Life is hard, but it’s not yet hard enough. Democrats/socialists/communists (D/S/Cs) insist on making it harder by suddenly declaring innocuous, innocent cultural expressions evil. Remember when, circa 2019, the ubiquitous OK gesture was suddenly discovered to be a white supremacist “symbol of hate?” NPR—surprise!—was all over it, and it doesn’t matter if the gesturer knows it’s a “symbol of hate” either:

"Context is always key," Segal said. "More people than not will use the OK symbol as just 'OK.' But in those cases where there's more underlining meaning, I think it's important for people to understand that it could be used, and is being used, for hate as well."

This suddenly revelation of unconscious hatred took off in 2017 with this:

Graphic: Know your meme.com Screenshot

That’s right. It was a hoax, a joke making fun of the perpetually aggreived, but humorless D/S/Cs, people who take themselves far too seriously, bought it hook, line and sinker, and it has since become a part of their secular, political, weaponized faith. Of course, Donald Trump—the root of all contemporary evil--is involved in spreading this unconscious hatred. Take the link to see just how lunatic such things quickly become.  

Circa September, 2024, the D/S/C faithful have a new object of hate: Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Guy. You didn’t know he’s a Nazi sympathizer and booster? Wait a minute: Isn’t Lindell a Christian, and isn’t he also a conservative?  Yes, and that’s a large part of the problem. D/S/Cs hate those guys, and girls and all the other genders if they’re conservative and Christian.

Graphic: My Pillow Screenshot

Lindell, also a capitalist, is running a promotion, selling his famous My Pillow for $14.88. Full disclosure: I’ve been sleeping on his product for years, and highly recommend it. Normal Americans, seeing that price, are likely to snap up a few, which is what such a reasonable price point is designed to encourage. Normal people would see nothing evil in that, however, as John Belushi used to say: but nooooooooooo!

The sale price is less than a third of the pillow’s usual $49.98 — and an amalgam of two pairs of numbers closely tied to white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups, Newsweek noted.

The number 14 is part of “The 14 Words,” a phrase coined by white supremacist David Lane that claims, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. The number 88, meanwhile, is used to represent “Heil Hitler” — as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, the organization added.

So the more “8s” the more you’re praising Hitler? Didn’t you know that? Didn’t you know “14” and “88” are secret Nazi dogwhistles? Don’t feel badly. WalMart doesn’t know it:

Graphic: WalMart Screenshot

And neither did Lindell:

“I have no idea what this is all about,” Lindell maintained, adding that the 88 cents is simply a price point often used by companies like Walmart.

The followers of Pythagoras believed everything could be explained through numbers. While modern Americans appreciate the application of mathematics to the real world, they don’t see hidden meaning in a number or group of numbers, with the probable exception of 666, which has a specific, biblical origin and meaning. Not so with D/S/Cs, who find all manner of evil in the mere existence of Normal Americans:

Even if Lindell was not responsible, the price is a “disturbing wink at Nazis,” according to Seth Cotlar, a history professor at Willamette University in Oregon

“I doubt Lindell is behind this or would even get the reference, but that doesn’t really matter,” Cotlar wrote on Bluesky.

Of course it “doesn’t really matter.” “Guilty until they prove themselves innocent” is a matter of faith for such people. It allows them to virtue signal, while simultaneously labeling their enemies—Normal Americans who aren’t even aware of them and just want to be left alone—and forcing them to defend themselves against ludicrous accusations.

Why are sale items $19.99 or $14.88? Mathematics. Retailers come up with such figures because they psychologically encourage people to buy, and because the math, designed to maintain a certain, minimum profit margin—they’re much lower than most imagine—spits out those figures.

As for me, I’ll snuggle into bed tonight with my My Pillow, bought at a higher, presumably non-Nazi, price years ago. And as I drift off to a sound, happy sleep, I’ll briefly contemplate buying another—or two—at $14.88, just to annoy people like Cotlar. Pleasant dreams.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.