Trump fundraiser in Orange County featuring Mike and 'The Beach Boys'

[roffels]

Kamala does her best Spinal Tap https://youtu.be/gjNOxrzU-As

Joe Biden is Joe Biden's husband  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6G9-UykIBw

Now that is a great combo to support!

Are you for real? He says "Jill Biden's husband", because his wife's name is Jill.

[rasmus skotte]

  "We have absolutely nothing to do with the Trump Benefit!"     "But Donald Trump has never been anything but kind to us !?"   

[Rob Dean]

WELL WELL WELL, That Fund Raising Gig really helped out, didn't it 

[CenturyDeprived]

WELL WELL WELL, That Fund Raising Gig really helped out, didn't it 

Losers flocking together - history will judge Mike and Trump harshly, in the gutter.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

WELL WELL WELL, That Fund Raising Gig really helped out, didn't it 

[mtaber]

Nobody can leave their political biases outside. 

[Jim V.]

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

[rab2591]

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

Yeah, I feel like since Feel Flows got confirmed (but no details) the site has slowed down a lot. I’ve noticed Guitarfool hasn’t been around in a while, too.

[guitarfool2002]

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

Yeah, I feel like since Feel Flows got confirmed (but no details) the site has slowed down a lot. I’ve noticed Guitarfool hasn’t been around in a while, too.

I'm back catching up for the first time today, I just got really busy with my teaching and other life events the past few weeks and had to take a break with not enough time for all the online stuff.

[Lonely Summer]

I think Mike and co. will be very busy in the coming years - they can play "get Trump out of jail" fundraisers.

[Jim V.]

Where has joe blow been. Feel like he hasn’t posted lately. Must be busy.

Yeah, I feel like since Feel Flows got confirmed (but no details) the site has slowed down a lot. I’ve noticed Guitarfool hasn’t been around in a while, too.

I admit my post was fueled more by the fact that the poster I was referring to only seemed to pitch in mostly with anti-Joe Biden and anti-Democratic Party material as opposed to anything to do with The Beach Boys. And now the fact that he's been MIA since Election Day and especially Saturday morning is conspicuous to say the least.

You are right though that since Howie came here and calmed our fears, things have been slow.

[Cabinessenceking]

Yup that didn't work out well in the end did it.  Also just wanted to add that I hope Mike and all the Trump supporters here feel really awful these days. Your emotional suffering over this is my highest joy. It's what you deserve, and you know it.  

[mtaber]

It’s extremely disappointing that so many people on here feel obligated to remind conservatives that conservatives are all idiots that need to suffer for their political beliefs. The talk is always about how divisive the republican side is, but the constant derogatory comments about the right are equally divisive. I repeat, I was under the impression that politics was not a topic for the main board.

[mtaber]

Do Biden supporters deserve emotional suffering?

[mtaber]

If this board is going to continue this crap, I’ll walk myself to the door.

[Sam_BFC]

Sounds a little mean spirited and vindictive but could be tongue in cheek.

[mtaber]

Tongue in cheek?  If I told someone on here to get coronavirus and die, would it be ok because it could be “tongue in cheek”?

[rab2591]

Tongue in cheek?  If I told someone on here to get coronavirus and die, would it be ok because it could be “tongue in cheek”?

I think Sam was referring to cabinessenceking’s post because it was so unbelievably crass that it couldn’t possibly be for real.

That being said, there have been so many unbelievably rude comments in this thread that clearly aren’t tongue-in-cheek (such as the coronavirus one - though the poster never wished death on the guy, mtaber, may want to edit your post). I hope many who have posted in this thread will be able to one day look back on their posts and feel a morsel of remorse for their comments aimed at fellow human beings.

Every single one of you have brought some kind of informative, comical, and/or good-natured fun to this forum - but man, when it comes to politics it’s like a switch is turned and some of you forget that we are all human beings with thoughts, feelings, reasons for believing the things that we believe, different personalities.

Many of us may disagree on certain things, but please remember that the more we hate our fellow man, the darker the world becomes. I’m not saying you have to roll over and agree with a viewpoint that you legitimately can’t comprehend, but instead of pure hatred perhaps see that not every person who doesn’t share your viewpoint is a completely lost degenerate unworthy of any kind of respect or decency.

[mtaber]

To be clear, I never “wished death” on anyone. I said “what if”.  Cabinessence did express delight in the suffering of others. 

[rab2591]

To be clear, I never “wished death” on anyone. I said “what if”.  Cabinessence did express delight in the suffering of others.  

My bad, I misread your post...and I didn’t think you wished death on anyone. Someone here did wish coronavirus on another member, which is what I thought you were referring to.

[rab2591]

Duplicate post.

[HeyJude]

People, after 287 years on this board and on the internet in general, it has never *not* been true that politics is NEVER a topic that goes over well on message boards (or Twitter, or Facebook, etc.). Even when people are knowledgeable about the subject and able to engage about it, it usually goes badly. And many aren't knowledgeable enough about it, which obviously doesn't help.

"Trump Supporters", as such, going back to 2015-2016 on this board, have, in my opinion, not tended to be very kind/magnanimous/considerate in "victory", and have also often tended to engage in what I feel are various forms of gaslighting (e.g. "the true bigots are people who shun Trump supporters!", and variations on "please ignore everything about how rude and cruel my political candidate is, basically ignore most everything he actually says, and instead simply believe me when I say we should all be kind and respectful to each other", etc.). Does this all mean a bunch of "in your face losers!" stuff is warranted now that Trump finally lost? That's up to each individual I guess. I think, not surprisingly, Trump supporters are not handling his loss well, and are certainly expecting MUCH MORE compassion than they showed the "losers" back in 2016. But really, the gloating stuff has never helped, certainly not on this board. That kind of stuff one's Facebook or Twitter page where it's kind of a one-way form of communication, I guess it works sometimes better there?

