Walmart shoppers bursting into Star-Spangled Banner on 4 July divides internet
Group of strangers filmed singing together in middle of shop’s ‘fresh produce’ aisle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A “very patriotic scene” showing Walmart shoppers bursting into the Star-Spangled Banner over 4 July weekend has divided the internet.
The short clip, posted by the user raised..right shows a group of strangers bursting out spontaneously in the middle of Walmart’s “fresh produce” aisle.
“God bless Texas and God bless the USA!,” the TikToker wrote in a caption alongside the video, during which the shoppers hold their hands to their chest.
“Someone started singing the National Anthem and people joined in,” the user added.
Following the impromptu anthem, all the participants burst out into applause before heading back to their own errands
The clip quickly gained attention on social media, having been watched over 1.2 million times and liked nearly 200,000 since it was posted on Sunday.
However, the clip divided audiences, with some people calling the video “peak American” while others called it a “beautiful” moment.
“A bunch of white people singing the national anthem in a Walmart next to a stack of Mountain Dew is peak American,” one person said, before adding: “And no, that’s not a compliment…”
“I would rather eat a lightbulb than stand in a Walmart and sing the national anthem,” another person said.
However, others appreciated the sentiment behind the video with author Brigitte Gabriel saying she got “chills” while watching the clip. “This is absolutely beautiful, we need more moments like this!”, she posted.
Others noted that the patriotism felt intimidating with one saying it would have “scared the s***” out of them. “This is white culture lol,” another person added underneath. “Singing the National anthem in a Walmart or chic fil a”.
Others criticised Walmart itself, saying if the If business wanted to be “patriotic they could try treating their employees better, paying them enough to get off food stamps, buying American more often, and supporting local businesses more”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments