Carter J Lowe
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carterjlowe.bsky.social
Carter J Lowe
@carterjlowe.bsky.social
I write about the Wisconsin Badgers and College Football and Basketball history
November 12, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Slight correction: « Aujourd’hui, c’est une vidéo pour parler de ma situation actuelle. » actually would be something more like “Today’s video is about my current situation.”

Pour parler de…” (“for talking about…”), doesn’t translate word-for-word cleanly into English.
November 10, 2025 at 9:07 PM
You’re right that we’re debating it, but debate alone doesn’t make a symbol fascist. If anything, the fact that we can still discuss and disagree about its meaning shows that it hasn’t crystallized into a political emblem.
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Right now, the “Trump dance” isn’t functioning like that. It isn’t codified, it isn’t part of a political ritual, and it isn’t being used exclusively by people advancing an authoritarian ideology. It’s more a meme, a caricature of a politician’s awkward movements.
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I get what you’re saying about how symbols can take on meaning through association, but for something to truly function as a fascist symbol, it has to be widely recognized and consistently used as a political signal, not just something a few supporters or critics imitate.
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
It’s fine to dislike Trump or find the gesture distasteful, but calling it fascist imagery stretches the term beyond meaning. Let’s reserve that word for the real thing, not for a football player’s touchdown dance.
November 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
If we start treating every pop-culture reference or mocking imitation as dangerous political signaling, we end up flattening everything into “for us or against us.” That kind of absolutism is how symbols get power they don’t deserve.
November 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
That’s fair, but context still matters

The Nazi salute was created as a formal oath of allegiance to a totalitarian state. Trump’s little fist pump or dance move isn’t codified, mandatory, or used as a test of loyalty. It’s a personal quirk that some supporters imitate, often jokingly or ironically
November 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
A touchdown dance isn’t an endorsement of fascism any more than an eye-roll emoji is an endorsement of nihilism. Sometimes a dance is just a dance.
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Symbolism does matter, but so does intent and proportion. We, at this point, have no idea what St. Brown’s thoughts are on Trump, or whether he was mocking him or doing it as an homage to him.
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
If we start interpreting every gesture, joke, or meme through the lens of the worst possible political symbolism, we end up policing intent instead of recognizing context. That’s not healthy for public discourse, or for sports.
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
I think we’re getting a little carried away here. Doing a touchdown dance is not remotely comparable to endorsing fascism or calling for oppression. There’s a big difference between mocking, parodying, or even casually referencing a public figure’s gesture and pledging allegiance to an ideology.
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
I’m not a Trump guy, but this place is fucking deluding themselves if they think most football players aren’t at least socially conservative. You’re not gonna find a lot of bleeding heart, “Josh Jacobs says trans rights :3” type shit.
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
High income and no college degree, regardless of race, is a strong predictor of Trump support
November 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Also in the next few years the average pro athlete is going to make way more money than they will at any other point in their life so they are even more incentivized than the average high income person to want lower taxes.
November 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
(and if they aren’t rich, the first rich people they ever meet are conservative white guys who offer them more money than they’ve ever seen in their life to play football.)
November 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM