In a recent letter to the editor of The Union, reader Timothy Jensen failed to find any humor in my satirical cartoon advertising Donald Trump Jackboots, describing it as “trashy” and “intellectually inept”.
I can only respond by pointing out that my inspiration comes from the former president’s statements and some of those by his supporters. In my travels around the county I see quite a few Trump signs. A few are too graphic to be described in a family newspaper, but there was one that really grabbed my attention.
TRUMP OR DEATH
What’s the message here? Does the person who posted it expect to perish if Mr. Trump loses, or is it the promise of violence if Mr. Biden wins?
Obviously, this person is channeling the famous speech by Patrick Henry and his closing declaration of “give me liberty or give me death”, but fails to acknowledge that he was railing against monarchy versus democracy and not winning or losing a fair election.
If it’s victory or death, then maybe my cartoon isn’t as intellectually inept as Mr. Jensen suggests.
Or maybe it’s just political hyperbole. After all, that’s how the MAGA crowd dismisses the daily illiberal utterances of the former chief executive.
I checked out the URL listed at the bottom of that banner and found it to be a source of, in their own words, “Trump Swag” with no blatant indication of violent intent. That 5′ by 3′ banner is included in their ample array of available products and can be had for a mere $19.99.
You’d hardly expect a business to openly advocate the violent overthrow of the government. It’s the people who buy the product that worry me. Like the letter says, are they serious or just trash talking?
If Trump loses in November and the vote is really close, the National Guard better be on alert.