[Ray Bogan]
There’s a new statue in Washington DC, located on prime real estate -the national mall right across the street from the Capitol building.
It’s a simple piece of artwork – poop on Nancy Pelosi’s desk.
Javier Torres: “it’s kind of funny, because that’s kind of like I heard what happened some dude took a dump on Nancy Pelosi’s desk so, yeah, sounds about right.”
The National Park Service granted an organization called Civic Crafted LLC a permit to display the statue. The artwork is made out of lightweight materials like styrofoam and spray painted. Upon close examination, one can decipher that it’s meant to mock January 6 rioters. But the message isn’t clear, especially when looked at from a distance.
Mo: “I was thinking that it was possibly created by somebody who was actually there doing this kind of thing at the Capitol on January 6, and when I realized it was being they were mocking the people that were doing it, that’s when we said, oh yeah, let’s go see that. And it’s fabulous.”
Ray: “Based on this plaque, the statue is clearly facetious. It says this memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls.”
Ray: “what do you think of this?”
Mark: “Well, it’s provocative to say the least.”
Foreign tourists are also visiting the statue and say the artwork and the events of January 6 impact their view of the United States.
Mark: “Of course, it changes our view of my view of America as not being as solid democracy as maybe we thought. Since there’s still a lot of people that believe that the election was stolen, and truth is not truth anymore. It’s just an opinion.”
And as was the case for some Americans, the sculpture’s meaning appears to be getting lost in translation.
Ellen: “when I first thought saw just the sculpture itself, I thought that this was somebody who’s like, sort of mocking democracy, or mocking whatever this this house stands for. Then I went when I read the plaque I interpreted as somebody honoring the people, or like the people that broke into the Capitol on January 6, three years ago. So I somebody here told me that this is like an ironic statement of what happened that day, that it’s mocking them who or mocking those people who tried to take the capital. So I didn’t get the irony of this, this particular monument,”
Ray: Now, given that we’re in Washington, DC, there are federal employees coming down and playing hooky for 15 minutes so they can take a picture. They won’t talk on camera, but what they will tell you is they think this is crass and not funny, and they’re concerned something they view as very serious, is being made light of.
There’s another sculpture in Freedom Plaza of a tiki torch. It’s called the Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame and sarcastically states it pays tribute to President Trump and the ‘very fine people’ who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia where a woman was killed at a white supremecist rally in 2017.
Regardless of what you think of these statues, they will be short lived, as the permit to display them only lasts until Wednesday night. And no matter who wins in November, there’s a reminder that January 6, 2025 is coming as crews set up for the inauguration.