‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ Doesn’t Matter. Stop Wasting Time On It.

A Southwest pilot's dumb public-address message is not that big a deal. Grassroots reactionary forces engaged in intimidation at school-board meetings—combined with state governments trying to police speech in classrooms—is.

View in Browser      SHOP EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBE     People Are Going to Say Things You Don't Like Sometimes Monday's new thing to get exercised about was a Southwest pilot reportedly using coded slang to say, "F*** the president," on a plane's PA system. (He signed off a message with "Let's go Brandon," which has lately become a stand-in for, "F*** Joe Biden.") There is one way in which concerns around this event, into which Southwest has launched an internal investigation, make some sense: commercial flights have become a bizarro battleground in the culture war, where people—almost always passengers—have reimagined a transportation experience designed to bring them from Point A to Point B as some sort of political Ragnarok. They choose a moment when they are cooped up with hundreds of others in a thin metal tube to express their political allegiance, often through antisocial behavior that sometimes generates physical altercations. Whether these antisocial tendencies developed during the pandemic or people have just begun to truly let their freak flags fly remains to be seen. Read More     The 26 Best Loafers for Easing Into Wearing Real Shoes Again Say a fond farewell to your house slippers. Read More     Amazon's Fall-Winter Wardrobe Essentials Are Secretly on Sale Today Stock up on sweaters, flannels, even snow bibs (!) during the 24-hour sale. Read More     In Partnership with Geologie Geologie Skincare for Men. Simple. Personalized. Results. Because skincare doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to work. Get 50% off your trial now! Try Now     The 55 Best Gifts for Your Wife That She Won't Immediately Return for Store Credit You'll knock it out of the park with these ideas—a top candidate for all-time best partner of the century. Read More     The Moment I Knew I Wanted Kids Parenting felt like something other people did, until I met a new version of me. Read More         So Many of Andy Warhol's Factory Stars Died Young. He Knew What Killed Them. The artist cherished their youth and beauty and used it to make art that was ahead of the game, but the consequences were real and, occasionally, deadly. Read More     Follow Us Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection esquire.com ©2021 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019