rsvman2
I appreciate that you took time to write a detailed response, and I'm not trying to short change it, but typing long responses out on a phone on this forum software is really tedious.
So I'll cut to the most burning part, and something I actually posted /asked way up in the discussion to begin with.
So the things you mention: not glued to a screen, playing outside in the summer, etc.
Those are 100% NOT America specific things. You could have had those experiences (theoretically) in England, France, Australia, Sweden, Brazil, Canada, honestly even Japan (albeit the lingering background radiation might have been a buzzkill).... and many others. Certainly not all, though.
So let's go back to the post I objected to, before everyone started the pile-on train of being upset.
THE HAT says "I miss the American I grew up in", to which I asked why not --- if those are the things you miss, not rampant racism/sexism/etc.---- why not rep a hat that says "I miss the joys of a simpler easier childhood", or even "I wish technology hadn't stolen your childhood" or something to that effect. There could literally be 100s of variations that convey more specific and less bigoted messages than what was actually made/shown. MAKE NO MISTAKE, there is a psychology to the design of THAT HAT. The wording .... "THE AMERICA" , ultimately at the end of the day america is "the people", and hence, "the government" that we choose and use. If you miss "THE AMERICA" that was in the time you grew up in, you miss everything about us, everything about our government. And as the examples and points I have already posted to death show, I don't think those are things worth missing. When you factor in the vendor of the hat, and the choice to pair its visual with the "us vs them" thin blue line/blue lives matter color scheme, the message of the hat and its intended (by vendor) audience is clear. The hat is intended to be divisive. Well actually it's not. It's like that WP hand symbol that incels fratboys were bandying about on the internet 2 years ago before being discovered. It's effectively a KKK robe that can be worn in "polite company" with the bonus of cover/excuse.
