I still think that panel is where his art peaked. It’s just perfect.
just like yesterday, but 16 YEARS AGO
ShivaX
3993
I mean it’s Jacobin, but still.
This thread could be nonstop accelerationist bullshit from Jacobin forever. Meh.
ShivaX
3995
True. But we still mention the Federalist when they go too far off the map.
Sure. And, I mean, thread title. I’m just personally, particularly over radical lefty accelerationist bullshit after 2020.
Nesrie
3998
He wore a coat and mittens. Maybe someone from San Francisco doesn’t really have a leg to stand on when it come to what people wear when it’s cold.
Also a good example of the old “if the headline is a question…” chestnut.
Makes you wonder if the rule applies to everyone/everything ugly? Does lack of fashion sense count as ‘crimes against humanity’? Bonus points ×10 for New Balance sneakers, ×100 for ‘socks and sandals’, and ×1,000,000 for Duck Dynasty beard.
I mean…it is true that one largely unexamined (by men, women are all to aware of it) privilege that men hold is the ability to disregard their appearance. Just ask any woman who works in an office about the pressure they feel to wear make up on a regular basis. This is also generally true of white men, whereas minorities often have to (or feel they have to) present as such to ensure that everybody knows they belong. Mark Zuckerberg choosing to wear a hoodie and jeans every day is another notable example of this: he’s able to do this because he knows that people will interpret this as a personal quirk rather than slovenliness. A black CEO, even in tech, probably does not have this freedom. So, I’m sympathetic to the argument. I’m sure many other attendees at the inauguration would have loved to dress so casually, but felt pressure due both the the specific occasion and from a lifetime of having such lessons about using their clothing to demonstrate their status and that they belong.
However, of course, in Bernie’s particular case, it’s more an expression of both the cultural milieu of Vermont, as well as his irascible grandpa persona. If he had worn a standard wool overcoat like most other men there, nobody would have seen that as unusual either. While it’s undoubtedly true that Bernie has likely benefited from this privileges throughout his career, calling him on it now, in this context is…well, a forest/trees situation, I think.
I do believe it’s true that Bernie became a meme and cause celebre from this outfit, whereas a black woman wearing the same thing would have been excoriated for “not respecting the importance of the event.” And also would have been challenged roughly 20x as often to show her ticket to make sure she belonged there (well, at a normal event with more normal levels of security).
Calling people out to examine privilege is never a bad thing per se. So like, it’s not wrong. But it’s like the 3000th thing on my list to get upset about, personally.
Nesrie
4002
A woman would have been slammed, read decimated, for slouching like that. But this seems to be a criticism about what he is wearing. It looks like basic trousers there, slacks, everything else is covered in mittens and a coat which is… I mean there is nothing weird about it. Just because Obama got slammed for the color of his well-fitted clothes doesn’t mean we’re supposed to slam an older gentleman trying to get warm. I mean… Bernie is old. If he wants to break out a packet on little hotties on TV, I say go for it.
I mean this in good faith, so hopefully I’m not being (too much of) an asshole here:
Would a 79-year-old woman be slammed or otherwise reduced to a tenth of herself for slouching thus? I feel like this is a thing where e.g. AOC would have absolutely eaten a ton of shit if a similar photo of her had made the rounds, whereas like Susan Collins or whatever wouldn’t face the same thing much less Feinstein.
In conclusion, fuck the GOP.
Nesrie
4004
I get your skepticism. Let’s not forget Hillary and Warren are not young women and how often do people make remarks about their appearances?
I see no scenario where Susan Collins slouches in a chair on a stage and that suddenly turns into a meme that isn’t meant to humiliate her.
Fucking bailed the joke. I meant “reduced by one-tenth of herself.” I’m never going to make it into Pedant Valhalla like this.
Eh, you’re probably right. Though I would further argue that Bernie’s persona is very much that of the cranky old man at this point, which is what makes the whole meme work so well. I doubt that idk Mike Pence would get the same reaction. Anyway.
All that aside, reducing the existence of Susan Collins ten percent at a time until her self asymptotically approaches the Platonic idea of zero would be a net gain to the Republic.
Nesrie
4006
Pence is just past 60. Bernie is almost 80. I mean you’re right. There are not a lot of old men in our government out there that can plop his ass in a chair, just sort of lean out, cross his arms and due to some mittens go viral like that. The thing is, I personally wouldn’t blame very many in that up there age group that just wants to be warm and isn’t. At almost 80, I don’t blame him for not really caring what others might think.
I think it’s hilarious that someone from San Francisco would even make a remark about someone who looks cold because… they currently live in San Francisco! Also, yeah he can get away with it because of his age, his sex and yeah probably less criticism because he’s white but that’s not why he is huddled there looking cold. He’s huddled there looking cold because he’s cold.
Yep that article belongs here.
ShivaX
4007
I know people from LA think that if the temp is cold enough to freeze water it’s the end of the world.
I’m like: “Shit, I don’t even zip up my coat for that, and I’m wearing a t-shirt under it.”
