Alluding to Hunter’s journey from lawyer to lobbyist to full-fledged crack addict to right-wing whipping boy, Berges concluded that “Hunter Biden’s story was the American story.”

As creators and consumers, educators and entertainers, whipping boys, final girls, sidekicks and suicides, queer people have, often invisibly, sometimes tragically, always forcefully shaped American culture, particularly through the prism of Hollywood.

Toyota’s faith in democratizing hybrid technology turned the company, once an environmental darling, into a whipping boy as it was widely accused of foot-dragging over electric vehicles.

"We have been described as the whipping boys of this group haven't we? Which we wouldn't have any other way," Sanderson added.

So over time, the kid from St. Louis — the one who grew up dreaming of playing for the Tigers — became the whipping boy of fans pining for their program to return to prominence.