How do we reclaim language? How do we reclaim symbols?
On Thursday morning, I was still half-asleep when I got dressed.
The shirt I put on - which happened to be on the top in the drawer - was a New England Patriots jersey.
I grew up in western Massachusetts; that, and a father who rooted for the New York Giants, more or less ensured I'd be a Patriots fan. So one of them is from that team. (I managed to find one in the modern design, but with Steve Grogan's number - that way, I don't have to look like I approve of their more recent quarterback, the one who came from a large Midwestern public university whose mascot is a big ferret*.) I'm not really a football fan at all, but the jerseys are comfortable, and I'm still nominally a Patriots fan, much as I'm still nominally Catholic.
It occurred to me, very quickly, that I probably shouldn't wear that jersey in public. Not Thursday, anyway. The word "patriot" had taken on a new and far less positive meaning.
I'm sure we'll eventually be able to use the word "patriot" again, but I have no idea how long that will take.
Likewise - it's going to be a long time before I display an American flag. Even with Biden in office and Democrats in charge of Congress, the fact that so many of the pieces of hagfish shit that walk as humans do were waving American flags during their insurrection means it, too, now has a less-than-positive connotation.
I have no idea if this will ever change.
*I have described Michigan vs Wisconsin games as "weasel vs weasel." From an evolutionary standpoint, it's spot-on accurate.
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