Back to politics vis-a-vis this board, on rare occasions, it kind of *has* to be delved into on this board when stuff happens like Mike doing the Trump gig. It would be nice if everybody could be objective and realize, regardless of your politics, it is a *BAD PR* move to play a Trump gig. Even Trump supporters who actually understand how PR works would admit it.

Separate from that, I wish it was easier for Beach Boys fandom to be honest with itself. It's difficult, because that honesty would probably hurt some feelings or anger folks. I won't go too far into the topic, but one of the reasons BB fandom gets extra ugly extra quickly when politics enter the issue is that it's a weird mixture of demographics. Beach Boys fans skew older, and along with that comes a strain of fan that is of the Trump/Love conservative mindset. This tends to still be the minority of deep, hardcore fandom, but it's a prominent sliver or fandom nonetheless.

To be into the deep recesses of the BB catalog requires an ear more sympathetic to the arts, the liberal arts, etc. Artistic-minded folks tend to skew more liberal.

These two sides clash when politics enters the picture.

And as LOOOOONG time fan who has seen BB fandom butt heads through many administrations, the 2016-2020 timeframe with Trump has been FAR more ugly and gross than in the past. Trump has made politics within the fandom a million times more ugly. There was never this level of vitriol when discussing Obama vs. McCain or Romney, or even in the GW Bush era, or the Clinton era. Prior to Trump, it was usually just a passing reference to the knowledge that Mike and Bruce are relatively staunch conservatives/Republicans, and many fans have found that aspect of the band (including Bush and Reagan events of years gone by that *all* band members participated in, in some cases) to be icky or disappointing. Prior to 2016, this usually was discussed in relatively jovial, humorous ways, perhaps offhandedly occasionally referencing that some fans find the Reagan worship from some band members to be embarrassing, etc.

But as of right now, I don't think there is much more to say as far as Mike's Trump support. I think everybody has made up their minds how grossed out or, I guess, happy ?, they are about Mike doing it. History, and Beach Boys fandom history, will judge Mike's actions accordingly. I don't think much more can be said.

I've heard a few things regarding that Mike Trump fundraiser gig that would perhaps put more of a closed lid on the situation, and hopefully that info will come out. But even if that closed lid is explained to fans, the sliver of folks who think doing the gig was a fine idea won't be swayed.

[CenturyDeprived]

For any BBs fan who is happy and feels it's totally fine that Mike played the gig… You'll never hear those people be able to honestly respond to the question "if playing a trump fundraiser is fine, then where would you draw the line"? I don't think it's possible for those folks to truly honestly answer that question without sarcasm or avoidance tactics, because it would require some self reflection. It would require them to consider why the "band" supporting a xenophobic person who outright 100% denies systemic racism exists, etc., why somebody as gross as that is somehow OK, but Mike playing a KKK rally might somehow not be OK. It would turn into a shouting match of whataboutism and avoidance within about five seconds.

If half the country is not just opposed, but outraged by Donald Trump, to a level approaching that of outrage they'd have toward racist organizations such as the KKK, etc., it's *obviously* not a good idea for the brand to be associated with something as divisive as that.

It doesn't take long to find folks online who continue to be extremely mad at "The Beach Boys" for having played the gig, and inevitably you'll find more knowledgeable fans trying to explain that "it was really just Mike", but the damage has been done. There will be plenty of people who will associate the "brand" with this Trump garbage, and that is 100% Mike's fault.

It will forever be one of the biggest stains on the legacy of this band. You can put that in your pipe and smoke it.

[mtaber]

I don’t believe I have ever said that I’m pro-Trump or anti-Trump. I don’t believe I’ve ever said it’s a great idea for Mike Love to do a Trump benefit. I also don’t believe I’ve ever said that Trump supporters are geniuses and Biden supporters are morons. What I have said is that a great number of people who support Trump do so because he’s not a lifetime politician. Many Americans strongly distrust politicians in general.  Trump basically campaigned with a “drain the swamp” mantra, and a lot of people like the idea of getting away from “politics as usual”. 

[CenturyDeprived]

What I have said is that a great number of people who support Trump do so because he’s not a lifetime politician. Many Americans strongly distrust politicians in general.  Trump basically campaigned with a “drain the swamp” mantra, and a lot of people like the idea of getting away from “politics as usual”.  

Much in the way that some Mike fans are able to Jedi mindtrack themselves into just brushing away and ignoring his decades of narcissistic and objectively bad behavior, so are Trump voters somehow looking the other way while overlooking Trump's narcissistic and objectively HORRIBLE behavior. Sort of how some spouses just ignore abuse going on barely behind closed doors in the house, because who needs to speak up or rock the boat about atrocious division being spread and ZERO empathy from the highest place in the land when they might be getting tax breaks?

Both of those guys sure "drained the swamp", with Trump and Mike removing any/all dissenters from their circles, and having only "yes men" around them.

When Rudy Giuliani did his pathetic press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, across the street from the dildo shop (seriously) and crematorium (seriously), with the dingy PA system looking like a sad unofficial SXSW day party show, I can't be the only person who thought about the parallel image of Mike whoring out the brand name to play some laughable, ridiculously low rent scuzzy venues like bowling alley parking lots, can I?  Both Mike and Trump have no bottom, as the saying goes.

Four Seasons Total Landscaping, you'd better believe it... Surfer's Fool