The internet can be a powerful tool for connecting people, but it can also incite division. This is something that viral singing sensation Oliver Anthony recently discussed in a Facebook posting, in which he reflected on his newfound fame and lamented the divided state of the internet.
???? JUST IN: Breakout Country Music Star Oliver Anthony Has Turned Down Offers As High As $8,000,000 Since Going Viral!
HE’S REFUSING TO LET THEM CONTROL HIM!
???? “These Rich Men North of Richmond – Lord Knows They All Just Wanna Have Total Control” ????
GOD BLESS THIS MAN! pic.twitter.com/nZlCkaRDFA
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) August 18, 2023
“Rich Men North of Richmond,” Anthony’s song about Washington’s greed and working-class woes like suicide, despair, high taxation, and low pay, rocketed into viral fame this month after being recorded on his Virginia farmland. In his post, Anthony expressed surprise at becoming so well-known; he described himself as “just some idiot and his guitar.”
In light of all the attention around him now, Anthony reflected on what he read through emails and messages: an honest picture of widespread addiction, unemployment, anxiety, and hopelessness among many people who have reached out to him since then. He said:
Mainstream journalists say there's nothing authentic about Oliver Anthony and his hit song, "Rich Men North Of Richmond." In truth, there's nothing authentic about mainstream journalists. They spread propaganda, demand censorship, and smear everyone they disagree with as racists pic.twitter.com/pWG32gD7Jl
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) August 18, 2023
“I’m sitting in such a weird place in my life right now…I never wanted to be a full-time musician much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts…People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers…I don’t want 6 tour buses 15 tractor trailers or a jet….”
Anthony went on to discuss his past employment experiences—from living hell at a paper mill in North Carolina to fracturing his skull—and how they ultimately led him back home to Virginia where he currently lives on family farmland inside a 27-foot camper with tarp for roofing over it. From 2014 until this year he worked in sales for industrial manufacturing where he got to know thousands of blue-collar workers firsthand.
This guy might end up being the real dealhttps://t.co/8uspcyDgdv
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 18, 2023
In addition to reflecting on these experiences—both good and bad—Anthony used this platform as an opportunity as a call to action for others: use your right to freedom of speech & never let it be taken away!
“I’ve spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated,” he wrote. “There’s nothing special about me. I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person. I’ve spent the last five years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it’s in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away.
“That being said, I HATE the way the Internet has divided all of us. The Internet is a parasite, that infects the minds of humans and has their way with them. Hours wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses with each other distracted all day by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweat shops in a foreign land.”
“Just like those once wandering in the desert, we have lost our way from God and have let false idols distract us and divide us. It’s a damn shame,” he wrote.
