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Sunday, October 22, 2023

Old Glory: banking on reich-wing conspiranoia

 

Old Glory Bank wraps itself in the American flag and the bogus banner of anti-wokeness to appeal to reich-wingers' grievances and fuel their conspiranoia.

For years I've been harping on the theme of reich-wing/"conservative"/Christofascist whining -- members of those interrelated tribes are perpetually griping about being "censored" or "cancelled" or "deplatformed" or some such -- so The Great Debanking Narrative, one of the more recent vintages of the same tired old red whine, comes as little surprise.

The Great Debanking Narrative holds that good, patriotic, law-abiding Americans are being "cancelled" by big banks solely because of their political and/or social and/or religious values. A driving force in this narrative at the moment is a relatively new digital financial institution, based in Oklahoma, that calls itself Old Glory Bank, which uses the debanking issue as its primary marketing hook.

Formerly the First State Bank of Elmore, Oklahoma, Old Glory was founded by a quartet of reich-wingers. These include conservative political commentator, radio host, former GOP presidential candidate and ardent Trumper/election denier Larry Elder; country music singer and reich-wing zealot/Trump supporter/former Celebrity Apprentice winner John Rich; former Trump HUD secretary "Sleepy" Ben Carson; and former two-term Governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin-Christensen, a woman with impeccable reich-wing credentials (anti-LGBTQ... anti-public-school-teachers... anti-affordable-health care... anti-reproductive-rights... but pro-Big-Oil and a Trump ally to boot).

Old Glory proudly declares that its mission statement is the United States Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, with a focus on the First and Second Amendments. Judging from examples cited in the press release linked to in the previous sentence, that focus is framed in a host of imaginary grievances:

If the government requests that Old Glory Bank punish or cancel a customer for lawfully attending a protest, Old Glory Bank confirms it will not comply. If the government requests that Old Glory Bank cancel a customer for participating in the American lifestyle and using fossil fuels and lawful firearms, Old Glory Bank states it will not comply.

I noticed that the press release neglects to mention customers who -- armed with tear gas, stun guns, pepper spray, bear spray, metal bars, flagpoles, baseball bats etc. -- attend a "peaceful tour" of the United States Capitol Building (which is, after all, the people's building!), and break its windows, smear feces on its walls and floors, threaten to murder legislators and the vice president, beat police officers within an inch of their lives, and attempt to violently overthrow the United States government in order to keep their Cheeto Jesus in power. But maybe that wasn't mentioned because it goes without saying that the J6 "patriots" are among the oppressed/repressed/censored/egregiously wronged target market for Old Glory.

Old Glory Bank has been popping up on my Xitter feed frequently of late, due to its paid ads, most notably this one from October 17, 2023:

Too many law-abiding Americans are having their bank accounts canceled simply because their bank doesn’t like what they stand for. That’s un-American. Old Glory Bank’s mission statement is the Constitution. Open your account today at [old glory bank dot com].

When one reader expressed cynicism about Old Glory Bank's allegation, the bank responded with a flustercuck of multiple links defending its opinion that good, God-fearing, patriotic Muricans are in fact getting debanked solely because of their anti-woke beliefs and values. That response was copied and pasted several additional times on the thread, and on other Old Glory posts where the bank's allegation was challenged.

Links that prove... not much at all
Since I don't believe in presenting multiple links as a flustercuck, I'll break them down for you here [with annotations by me], in the order in which they were (repeatedly) presented by Old Glory Bank. You can follow the links and decide for yourself whether or not they actually prove the allegations or merely document them.

Before you accuse me of engaging in ad hominem arguments and failing to prove my point, I'll add that I am aware of the fact that my annotations to the link list and my criticisms of the debanked accusers do not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were not targeted by their banks purely for their personal values and beliefs. That said, the only completely honest statement about the accusations against the banks is that we just don’t know for sure. Anecdotal evidence and opinions do not constitute proof.

Much to the credit of Xitter-at-large, there has been plenty of trolling on the Old Glory ad cited above. Overall the responses are skeptical, with several folks declaring that OGB is most likely just another Trumpian grift. (One naughty wag expressed distrust in a bank that was named after a glory hole.) Apparently Old Glory gave up on responding to every one of the doubters. But at least the remarks have been allowed to stand, so far, so it could be said that OGB is at least honoring its stated commitment to free speech.

* * * * *

As you can imagine, the reich-wing media were all agog at the news about the formation of Old Glory Bank. For instance, Western Journal had this to say:

Financial organizations including PayPal, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and online fundraisers including GoFundMe have all canceled customers merely because they support conservative causes or traditional American values.

In June of last year, for instance, two Florida-based banks, BankUnited and Professional Bank, canceled President Donald Trump’s accounts after the left falsely accused him of fomenting an “insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2020.

"Falsely" accusing Trump of fomenting an insurrection... yeah, okay. Totally objective reporting there.

The American Tribune wrote:

A group composed of Larry Elder, Ben Carson, John Rich, and other American patriots has banded together to buy a bank in Oklahoma, First State Bank of Elmore City, so that they can run it as a bank that caters to ordinary Americans that don’t want to be “debanked” for supporting the same values as their ancestors, as many conservatives, particularly those in the punditry and firearms industries, have been in recent years.

So it's all about the guns and the punditry (gunditry?).

The Daily Wire focused its announcement about Old Glory Bank on the evil censorship and "cancellation" of conservatives by Big Tech. Other outlets basically parroted the Old Glory Bank press releases. Press releases are the eternal blessing for lazy journalists.

Real values or empty words?
Some might argue that there’s nothing inherently bad about establishing a business based upon specific political/social values or principles, nor with choosing that company’s products or services based on one’s support of those values. It happens all the time, and certainly there are businesses -- yes, even financial institutions -- that are based on or cater to progressive or liberal or "woke" values such as environmental friendliness or social responsibility. Live and let live, give consumers a wide range of choices, let the market decide, and so forth. And, in general, I would agree with these arguments, but in the case of blatantly right-wing factions these days, there seems to be a glaring double standard.

For instance -- and I hope you'll pardon what might appear to be a digression -- consider the intensive effort by red (MAGA-poisoned) states in the US to seriously restrict ESG (environmental, social, governance) investment of public funds. ESG investing means, in theory, that in addition to financial analysis of the investment, environmental, social, and corporate governance factors are also taken into account.

Never mind the credible argument, calmly and rationally laid out in this February 2023 piece from The New Republic, that the whole "woke investors" thing is mostly a fabrication (the CRT of the investment world?), since the so-called "woke" money managers really care only about their bottom line. The red pols have deemed ESG to be "woke" and they don't like it at all -- partly on general [fascist] principle, and partly or mostly because they reflexively fight anything that might possibly smooth the transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy. Mustn't let the big oil and gas companies down.

Accordingly, red states from Texas to Florida to West Virginia have labored mightily to stop public pension funds from using ESG as a consideration when making investment decisions, and they have pulled billions from asset management firms such as BlackRock, despite concerns that doing so would cause financial harm. To them, anti-woke values are clearly more valuable than woke ones, potential adverse financial consequences be damned.

Since we're on the topic of values and principles, let's get back specifically to Old Glory Bank, which proudly proclaims its own values as "American" ones while flagrantly catering specifically to the reich. I wonder, as it seems that others have wondered (judging from the Xitter trolls) if the bank would be equally willing to embrace individuals or companies with blatantly “woke” values such as LGBTQ rights, racial equality, reproductive choice, assault weapons bans and other sensible gun safety measures, the phasing out of fossil fuels in order to address the climate crisis, and the like. And what about flag burners, who are only exercising their First Amendment rights, after all? Or advocates of police defunding/abolition? Would OGB remain true to their slogan, “We stand with you, no matter where you stand”?

Finally, I think it's appropriate to address Old Glory Bank's general branding as having the customer's best interests at heart, as opposed to the evil big banks. I have to wonder why the reich/republicans -- whose base is clearly the target market for Old Glory Bank -- seem so determined to undermine larger efforts at real, widespread banking reform and consumer protection in general. Yes, I know that unfortunately the banking lobby is so powerful that even some Democrats, fearing their reelection chances, joined forces with the republicans in 2018 to weaken banking regulations. But by and large it's the republicans who fight regulation of the banking and finance industries, mainly because they're deeply beholden to Big Banking. Repubs are even trying to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other hard-fought-for consumer protection agencies and initiatives.

For that matter, the reich/republicans and their allies seem hellbent on destroying as many consumer protection agencies, laws, regulations, and practices as possible, taking us back to the bad old daze. Xitter owner Elon Musk has been preaching the word about the urgent need for "comprehensive deregulation." One of my favorite Xitter wags, Mrs. Betty Bowers, responded to one of Musk's tweets a couple of days ago:

Bring back: Lead paint. Asbestos. Flammable pajamas. No seatbelts. Canned tuna fish with mercury. Grocery stores bleaching chicken to make it look less rancid. Car companies, like Tesla, endangering drivers with exploding cars. Payday loans that steal from people.

Viewed in that greater context, Old Glory Bank's expressed concern for protecting their customers in any substantial way is hypocritical, and their overall mission amounts to little more than grandstanding on behalf of reich-wing identity politics. They may be fooling MAGAts, but they aren't fooling the rest of us.

