The Nation as a reputation for far-left commentaries and place for pro-Russian commentaries. On their website, it’s “OppArt” section presented “Artistic Dispatches from the Frontlines of Resistance.”
Yikes. In describing this section, the website dramatically declared:
At this dangerous moment in history, our actions will determine our very survival. As artists, we use our pens, our pencils, our brushes, and our ideas to cast a light on darkness and combat the forces that are driving us towards a precipice.
A piece titled “Trump Pollution” depicted Donald Trump’s head as a smokestack with dark smoke billowing out of his mouth. Under the title, it stated: “Toxic Emissions on the Rise.” The artist’s bio noted: “Dylan Vermeul is a Bay Area illustrator who's just as horrified and angry as you are about this whole Trump thing.”
“Bridges, Not Walls,” displayed a wall and a hand, with a single drop of blood dripping down the hand. Artist Andrea Arroyo’s bio said that “She is the creator of Unnatural Election: Artists Respond to the US Election.”
An unflattering artistic rendering of Donald Trump included the words: “Bully Culprit” and a description under the title of Robbie Conal’s piece said, “From the NFL players to Puerto Rico to the media, every day the president uses the bully pulpit to bully.”
Meanwhile, Felipe Galindo’s “Big Ocean” displayed Puerto Rico surrounded by water and four hands that appear to be reaching toward it, including one holding a lifesaver. Smaller hands also reach up from the island. The post included the text: “Donald Trump on Puerto Rico: ‘This is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. It’s a big ocean, it’s a very big ocean.’”
TheNation.com published multiple pieces under the headline “NRA: Gunning for America.” The subtitle described the post as, “Artists’ reactions to how the NRA holds a pistol to our country’s heart.”
A 2013 cartoon titled “Gun Show” by Steve Brodner portrayed the heads of Republican legislators in the shape of handguns. Each gun included the Republican’s name and an amount of money—above the gun-shaped legislators, some text said, “The NRA’s Top Guns and What They Cost.” Somewhere, Igor Volsky must be smiling.
“Gun Lobby” by Jack Ohman disparaged the NRA by depicting the iconic Las Vegas sign as reading: “Welcome to Fabulous Gun Lobby America.” A male character representing the NRA holds a smoking gun and says, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like us gambling with your life?”
“Flagging Country” by Elisabeth Frischauf showed a modified American flag, with red gun-shaped silhouettes laid all over the flag. Hearts intermingled with the flag’s stars were partially colored red.
In Jim Morin’s “Say Something” cartoon, the left side of the picture contained the text, “If you see something say something.” The right side of the cartoon contrasted this with a distressed looking man on the phone declaring: “…But it is an emergency! Congress Republicans, the gun industry and the NRA are arming terrorists!!”
Dario Castillejos’s “Gun Liberty” cartoon portrayed the Statue of Liberty completely constructed out of guns.
In a separate post in the OppArt section, another anti-gun image by Castillejos titled “Freedom to Profit” depicted the Statue of Liberty over top of an upward pointed pistol, with the barrel of the pistol protruding underneath the Statue’s garments.
The caption read: “America’s suicide pact with the Second Amendment, thanks to the gun lobby.” According to the artist bio, “Dario Castillejos is a Mexican cartoonist and illustrator.”
“Repro Rights” by Frances Jetter presented a character sadly looking down at her shirt, which featured an elephant head. The description under the title said: “Republican platform against choice. Linocut.”
Iviva Olenick’s “Incantation for America” displayed a piece that resembled an American flag with words on it instead of stripes. The post defined incantation and then quoted the words printed on the piece:
Incantation: a series of words said as a magic spell or charm. “Make America safe again. America, save us from ourselves. America, I elect to love you in this moment of extraordinary need. America, absolve us of our uncertainty and fears. America, make us safe again and indivisible, united, under myriad beliefs, with liberty and justice for all.”
