MFGA: Make Fashion Great Again

MAGA hats, thought of by some as symbols of patriotism and nationalistic pride, representing an unspecified time in American history when everything was great, have swept across the USA over the last four or so years like a great fever, driven by the passion of the last President's supporters. But now with a new President in town, isn't it time these caps, which have come to represent so much that is wrong in the world, also find their place in the history books, or better yet, the bin?

Now, I must preface this with a quick fact; I am not American. I come at this issue as someone outside the bubble of what it's really like on the ground over there. I have a pretty good idea, what with the constant stream of news, or what at least used to be constant, when drama after drama billowed out of the Whitehouse at breakneck speed, followed by a late night Twitter rant that broke the internet. I have never seen a MAGA hat in person because it would be absolutely ridiculous where I'm from. But, what I have seen is that American culture and ideals spread across the face of the planet faster than anyone can follow, especially in countries with similar demographics, like mine. The ideas that propelled the hat into stardom, and brought it down to the dirt, are alive and well in the world today and they won't go away soon unless we actively do something about it - like ditching these hates, I mean, hats. See what I did there?

From an outsider's perspective then, the hat represents white power and white supremacy, toxic nationalism bleeding into fascism, anti-intellectualism, and general disdain for anyone not from the USA. It didn't always represent these things, and in the beginning, sure, it was relatively benign. Few could have predicted the tumor it would become. The power of words is incredible. From a trusted source, like a President, people flock to them, eager to listen and become vested megaphones themselves. They disregard other information because their trusted source is someone like them, someone on the outside fighting against a broken system, someone who won't let them down. Or so the story went.

When those words started targeting groups, minorities, individuals, the media, whoever disagreed or happened to be an easy target at the time, followers jumped on those words. And so, the meaning of the hat started to change. It didn't say 'Make America Great Again'. It said, 'Make America a place where Group A isn't welcome, or Person B is shunned and ridiculed'. To be fair, other leaders all over the world do similar things, so what makes this any different? Good question. It's the consistency of the messages and the actual language itself. These groups weren't just targets, they were 'enemies'. And what do you do with enemies? Fight them. Destroy them. That was the message that I heard over here.

Media? They're just attacking me because they don't like me. Enemies.

Protesters? Dangerous people who don't like me. Enemies.

Scientists? Rubbish, they're all colluding on something. Enemies. (As an aside, as someone who has worked with scientists, getting two to agree on something, let alone the entire community, is a stretch. But whatever.)

And thus the narrative of hate continues, and will continue, perpetuated by a simple hat.

When the capitol riots happened it was stunningly heart-breaking, and that's coming from a non-American. Why does it affect me, you ask? Well, it's a blatant assault on democracy, on law-and-order, on global security (if you want to get into some serious butterfly effect stuff). It was especially heart-breaking knowing that these were people who were risking their lives on not just one lie, but hundreds of lies, built up and repeated so many times. And as for the hat, well that evolved too. Somehow MAGA apparel expanded to include shirts glorifying the assault that took place. A disgusting tribute to a failed insurrection. If it wasn't so scary it would be pathetic.

But that's not all.

MAGA hats went hand in hand with confederate flags, ALM, anti-vax, and scamdemic. They were basically beacons screaming into the night, "I LOVE CONSPIRACIES!". May as well have been made of tinfoil. The hats became badges of honor, letting others who shared their views know that they weren't alone, empowering them to take even bolder action, like wearing a holocaust denial jumper... or storming a capitol building. But what happens when you take this crucial identifier away? Will it stop people from acting so foolishly? My guess is probably not, but maybe, if enough people realize what has become of their symbol, they won't be so proud to wear it anymore.

In the end, you can't force people to change what they wear, especially if it means something to them. Change has to come willingly, from a place of understanding and acceptance. Will it be painful? You bet, and not everyone has the fortitude to stomach such a large bitter pill. But maybe baby steps, like trashing the hat, will give people the courage to take even further steps towards reconciliation. It could be the start to mending some of the hurt endured by families torn apart by divisive politics. I certainly hope it does. Too many people have been hurt over these ideas.

In any case, this political fashion statement has run it's course. The sooner it's gone, the better. Let's just hope it isn't replaced by something far worse, which, let's be honest, is quite possible given the state of the world.