"Anti-wokeness" is a growth industry
The marketing strategy for Old Glory Bank is rooted in two intertwining myths: (1) that the American reich holds the undisputed monopoly on patriotism, faith, support for liberty and freedom of speech, support for first responders and the military, concern about national security, and every other fine American value you could name; and (2) that because of their embrace of these stellar values, the reich are being grievously oppressed by the government, the courts, the media, Big Tech, the education system, and now, the financial system as well. In this garbled hero/martyr narrative, every aspect of American life has been "weaponized" against the good guys.

As it happens, Old Glory Bank wasn't the first bank to attempt to do the very thing they accuse big banks of doing: weaponizing the financial system. In late 2022, a banking startup called GloriFi collapsed before it had even begun. From Rolling Stone, November 21, 2022:

Pitching itself as a financial institution that allowed one to be “free to celebrate your love of God and country without fear of cancellation,” GloriFi’s marketing read more like a campaign ad than an enticing APR offer on a new credit card. Highlights from the “about us” page include: “OUR BILL OF RIGHTS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE” and “WE ARE ONE NATION UNDER GOD.” 

In its short tenure GloriFi, managed to launch checking and savings accounts as well as credit cards, with plans to offer mortgages and insurance in a future that will no longer take place. Founder and CEO Toby Neugebauer pitched plans to offer gun owners discounts on home insurance, credit cards made of shell casing material, and assistance paying legal bills if customers shot someone in self-defense. Over the summer, GloriFi secured conservative commentator Candace Owens as a co-founder and spokesperson for the brand. 

Wow... there are those gun-nut/ammosexual values again. These people are obsessed with their firearms. Alas, GloriFi was unable to put its real-world money where its grandstanding mouth was. Reported chaos among staff and financiers, and clashes with Texas financial regulators, caused it to miss its planned launch date several times. The drinking habits of Toby Neugebauer, who converted his Dallas mansion into the company headquarters, didn't help matters at all. In the end, GloriFi went down in a blaze of... well, not exactly glory.

But the idea of "anti-woke" banking just wouldn't die, and along came Old Glory, proudly waving its colors and its ideology. And it's not just banking that has captured the anti-woke crapitalist imagination. There is a whole parallel economy developing in America, composed of firms whose stated mission is to fight the perceived threat of "wokeness" -- you know, such devilish concepts as LGBTQ rights, racial and ethnic diversity and equality, reproductive autonomy for women, rational gun safety laws, acceptance of climate science, and so on.

But again... not surprising. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, fascists gotta fash.

Debunking the debanking narrative? Maybe it's just the algorithms
Reich-wing whining aside, there are plenty of reasons to hate big banks. I get it. At one time or another, many if not most consumers (me included) have been frustrated by banking policies and practices, such as outrageous fees for every activity or mistake; incomprehensible and seemingly arbitrary terms and conditions; lousy customer service; systemic racial bias in loan practices; big banks' support of predatory lenders; lack of transparency; data breaches; and on and on. And yes, banks have been known to close customers' accounts for reasons that don't make sense and/or that the banks refuse to divulge to bewildered account holders.

And, indeed, if any of the above-mentioned reich-wing whiners' accounts were closed solely because of their political beliefs or their faith, that is unacceptable, no matter how strongly I may disagree with those beliefs.

But from what I have seen so far, there is no hard evidence that right-wingers/conservatives/religious (translate: right-wing Christians) are being targeted for those reasons. What we have instead is only their own and their allies' anecdotal evidence, rooted, as always, in an intractable persecution complex.

More importantly, suffering consumers are not, in fact, limited to members of the conspicuously righteous reich. In recent years, banks have been suspending, restricting, or closing accounts belonging to a broad demographic of hapless consumers, oftentimes citing "suspicious activity" as a reason but refusing to offer the account holders any further explanation.

And while some may claim that attributing the arbitrary actions to "algorithms" is a convenient coverup for nefarious activities on the part of the banks, in many cases the problems may very well be rooted in algorithms, and exacerbated by confusing and conflicting laws and regulations as well as plain human incompetence. An article in the New York Times (April 8, 2023) went into these issues in some detail.

Whatever your opinion may be of the Times, the article is worth reading if you can get past the paywall. For those who can't, here's a Bing search results link to other resources.

But I really don't expect my little shout into the void to make any difference at all in the reich-wing persecution narrative, which has become such rich marketing/fundraising fodder not only for politicians and theocrats but also for "anti-woke" businesses such as Old Glory Bank. Reality is nuanced and complex, but marketing strategies almost never are. The ongoing attempt to repress the righteous is their story, and by golly, they're sticking to it.

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