A picture is worth a thousand words
What is it that you see in this photograph? It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Certainly this one is no exception. Do you see something sinister? Chilling? Authoritarian? Familiar in the pose?
I do.
Here is the pose:
The picture will soon be rendered into a thousand different images, as is befitting the leader of an authoritarian cult of personality. It will be adorned on t-shirts, flags, banners and enormous signs. The last curtain on America’s barely hidden fascist party has been fully lifted. The image is a portrait of menace and thuggery. It lacks dignity and grace. It is the remnant from Trump’s putsch. What it captures perfectly is the essence of his poisonous nature. Every image has an opposite, and here is that for Trump:
The Trump image is a promise. The promise is dictatorship and the death of the republic.
It is an ugly image from a hideous figure in an ugly moment at the end of an ugly era. It is simultaneously appalling and captivating.
Here is the mighty leader of the MAGA movement in his full glory. “Heil Trump!” indeed.
The image that is soon to become ubiquitous as a sign of MAGA loyalty has a perfect pairing. It is this:
Of course this followed Mike Pence squinting into the camera holding back crocodile tears as he described choosing against participating in Trump’s subversion of the US Constitution. Mike Pence preserved it, yet Mike Pence is for four more years. It is ludicrous beyond any measure. In fact, it’s clinical and borderline psychotic. What is wrong with him as “a Christian, a conservative or Republican, in that order?”
It is madness. All of it. What FOX aired looked like an approximation of the “Hunger Games” kick-off from Panem with less worthy competitors. It is predictable, shocking and disturbing, while simultaneously being banal, stupid and unwatchable. We can certainly apply Thomas Paine’s words to this: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” It is despicable.
There isn’t a lot more to say about this picture, but I want to hear from you. I want to know when and where you see one on a flag, shirt or other piece of memorabilia.
I urge you to embrace a different symbol. We share its tragedies, triumphs, failures, possibilities, hope and future.
E Pluribus unum.
I see a whiney little bitch, practiced posing, a horrible, indulged baby, scared out of his wits. We’ve got this; we can kick his ass next November. We’ve got Lady Liberty on our side.
Trump's orange glare scares me.
Really. He epitomizes rage, the merciless rage just before a very violent act, showing a human being at his absolute worst. If I were there in front of him, I would back up; if I were a policeman called in to deal with this monster, I'd start using my soft skills and command voice and be ready for the worst. This guy is locked and loaded; he ain't playing. No more Mr. Nice Guy. His Mr. Hyde is on full display, all systems go.
This portrait could be the poster child for Anger Management classes. You certainly don't want this guy in any position of power, because he's out of his mind with anger, vengeance, and preparing for extreme violence.
It truly is way scarier than, say, the face of Frankenstein or Dracula. It's more in the vein of the wolfman, the creature in "Alien" without his helmet on. So, on one level, in one way, it's a major feat: Trump has shown us man at his worst; the mask is off. No human will ever surpass the negative effect of this one photo; thus, it's a classic, an epic experience -- a monster in a business suit. Yet tens of millions of Americans see beauty in this evil image. Which makes the whole thing astronomically scarier.