Many less intelligent people can be found wearing Reagon apparel, especially in my generation, the generation that never had to suffer his rule. It’s the one time I agree with notions that Gen Z as a whole is somehow inferior or dumber than previous generations.

Let’s start with his domestic policy. People thought Trump responded badly to a virus, but he’s got nothing on Reagan. During the AIDs epidemic, Reagon completely ignored the hundreds of thousands of people who died, addressing the disease only once, during his second term, when he proposed slashing funds for research.

If his homophobia wasn’t bad enough, let’s talk about his racism. He continued the Nixon administration’s war on drugs, which was designed to arrest mass numbers of anti-war hippies and Black people. He once called delegates from Tanzania “monkeys uncomfortable wearing shoes,” and if that’s not the most bigoted thing, I don’t know what is.

One point the Reagan fandom claims is that he was good for the economy. He raised the  GDP by an average of  3.6 percent per year. However, he went against his supposed beliefs. Reagan claimed he wanted to reduce government spending, but his actions prove otherwise as he tripled the national debt and set the trend of mass spending. While Reagan caused a slightly higher GDP growth than average, he also raised the poverty rates by thinking of companies over people.

Reaganomics does not work for the working class. A company can make a product for less, but this didn’t cause companies to pay their employees more the way Reagan claimed they would. Instead, the company just makes more profit and leaves less government money that could go towards helping the poor. Further proof he cared nothing about the poor was when asked about homelessness, he said they “make it their own choice for staying out there.” Homeless people, choosing to stay out there. Say that slowly.

All in all, Reagan was a lousy president, a bigot, and just a horrible person. He does not deserve the canonization the dumber members of my generation bestow upon him.