When I first saw the story reported by the Detroit Metro Times that an ammunition store was selling bullets emblazoned with the latest cutesy “Let’s Go Brandon!” phrase, a shorthand for “F**k Joe Biden,” I must admit I was disturbed.
But then I thought it was kind of pathetic that Fenix Ammunition CEO Justin Nazaroff was capitalizing on such a ridiculous phrase. I mean, why not just say the actual words?
The website of the online store doesn’t hide its political affiliations.
When I clicked on the homepage for more information about the engraved “cartridge cases,” I was confronted with a yes or no question about whether I thought Kyle Rittenhouse was innocent or not. I clicked “no” and was directed to a pro-Donald Trump page. I clicked out, and then clicked “yes” and was taken to the actual Fenix homepage. So it’s obvious Fenix Ammo takes a particular position.
I asked Nazaroff via email if he was worried about whether the “bullets” might provoke someone to create something similar, but with an actual bullet. He responded, “I'm about as worried as you were when Kathy Griffin posed with a mockup of Donald Trump's severed head.” Huh?
He then added that if I was going to run stories about firearms or ammunition-related topics, I should do myself a favor and understand the basic terminology. “A cartridge case is an inert brass object that poses no danger to anyone. I might as well have printed it on a soda can,” he wrote.
When I asked him if he felt like selling this product was irresponsible, to say the least, or dangerous at the most, he told me that the product is “only dangerous in the minds of woke, coddled Karens who have no sense of humor. The type of people who work for a secondhand rag like the Daily Kos.” Adding: “The real danger in our society is that we've allowed woefully ignorant journalists to appoint themselves as the arbiters of truth and comedy in American culture.”
Let’s unpack Nazaroff’s dismissive answers.
Aside from the insults about Daily Kos, and the complete and utter ignorance about what a “Karen” is (although I agree they are dangerous, not in anyone’s mind, but in reality) and what “woke” means, the dangers of selling a product that looks like a real bullet could obviously inspire someone to take the idea a step further and use an actual bullet to kill an actual person—like the darling of white supremacists and right-wing little fake-ass crying vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse did when he murdered two men and injured another during a Black Lives Matter protest.
It was not the minds of the woke that attempted an insurrection on the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6; or a mass shooting at the offices of The Capital, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, where five journalists were murdered; or where Heather Heyer was killed when James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of people peacefully protesting the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
I’m not impressed by Nazaroff’s attempt at humor, his selling Alex Jones “Hope” stickers, or his simpering pretend bullets for customers too ashamed to say what they really want to say: “F**k Joe Biden!
You want to prop up Alex Jones with a sticker, and then call journalists ignorant. Last time I checked, conspiracy theorist Jones believes that the shooting of 20 first-graders and six teachers was a government plot to “confiscate Americans’ firearms and that the victims’ families were ‘actors’ in the scheme,” according to The New York Times, causing people to accost the families who’d lost their children. Monday, a judge ruled that because Jones had refused to turn over documents ordered by the court, he was liable by default. Combining this decision with previous rulings in Texas, Jones has successfully lost all 10 defamation lawsuits filed against him by the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Last year, Nazaroff was called out in an article by The Trace, a nonprofit that covers guns in America. The article points out that Fenix had an increase in daily sales from $4,000 to $40,000 because of a social media campaign led by Nazaroff.
Nazaroff began posting memes referencing “boogaloo,” an anti-government extremist movement formed in 2019, named for a 1980s breakdancing movie characterized by members who carry weapons and wear Hawaiian shirts and tactical gear, all in the hopes of starting a second civil war.
Although there are varying facets to the loosely organized group, it’s been tied to neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
According to Southern Poverty Law Center, online posts by Boogaloo groups contain threats aimed at politicians, especially those who have passed gun reform. One Twitter user posted a list of the names and addresses of members of the Virginia General Assembly, which recently passed legislation restricting access to firearms. “If you live in VA, then you should know what this is. I’m not going to give an explanation..you boog bois already know what to do. #Boogaloo2020,” he wrote.
Yeah, we “woke” folks really need to have a better sense of humor.
But then I thought it was kind of pathetic that Fenix Ammunition CEO Justin Nazaroff was capitalizing on such a ridiculous phrase. I mean, why not just say the actual words?
The website of the online store doesn’t hide its political affiliations.
When I clicked on the homepage for more information about the engraved “cartridge cases,” I was confronted with a yes or no question about whether I thought Kyle Rittenhouse was innocent or not. I clicked “no” and was directed to a pro-Donald Trump page. I clicked out, and then clicked “yes” and was taken to the actual Fenix homepage. So it’s obvious Fenix Ammo takes a particular position.
I asked Nazaroff via email if he was worried about whether the “bullets” might provoke someone to create something similar, but with an actual bullet. He responded, “I'm about as worried as you were when Kathy Griffin posed with a mockup of Donald Trump's severed head.” Huh?
He then added that if I was going to run stories about firearms or ammunition-related topics, I should do myself a favor and understand the basic terminology. “A cartridge case is an inert brass object that poses no danger to anyone. I might as well have printed it on a soda can,” he wrote.
When I asked him if he felt like selling this product was irresponsible, to say the least, or dangerous at the most, he told me that the product is “only dangerous in the minds of woke, coddled Karens who have no sense of humor. The type of people who work for a secondhand rag like the Daily Kos.” Adding: “The real danger in our society is that we've allowed woefully ignorant journalists to appoint themselves as the arbiters of truth and comedy in American culture.”
Let’s unpack Nazaroff’s dismissive answers.
Aside from the insults about Daily Kos, and the complete and utter ignorance about what a “Karen” is (although I agree they are dangerous, not in anyone’s mind, but in reality) and what “woke” means, the dangers of selling a product that looks like a real bullet could obviously inspire someone to take the idea a step further and use an actual bullet to kill an actual person—like the darling of white supremacists and right-wing little fake-ass crying vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse did when he murdered two men and injured another during a Black Lives Matter protest.
It was not the minds of the woke that attempted an insurrection on the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6; or a mass shooting at the offices of The Capital, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, where five journalists were murdered; or where Heather Heyer was killed when James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of people peacefully protesting the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
I’m not impressed by Nazaroff’s attempt at humor, his selling Alex Jones “Hope” stickers, or his simpering pretend bullets for customers too ashamed to say what they really want to say: “F**k Joe Biden!
You want to prop up Alex Jones with a sticker, and then call journalists ignorant. Last time I checked, conspiracy theorist Jones believes that the shooting of 20 first-graders and six teachers was a government plot to “confiscate Americans’ firearms and that the victims’ families were ‘actors’ in the scheme,” according to The New York Times, causing people to accost the families who’d lost their children. Monday, a judge ruled that because Jones had refused to turn over documents ordered by the court, he was liable by default. Combining this decision with previous rulings in Texas, Jones has successfully lost all 10 defamation lawsuits filed against him by the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Last year, Nazaroff was called out in an article by The Trace, a nonprofit that covers guns in America. The article points out that Fenix had an increase in daily sales from $4,000 to $40,000 because of a social media campaign led by Nazaroff.
Nazaroff began posting memes referencing “boogaloo,” an anti-government extremist movement formed in 2019, named for a 1980s breakdancing movie characterized by members who carry weapons and wear Hawaiian shirts and tactical gear, all in the hopes of starting a second civil war.
Although there are varying facets to the loosely organized group, it’s been tied to neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
According to Southern Poverty Law Center, online posts by Boogaloo groups contain threats aimed at politicians, especially those who have passed gun reform. One Twitter user posted a list of the names and addresses of members of the Virginia General Assembly, which recently passed legislation restricting access to firearms. “If you live in VA, then you should know what this is. I’m not going to give an explanation..you boog bois already know what to do. #Boogaloo2020,” he wrote.
Yeah, we “woke” folks really need to have a better sense of humor.