Long before he ran for president, Donald Trump received numerous awards from the NAACP and other such groups. At one point, he had a black girlfriend for two years. Yet, the nanosecond that he circulated his MAGA hats, standing for “Make America Great Again,” those on the left called him a racist.
Always the Worst Interpretation
Congress representatives such as AOC said that America was never great. Making America great again was attacked by the Left as referring to when white people ruled, and black people were subservient. MAGA suddenly meant ‘make the white majority supreme and keep minorities down.’ Do everything you can to return to the days of Jim Crow, redlining, and prejudice!
Trump had no inkling that anyone would stumble over the phrase, “Make America Great Again.” It was his vision that every citizen who wanted to participate could be part of a glorious future.
Leftists would have none of that. From inauguration day on January 20, 2017, and then beyond, women on the Left protested the Trump administration and G.O.P. policy by wearing what some have called “pussy” hats. Perhaps the protesters who wore these hats, in the shape of female genitalia, thought that somehow they brought appropriate attention to their cause.
The Wrong Kind of Attention
Whatever attention it does bring, is not the sort that they necessarily seek. Where is the gravitas in wearing a pussy hat? Can you take someone seriously who dons a hat that symbolizes the middle part of the female body?
Suppose that men were marching to generate greater attention on, say, prostate cancer. Would they gain advocates by wearing hats that appeared to be symbolic of male genitalia? Would people regard them in earnest? Would their message have a strong impact? Or would their hats be a distraction?
Clearly, people wear hats intended to invoke a particular reaction. If one accepts that symbology has an impact, then any fool with any kind of hat only needs to wear it. If the D.C. pussy hat wearers thought that they were making an impact, they had only to look to history to see that the hats were both inappropriate and unnecessary.
Some of the most effective messages in our history occurred in Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963 didn't resort to props as he appealed to the nation. His words were powerful, his logic was simple, and his emotional impact was strong.
A Unified Message
If the D.C. pussy hat wearers had had a unified, coherent message, then donning such hats did not help. Their hats spoke louder than their words. Other than Madonna dreaming about blowing up the White House, can anyone recall their words?
Can anyone recite any selected verses uttered that day? Were any messages of eloquence included in any editions of Vital Speeches or other speech compilations? Did any speech make it into textbooks? Did anything say get taught in classrooms? Will speech coaches employ the words spoken that day to demonstrate rhetoric skills? Do students in debate clubs reflect on such words?
The answer in all these cases is no.
Suppose a speaker is coming to your group to deliver a message. You're not sure of the content, but you know it will be political. You're eager to attend. The speaker shows up and as she's introduced and delivers her message she's wearing a pussy hat. Honestly, can you say that her impact is as great as it would have been without the ridiculous adornment?
Simple Hats
The vital difference between MAGA hats and pussy hats is that MAGA hats are baseball caps with lettering that make a statement. Both men and women wear them. There are no sexual organs or innuendos involved.
The same is true for those wearing baseball caps with other messages. “Let's Go Brandon,” which is meant to mock Joe Biden, offers a message on the front of the cap. If you remove the lettering or cover it, you have an everyday baseball cap.
The only message that lasts from the protest on January 20, 2017, is that a large gathering of women who sought to make an impact beclowned themselves. What symbology will they employ for the 2024 election?
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