Don't be afraid to engage…

There are two types of people, those who found out about Freddy and found joy, and those that found out and looked for flaws. For simplicity, I will refer to these groups as the sunnies and the scolds. Yes, I am lumping people into two little categories, and that is not great, but bear with me with the understanding that this is not science, but observation.

First, background. Freddy, or @FreddyLA7 on X, is a German tourist that came to the United States for the World Cup. His profile pic is Cristiano Ronaldo and every photograph that he posted super-imposed Ronaldo’s face over his. His two buddies also had their identity covered. He posted about places he went and the people he met along the way. My first view of his posts was when he was in northern Georgia, or really southern Tennessee people, and how amazed he was by the beauty found in the natural surroundings. I looked forward to his posts about his encounters, and was relieved that they were overwhelmingly positive. The media has pounded the narrative regarding how awful the world views us, the United States.

In a twist that is only found in the US, Freddy garnered a LOT of attention. When he had issues on his Houston leg, JJ Watt, former defensive end for the Texans and legend of the NFL due to his philanthropy off the field while still wreaking havoc on offenses, came to the rescue. Freddy and his buddies were gifted with swag and a place to stay that far exceeded their budget. Soon after this happened, Freddy and his friends were offered a private jet and visit to Vegas by a casino owner because “wouldn’t you love to watch the games in our pool?”

Now, I would like to say that the scolds came later, but it started with the JJ Watt intervention with people wondering why he didn’t help them. It gained momentum with his love of our country, the people and places he crossed paths with, and experiences he had. Freddy inspired country singer Ella Langley, whose song, “Choosin’ Texas” was the chosen song in videos for these tourists, to invite them to a concert and give them backstage tickets–only in America! The scolds had to go to work.

Lacking reading comprehension or ignoring facts that contradicted their agenda, Freddy was outed! He had been here. He lied.

Only he didn’t lie. He had visited large metropolitan areas, like Vegas, not backwater towns like Ocoee, Tennessee…calm down, Ocoee. You are a gem of a town, but scolds don’t go out of their lair to enjoy things like whitewater rafting or small towns with great restaurants. They get DoorDash…calm down, DoorDash. I love DoorDash, but I am also aware that this country is filled with small towns with lush greenery and great people that open wonderful restaurants. They aren’t only in large cities. Check it out, if you haven’t already.

Freddy posted that he only started the account to document his trip and the negative attention was too much, so he was going to delete. Now, I understand algorithms, and I know that X shows me what I like, so what I say next is with this explicit understanding. The reaction to Freddy leaving X was as bleak as a celebrity death or a celebrity death that has not been cancelled. It was palpable. The scolds claimed a scalp! Or, they thought they did.

Freddy came back.

Freddy did an explainer, which probably fell on deaf ears of the scolds, who had decided Freddy was a CIA plant. Yes, some of them thought the entire thing was an operation to spread disinformation to promote our country. I feel sorry for those people. The sunnies won. Freddy ended his trip in the Ocoee area, with ordinary people he interacted with on X, who found joy and wanted to host he and his compatriots to a real southern good time–complete with shooting guns at the end. Chef’s kiss.

As a sunny, I enjoyed every minute of his posts. I was amused by the criticisms and then angry with those that couldn’t let this just be an organic, really wonderful thing and had to try to “uncover” the truth. As a sunny, I was deeply saddened when he left. Freddy became part of my conversations, I updated people on his adventures and I was devastated to know it was ending. And then, as a sunny, I was so pleased he didn’t let the scolds win.

Freddy faced our overly skeptic, untrusting, cancel culture underbelly and was crushed and then came back, better.

Fight the need to pile on. Next time you are commenting on social media, or discussing thing with your friends, try to envision the object of your derision, of the group’s hatred, as your sibling or your friend.

And, go out and visit places. There is more in common than not, y’all.