Why aren’t there more burning Levi’s®?

In case you haven’t heard, Levi Strauss, a privately held company, has taken a stand on gun control.

And while social media was aflame with sizzling swooshes, very few were singing the 501 blues. Why? Why aren’t there more viral videos of people charring their chinos with outrage over another American company from a blue state sticking its nose where it “doesn’t belong?”

Here’s one theory.

Levi’s® are as much of a symbol of American freedom as the United States Flag itself. But that’s not all. The legendary brand is also an artifact of the American worker, not to mention the American Dream itself.

On the company’s About Us page, you’ll find this:

Brands build their equity in the hearts and minds of the people who buy them. And their value lives in the unconscious mind of the market. The place where decision-making begins.

Unconsciously, burning a pair of Levi’s® is akin to lighting the American Flag on fire. Something even the most staunch 2nd Amendment supporters would be loathe to do.

As fate would have it, Nike just so happened to ruffle the right’s feathers on the same day Levi’s® decided to announce that they would no longer “stand by silently” when it comes to gun control.

So, one of two things happened. Either very few, if any, people burned their Levi’s because they were too preoccupied with torching their “tennies.”

Or they did.

Silently.

While no one was watching.