THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED ON MEDIUM.
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I took this photo of Carla Gutiérrez’s La Frontera (The Border) three days ago at the Fabrica la Aurora art gallery in San Miguel, Mexico. Please form your own judgement. That’s what good artists encourage.
I’ve searched and searched, but I cannot find the creator’s thoughts on this painting. In a couple of references, the title was translated as The Wall. The date is 2024. I’m guessing this picture represents a symbolic insult against the Mexican border policies of the United States.
Would you be surprised to know that the “middle finger” as an epithet originated in Ancient Greece? (source) No teacher would be surprised to find an irate student in the story.
The character Socrates in Aristophanes’ comedy The Clouds (423 BC) pesters poor Strepsiades on poetic matters, who finally responds with “of course I know what a dactyl is,” and thrusts in the air a middle finger gesture. Apparently, Greek audiences appreciated penis puns.
As did my 6th-grade student, Steve Dehring, who, in 1973, after school, from across the street, flashed ‘the bird’ at me several times when he noticed me looking at him while I was otherwise busied by bus duty. The next day, when I confronted Steve about this in private, he said I couldn’t do anything to him since he was off school property. He was an angry troubled kid who I grew to understand over the next few months.
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Have you ever given anyone the finger? A few years ago, while driving down my city’s main street looking for a parking place, I spotted a white pick-up truck leaving a spot with a Confederate flag stuck in a slot on its tailgate. Damn, I thought, who is this guy? This is the 21st century, and he’s stuck in 1865.
As he was maneuvering out of the spot, I formed the fuck-you signal with my right hand below the sight line of my car window and held it there until he sped away. At the same time, I gave up just enough room, but not an inch more, for him to exit.
I was angry just as Strepsiades and Steve were. And President Donald Trump was roughly at the same time I was snapping La Frontera when a Ford autoworker called him a “pedophile protector” as Trump walked through a Ford plant. Trump’s response, in a widely available video clip, appeared to be a verbal and visual finger.
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I’m also angry at my President for this immature display of his own anger. He seems completely captured by whatever emotion hits him in the moment.
Just as I was with the confederate flag guy, Steve, with his anger toward me, his teacher, and Strepsiades with Socrates.
Anger is a negative emotion that, for me, is fast approaching its sell-by date. It mostly solves no problems and only creates more.
Of course, you might feel different. I welcome your opinion.
Here’s another politician employing this symbol of insult.
You can read the story here. (Source)
In our world today, does any of this righteous anger really help? Or does it only worsen our divisions?
Ironically, this reflection came from a painting of a Middle Finger.
And I wonder if Carla Gutiérrez’s La Frontera offers a way forward. Certainly, this work of art comes from anger. But it could not have become art in the middle-finger-moment. That required skill, reason, and objectivity.
The MF moment only erects barriers or worsens the barriers that already exist.
That instance in my car embarrasses me because my own anger was a waste of energy. Worse, after I did my business downtown, I spent about 30 minutes driving the streets of my hometown looking for Mr. Confederate Flag, getting angrier and angrier.
Anger always seeks like company.
This is not a good way for a human to live.
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