Anti-Obama sentiment

Recently, we took my mother-in-law to DC. We usually don't go to tourist shops unless we need to make change but on this trip we found ourselves hitting the tourist shops in Alexandria, VA in search of souvenirs my mother-in-law could take back home. Now, in general, Northern Virginia is not as rabidly conservative or anti-government as other parts of the South are. However, even on this trip, even in the tourist shops, the anti-Obama sentiment could be seen.

The first place we went into, Old Town Trading Post, is your typical souvenir shop. Everything made in China, including the 'rah-rah America' stuff. There was quite a bit of anti-liberal and anti-Obama kitsch available for purchase. Lots of "Don't Blame Me, I voted for McCain" bumper stickers and "Friends don't let friends vote Democrat" t-shirts could be found here. I didn't see any anti-conservative/Republican or pro-liberal/Democrat products. But it's a kitsch shop and the owner had some clear political views. Being a part of the South, I was not surprised. What they didn't have, and what my mother-in-law was looking for, was a coffee mug that said "Alexandria, VA," so we moved on.

We found the Virginia Shop just off of King Street and were sure that we would find something to meet her needs there. They also sold wine, and we were hoping to find a bottle from the Fox Meadow Winery. My mother-in-law doesn't follow American politics closely (she lives in Mexico) and I found her looking at three shelves of "Don't Tread on Me" merchandise. I explained to her that this was the logo of the Tea Party. Since there was a guy wearing a confederate flag t-shirt within earshot, I made a point to state that, "They don't like people like us. You know, immigrants. Especially Mexicans." He and his wife did turn to look at us. I smiled at them and continued to browse the wines. Again, we left empty handed.

Finally, we went into the America! store. This is where you will find all things to "Express the Pride and Spirit of America!" There were Obama bobble heads and "Hail to Chef" aprons. You can buy your "official" White House ornament here. You can also buy Spy Museum merchandise, as well as hats and t-shirts that say FBI or CIA on it (interestingly, I didn't see any ICE or Homeland Security products). And even here there was anti-Obama merchandise for sale. In addition to the "Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Vote for Change" bumper stickers, there were t-shirts with GW Bush on it that said, "Miss me yet?" and coffee mugs that said, "NOPE" in which the "O" was Obama's campaign logo.

It struck me that even in this place, which was all about celebrating the US (through Chinese made merchandise), you could not get away from the anti-liberal/ anti-Obama sentiment. On their website the owners claim that they are not affiliated with any political group and that they present a variety of "satirical" merchandise for sale. And through the website you can purchase a "Stop the insanity" t-shirt which shows Sarah Palin turning into Edvard Munch's The Scream. That was not available in the Alexandria, VA store. What was available in the store was the Sarah Palin bobble-head.

All of this made me wonder whether there were similar anti-Bush merchandise available during the Bush years. I wonder what kind of satirical merchandise America! sold, if any, during that time. I don't remember walking into a souvenir shop during the Bush era and seeing that kind of thing. But we don't frequent these kinds of places. So I looked at the America! store website through the internet archives.

Between 2006 and early 2008, I did find some of what could be considered anti-Bush merchandise. There was a book of photo ops gone awry focusing on Bush, one on Bushisms, and Bushwhacked by Molly Ivans and Lou Dubose. Munch's The Scream appears on a t-shirt that says "Bush, 3 more years". They also sold the Bush countdown calendar (counting down to his leaving office). Most of these were found in 2007, right as election season was beginning to gear up. In 2006 (the just after the mid-term election), there were four items that could be considered anti-Bush. There are currently eight anti-Obama items available on the website, including one that implies that Obama is the one responsible for the bank bailouts.

It seems like there is a larger market for anti-liberal/anti-Obama merchandise, even in slightly left of center Northern Virginia. I do wonder why. Perhaps liberals just don't go in for that kind of thing. I know I would not waste $13 on a countdown calendar not matter how much I wanted Bush out of office (although I will admit to having bought a Bush-Pants-On-Fire doll for a present and kept one for myself). Certainly racism (conscious and unconscious) is a factor in some part of the opposition to Obama as president, but how much of this latent racial bias is fueled by a corporate media that feeds on sensationalism?

I left one of my favorite Southern cities feeling a little bit uneasy. I know that merchants will sell whatever people will buy. I guess it bothers me that people will buy that stuff. But I don't think having liberals buy anti-conservative products to wear, stick on their car, or use as a pencil holder in their office is the right response. The question is, what is the right response?