Grumpy Old Man Wins on Inauguration Day
Written January 24, 2021
Last Wednesday, at noon eastern time, Joe Biden officially became President of the United States. Kamala Harris officially became the first woman, black, and south asian Vice President of the United States. And Donald Trump has officially left office, though he was likely already back in Florida by that time. Harris made history breaking a glass ceiling for women and PoC, Trump made history by running away. This was the first inauguration in 150 or so years that the outgoing President was not there to welcome the incoming President.
But, the day was bright and cold in Washington, and the fashion was all about the coats and monochrome outfits. Dr. Jill Biden was decked out in an ocean blue, Vice President Harris wore a royal purple, former First Lady Michelle Obama won the envy and admiration of everyone in beautiful head to toe burgundy. Amanda Gorman recited her incredible poem in a sunny yellow coat, and her twists in a bun with a bright red headband, and a number of other politicians and their families had amazing outfits, all appropriate for the occasion.
But then, we get the best thing to come out of the inauguration ceremony. The one thing that took over social media for the next few days. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) in his army green overcoat, blue surgical face mask, and those massive brown knit mittens, carrying a manila folder. The coat, from a Vermont based company, was also worn in his much memed “I am once again asking you…” campaign ad from last year. The mittens were made by a Vermont schoolteacher from old sweaters and fleece made from plastic bottles. She sent them to Sanders a couple years ago. While there were a few pictures of Bernie that spread with captions, the most meme-able image was of him sitting in the folding chair, legs crossed, arms crossed, looking very much cold and curmudgeonly, and extremely the Bernie we all know and love.
That image of curmudgeon Bernie in the chair became photoshopped into nearly every possible scenario. He was on the Iron Throne, commanding the Enterprise, became part of Schitt’s Creek, Sex and the City, Friends, Hamilton, Forrest Gump, The Breakfst Club, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, various famous works of art, you name it there is a picture of Bernie in a chair photoshopped in. People have already embroidered and crocheted the image as well. The meme spread like wildfire across every social media platform, followed by memes about the meme, like a cartoon tweeted by The Oatmeal. Suddenly, Bernie was everywhere.
Of course, this was not the only meme to come out of the inauguration. There were some about Trump leaving, some about other attendees, in particular one of Michelle Obama as a Jedi. But the Bernie memes most definitely took over. Part of the reason, besides his popularity among people who are online a lot, is that the image is entirely who Bernie is. He is practical, wearing warm clothes on a cold day, ready to get back to work, and not at all concerned with the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony. We relate to him because he looks like all of us, cold, tired, ready to go home.
There is also a level of wholesomeness to it that is much needed after so many years of tumultuous news, and a day of calls for unity without talk of accountability. In fact, the wholesomeness was piled on by Bernie when he took the image, put it on a sweatshirt,and sold it online for $45, with 100% of the proceeds going towards Meals on Wheels Vermont. It is currently sold out, with a note that it will be 4-8 weeks to deliver “due to overwhelming demand”. That is certainly using your popularity for good.
While this inauguration was historic in many ways, and may be remembered for a variety of reasons, let’s hope the craze of the Bernie meme, and the joy and fun it brought with it remains one of those reasons.
Resources:
Colorful coats rule Inauguration Day 2021 fashion
Dr. Ellen Alexander on Twitter: Inaugural Outfits as Gemstones: A thread
Bernie Sanders inauguration memes are liberal comfort food
Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton wear purple at inauguration
Joe Biden's Inauguration Day, in photos
Bernie Sanders Chair Sweatshirt
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