If my name was being used correctly, fine, go nuts. But words have meaning and not using the correct word means people, regardless of political affiliation, are forced to understand even more coded language and doublespeak.

I am an adult. I do not actually care about this or most every other meme. I do think about how pointlessly difficult it is to teach my kid the correct meaning of words when people are using words incorrectly.

This is the part of the piece where I have to mention how George Carlin got it right. Carlin got it right. 49 years after recording “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” we’re in the same place*. Some people are really trying to be naughty but don’t want to lose their perceived moral compass.

I’m writing about a meme because two members of the House are using the meme in Congress. Republican Rep. Bill Posey of Florida said, “Let’s go, Brandon!” on the House floor. He also fist pumped to really get the Brandon message across. Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina has a Let’s Go Brandon mask and is writing about it on Facebook, a platform known for using words correctly. What makes this even more frustrating is there’s nothing in the House rules explicitly preventing either member from using the word fuck. To get around using words correctly, both Christian men are taking my name in vain.

As a Brandon, I do not care about this meme. As a parent, it’s a little annoying. As a writer and editor, it’s fucking frustrating. 

*Side note: It puts a smile on my face whenever I read a linguist like John McWhorter dismiss George Carlin as just the seven words you can’t say on TV comic whilst using Carlin’s work to illustrate their point. It’s quite difficult to come up with anything iconic, let alone something people use to highlight the fickle nature of language. Carlin, even if he’s only remembered for one bit, has a stronger legacy than 99.9% of all comics.

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