One 'Tiny Prick' for Man and One Large Stitch for American Political Discourse
Political Discourse or Political Slander?
Political discourse has become a norm in society today as politicians direct slanderous comments towards one another more frequently. It is the mudslinging contest between politicians when campaigning or communicating with one another.
Slander is progressively becoming the focus of political debates as opposed to the points of view politicians should be representing within their campaigns. While Kennedy and Nixon had a more cordial way of expressing those views, Trump has taken centre stage with his insults and drastically changed the way politicians communicate.
(Top) The second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, October 9th, 2016. (Bottom) The fourth and final presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon, October 21st, 1960.
Politicians seem to be more focused on getting in the last word than they are about expressing their values and how they want to impact the lives of the people they ask to vote for them.
However optimistic we hope to hear our politicians being, we are being shown that negative and insulting comments gain more press than what the opposite would have.
Now twice-impeached President Donald J. Trump retweeted a now-deleted tweet in 2015 reading: “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
Twitter is an excellent example of how discourse can create more of a reaction than positive, essential dialog. Donald Trump has used this platform to insult and verbally abuse the opposition, former successors, and non-supporters alike.
Making headlines globally for his abusive and insensitive remarks, Trump took the lead on political discourse using it to enable his standpoints.
Over the course of the last four years, Twitter has become a battle ground for those brave enough to use it as a method of conveying their opinions– the more brutal the show, the more successful the comment.
This on its own sheds a huge light on the fact that discourse has become a battle of insults rather than a means of communicating valid view-points.
Hand Embroidered Quotes Making a Difference
Diana Weymar attends her Tiny Picks Project exhibit at the Lingua Franca in New York City, July 8th, 2019.
A global hand-embroidered quotes project has been trending. It is designed to open up the public's eyes and display the negative quotes circulating, specifically from politicians such as Donald Trump. Lead by artist and activist, Diana Weymar, these pieces aim to shed light on the dark side of political discourse.
In the past, embroidery was a popular form of protest among women where they would stitch messages into clothing as a form of protest to symbolize the signatures that were not allowed on an electoral roll. Embroidery as resistance can be seen in the work of the Artist’s Suffrage League in England. Between 1908 and 1918, the Artist’s Suffrage League created more than 150 protest banners. Their embroidered banners were created to support the women’s suffrage movement.
Decades later, embroidery is making yet another bold statement, and a significant comeback. Diana Weymar has set up an exhibition of hand-crafted messages embroidered onto fabric from women across the globe.
Her exhibition soared to success after she stitched the Donald Trump quote, "I am a very stable genius" in yellow thread onto a floral seat cushion from one of her grandmother's old sets and posted it on Instagram. The post went viral. Since then, hundreds of women globally have stitched their protests onto delicate materials and joined her art display called the Tiny Pricks Project. The display was most recently featured in Lingua Franca, New York.
Since her first quote, Diana has stitched 450 other Trump quotes onto material.
The Tiny Pricks project has brought to light the popularity of printed quotes. However, this not a new trend. Catchphrases and slogans have been printed on various materials such as t-shirts and mugs to popularize political messages that people are promoting, even before the project started.
A Humorous Play on What Really Matters
Americanisms are traditionally defined as a set of patriotic values that are set to create a collective American identity. Americanisms, however, have evolved to encompass different, oftentimes opposing values. Both the left and right ideologies have utilized them to promote messages. The left identifies more with progressive policies, such as environmentalism and multiculturalism, and the right with social conservatism, such as Christianity and family values.
Political parties have been at the forefront of creating these slogans, which the public has immortalized with printed items and memorabilia that mimic them with a humorous twist. This twist has created an industry on its own that has rocketed in success. These creations utilize humour, but in a small way, still critique the figures behind the statements.
Donald Trump has had a rough inauguration into this arena, with many of his statements being used as subject matter and inspiration for this art form. As much as the humour is seen in these slogans, the contributors of the Tiny Pricks Project are taking a stand against harmful political discourse.
Politicians' supporters traditionally back their candidate based on values and proposed plans for reform. They seek comfort in their decision to vote for a candidate in the hopes that this will bring about change.
Diana Weymar represents this sentiment in her collaboration of statements with global contributors. She highlights a side of the debate that many are not comfortable tackling by bringing the conversations to the forefront.
Patching it Together
America is starting to stand up and make a movement towards "patching together" the ideals and values they wish to be upheld and represented by their government.
As William H Taft said:
"Don't write so that you can be understood; write so that you can't be misunderstood."
At the peak of success of the Tiny Prick Project is allowing people from around the world to make their viewpoints known.
Embroidery patches satirize comments made by former President Trump about WikiLeaks.
The success of the woman-led Tiny Prick Project has the potential to open the world’s eyes. It has provided a space for women to have a voice and to set the tone. The project shows that leaders have gone off track in their campaigning process and change-making and politics can be more than insults and slander.