Monday, February 25, 2019

Background: "Machine Gun in Clown's Hand"

I'm grateful to have spent the Bush years in San Francisco, where he was rightfully despised. 

Rarely was I subjected to some bonehead on a bar stool saying they supported W. because he seemed to be a likable enough guy, or a chickenhawk who ranted about the need to go after terrorists in Iraq, let alone a single person who supported his push for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

A year before the invasion of Iraq I moved to the Mission District, where Bush had gotten about 5% of the vote in the 2000 election, roughly 1/3rd as many votes as Ralph Nader. Most people in the neighborhood were aware of just how bad things were for the state of American democracy, as anti-Bush graffiti filled public spaces and anti-Bush conversations were common fare at bars and coffee shops. 

The "Machine Gun" exhibit was suggested to me by another editor at Getunderground.com, so I checked it out with my ex, an art major who educated me on some of the finer aesthetic details on display. I came away from the experience feeling enriched, my feelings of anxiety and hope about the imminent election increased. My only regret is that I didn't take pictures to save this wonderful exhibit for posterity. 

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