Ted Nugent Rails Against Thanksgiving Attendance Restrictions

The global pandemic has provided many challenges throughout 2020, the latest of which is how to address the mass family gatherings at Thanksgiving during a period in which social distancing is of utmost health importance. Several states have tried to enact limitations on the number of people that can gather safely within homes, but rocker Ted Nugent has questioned the move.

In a recent Spirit Campfire Internet show, Nugent shared his thoughts on the restrictions, offering, "There are dirty, rotten, soulless bastards in positions of power that are trying to tell us how we can celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. We need to escape that ugliness — not turn our back on it, because we need to raise hell and let our mayors and our governors and our senators and congressmen know: you can't tell me how many people I have at Thanksgiving. Just shut the [expletive]. You're not in charge of my Thanksgiving. We are in charge of our Thanksgiving. You've got to express that to those people."

He continued, "If everybody out there in America wants to be the ultimate 'we the people' and experiment the ultimate self-government, express yourself firmly. You don't scream; you don't swear at 'em. I'm tempted to, but I don't. But I make sure they answer my questions. And if they don't, I tell 'em I'll call 'em back later. 'It's two o'clock on Monday. You can't answer this question now. How about if I call you on Wednesday at two o'clock? Because I'm not gonna let you off the hook. You're gonna answer these questions or I'm gonna spread the word that you're a power abuser and we're gonna fire you."

As COVID-19 infection rates continue to spike, governors in several states have placed a 10-person limit on family gatherings, while other states have offered even stricter gathering regulations. There are also some states that have merely urged their citizens not to host Thanksgiving gatherings at all out of health concerns.