January 28, 2026
2:17 PM ET
As a song, it’s just ok. But you know a huge percentage of ice agents like Bruce, he’s too popular for there not to be, and I have to imagine the surreality of having a truly iconic artist write a song about you has to have an impact. It’s getting harder for these guys to just go through the motions and not think about what’s really happening. Things like this song gives me hope for some of them having a Mitchell and Webb type, “are we the baddies” epiphany.
There will be no introspection.
They think Born in the USA is a patriotic song.
They listen to Rage Against the Machine without a second thought.
Those both require some level of awareness. A sing literally named after modern events is pretty clear cut imo. The dumbest kid I knew in HS could figure it out
You’d think so, but have you looked around? A third of this country thinks Portland has literally been on fire for a year now.
Those people are not told anything otherwise and have no convenient access to alternative view points or reason to seek them out. There’s a non-zero chance they’d gain an understanding and legitimately risk being outed from the social groups they’ve known their whole life. Visit small town southern USA and you’ll see what I mean. Many republicans are, very sweet people that truly mean well. They’re involved in their community and probably don’t even have cable; they just receive local news over the air. This is probably part of the issue You’re not going to see clips of these people, though, you’ll only the see the occasional racist from a modern sundown town that will get a rise out of you, just like they only see that Pretti was armed to the teeth with malicious intent. Stuff like that always gets the most attention, even in the fediverse.
I’m not sure what the fix is, but demonizing these people that are unknowingly the voting engine enabling this when they truly believe they’re in the right will only exacerbate the issue IMO. They’re victims of the same system we are, they’re just steering the ship in the direction they think is right instead of rowing.
I think this song serves to pull the blindfold down a bit and place blame on the government committing the violence in a way that doesn’t vilify the ordinary people that were fooled by a professional fraud. It may be the only way people some people get an outside perspective without active effort, and at a community level instead of an individual level. This is important in reducing the social risk.
I did limit my hopes to “some”, but I agree, introspection is woefully lacking in a America. Peer pressure should also help, though.
I feel like Bruce is probably not what a lot of these guys were listening to in high school. A lot of them look like they’re under 40. The Boss’ core audience is Gen X. Born to Run was 1975.
I’m right on that X / Millennial cusp, and Springsteen was the music my older cousins listened to. They’re about 55-60 now.
Agreed, I am also on that cusp (a Xennial if you will) and Springsteen was never in our contemporary music selection. I still like that he did it, but it’s points at pate boomers and early to mid Xers.
Also same age (I prefer “Oregon Trail generation”), but I did grow up listening to music like Springsteen. It may be because my parents were older, but they often had the radio tuned to oldies or classic rock stations and so that’s what I got used to.
That makes sense. I mostly heard “yacht rock” crap from my parents, which I ended up hating with the fire of a thousand suns, so i can’t relate :D
It truly is wild, seeing us go through such a tumultuous period like my parents saw with the Civil Rights era. In struggle like this, great music is born – from Jesse Welles to Springsteen throwbacks, to Dropkick Murphys tapping into that anger.
Dispatch’s Chad Urmston helped get me through the 2000s with his band State Radio (try Camilo, Right Me Up, Fight No More); Woodruff’s Stick Figure helped soothe the pain I felt through Trump’s first term and through covid (try Weight of Sound, Once in a Lifetime, Take it Easy).
Seeing a mass culture movement of solidarity and peace and love try to rise through all this pain gives me some hope.
I heard Jesse Welles for the first time last year. Enjoy his stuff and glad he’s getting his name out there
The boy gonna prick himself good.
Thanks for sharing those, I’ll check them out
I don’t know who this guy is, but I am not amused.
That guy is a billionaire. I am cynical about his earnestness wrt writing a protest song
Bruce Springsteen most popular song is “born in the U.SA” and talks about how great America is. (For those not understanding this remark, the song is a critique but I stand by what I said. Because so many say America is great and Bruce says. Let me tell you what American really is. I was being sarcastic. i guess it wasn’t as obvious as I thought. ).
This new song is heartfelt. And talks about Alex and Renee. The song is called “on the streets of Minneapolis”.
If you go to the YouTube video there are a lot of comments that are positive about this. https://youtu.be/GDaPdpwA4Iw
Music and art has always been a way to unite people in trying times.
For you young wipersnappers. Bruce Springsteen is a big name. He’s been making music for a very long time.
He’s more popular with people age 50 and up. But also very popular with rural people.
Him making this , targets the right people that need to hear it.
Have you listened to the lyrics of “Born in the USA?”
Right that’s like saying Bob Dylan - Hurricane is about ocean weather phenomena lol.
Yes. I should have clarified what I meant. The song "this is America " childish Gambino is also about how great America is.
I feel like you’re either not explaining your understanding well, or being purposely obtuse with this comment. “This is America” is literally about how shitty America is becoming
Yes. That’s how sarcasm works.
You say something like
“Isn’t it great how now that trump has arrested all the illegal criminals, the country is so safe for Americans.”
But really I’m pointing out how the opposite is true. By saying an intentional obvious lie.
Born in the USA is NOT about how “great”, America is.
I would argue it absolutely is.
That’s the point.
It’s not. Get a new “point”.
Do you not understand how sarcasm works ? No ?
I know, you’re an idiot.
