I am beyond excited at the prospect of a former prosecutor debating a current felon on Sept. 10, if Trump doesn’t wuss out. Kamala Harris has said she thinks “the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage, and so I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Split screen.” Yesssss pleeease.
If the vice-presidential debate back in 2020 is any indication, this will be a goldmine for us hand-makers. That upstaging fly on Mike Pence’s hair! Kamala Harris’s pearly manicured nails flashing as she raised her hand in that just-stop gesture! Those unforgettable two words, “I’m speaking”!
Immediately following that debate I started needling at those two words in a frilly font and fly-swatter in a raised fist. My socials were filling up with other joyful handmade responses while the entire Biden-for-president campaign capitalized on those words and that insect. “Truth Over Flies” collectible Democrat-blue fly-swatters were offered for $10 on the official campaign website, and the candidate himself posed for pics with a fly-swatter.
“Split screen.” Yesssss pleeease.
If the vice-presidential debate back in 2020 is any indication, this will be a goldmine for us hand-makers. That upstaging fly on Mike Pence’s hair! Kamala Harris’s pearly manicured nails flashing as she raised her hand in that just-stop gesture! Those unforgettable two words, “I’m speaking”!
Immediately following that debate I started needling at those two words in a frilly font and fly-swatter in a raised fist. My socials were filling up with other joyful handmade responses while the entire Biden-for-president campaign capitalized on those words and that insect. “Truth Over Flies” collectible Democrat-blue fly-swatters were offered for $10 on the official campaign website, and the candidate himself posed for pics with a fly-swatter.
"I'm Speaking," 2020, created in the days after a momentous vice-president debate. (Carlyn Yandle art and photo)
Political satire created by everyone from cupcake-bakers to news-media cartoonists and comedy writers speaks truth to power and offers levity in the face of fear. At the moment, JD Vance, that loose cannon of a Republican vice-president candidate, is serving up some rich fodder for more joyful resistance.
There are some grand, slick responses to misogyny, racism and authoritarianism but I gravitate to the simple, individual gestures that meet hate with heart, like the sousaphone player who used tactical frivolity to ridicule a KKK rally in South Carolina:
I’m Speaking is now in the possession of a friend, a professional who has endured hot air from the higher-ups her entire working life. Hanging this craft in her corporate offices would be a red flag — risky, even four years later. I appreciate that potency. I also appreciate every woman who has spoken up for what is right even as they’re shut down.
Kamala Harris never needed to find her voice; it was always there; she just needed high-level support to be heard. She’s coming through loud and clear, with none of the nice-girl qualifiers and question marks that women have had to use to keep the menfolk calm.
I’m Speaking is now in the possession of a friend, a professional who has endured hot air from the higher-ups her entire working life. Hanging this craft in her corporate offices would be a red flag — risky, even four years later. I appreciate that potency. I also appreciate every woman who has spoken up for what is right even as they’re shut down.
Kamala Harris never needed to find her voice; it was always there; she just needed high-level support to be heard. She’s coming through loud and clear, with none of the nice-girl qualifiers and question marks that women have had to use to keep the menfolk calm.
A stitched appeal/demand during the Trump presidency, 2018, with visual references to Bread and Roses. (Carlyn Yandle art and photo)
