SFist: New Angry Political Posters Come Up Short

SFMichael

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:55:01 -0800

PTFW, your summary is exactly right. Chile is an excellent example. There are few people who have wreaked as much havoc upon the world as Milton Friedman. And as bluecanary said, the whole idea of not speaking ill of the dead is stupid. Dead people who did stupid things, or caused countless tales of misery, need not be spoken of highly.

Brock Keeling

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:02:53 -0800

meaning that if said posters were in different neighborhoods or other cities with more conservative views, then they would be effective, not twee.

schmoogeboo

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:22:44 -0800

i'm curious what counts as "effective" political poster art. looking at these is waaaaay better than being attacked by ads.

Brock Keeling

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:42:26 -0800

Be sure to mop up after yourselves when you're done, boys.

ProtestTheFuckingWar

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:36:06 -0800

zig, milton friedman promoted a specific model of the "free market" that has left countless displaced, impoverished, and dead people in it's wake. chile is the perfect example. that country was on the rise as a democracy with a sensible mixed economy until milty's friend augusto pinochet staged a US-supported coup, overthrew a democratically elected leader, and commenced a reign of terror killing thousands upon thousands of innocent people and implementing polices that caused widespread suffering. the countries of asia and europe that you mentioned have mixed economies, something friedman hated and spent his life trying to abolish. whenever his pure market economy "reforms" have been forced on countries- and they're always forced --by the IMF and World Bank, it has always resulted in massive national debt, decimation of public services, widespread unemployment, vastly increased disparity of income, etc. there isn't a single Friedman-IMF-World Bank success story. unless you consider the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, a success. Believe me, you wouldn't want to live in any state milton friedman might have created unless you happen to own an oil company.

zig

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:14:22 -0800

Hmm just about the entire world free market liberalism has led high standards of living Vietnam South Korea India China Chile Much of Eastern Europe all come to mind Are you disputing that these places aren't? that maybe a hundred million chinese haven't been brought out of wretched poverty these last few decades alone? I am not a libertarian but come on, the evidence is overwhellming

paperthrones

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:04:45 -0800

just because you're jaded and take progressive views for granted doesn't mean you should hate on simple, straightforward messages. this style was meant to be appropriated, that's the point of propaganda.

ProtestTheFuckingWar

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:30:34 -0800

yeah CW, or maybe just stating the truth.

Chris Weekly

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:21:27 -0800

PTFW on another "fuck the man" rant.

ProtestTheFuckingWar

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:11:33 -0800

everywhere in the world in the last several decades where friedman's "free market reforms" have been forced upon the people -- starvation, homelessness, joblessness, and misery have grown significantly. zig, name ONE single imf/world bank success story. one.

ProtestTheFuckingWar

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:23:26 -0800

zig, do you have a shred of evidence to back up your claim? by the way, you weren't "to" busy to sit on your ass and make comments on sfist : )

zig

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:07:01 -0800

"Milton Friedman: father of ideas which brought hundreds of millions of souls from an existence of near starvation" Maybe I will pass out my flier next to those fresh white kids at the BART station passing out their socialist worker newsletter except I am to busy working to bother

instigator

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:21:03 -0800

Right! Don't speak ill of Hitler because he's dead.

Jeremy_ofSF

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:39:19 -0800

The posters seem pretty effective to me. They're HUGE, and the images and text are clear and easy to digest from a distance as you're walking by. People are looking at them and thinking about them and commenting on them on SFist. A bunch of people are probably googling Milton Friedman today wondering who the hell he is. The posters brings attention to Pelosi (who is facing a symbolic challenge from Cindy Sheehan) and Fisher (who is trying to build a butt-ugly museum in the Presido). They cover up some Fernet ads. And they give SFisters fresh material to be cynical and snarky about. Everybody wins. I don't think anyone puts up wheat-pastes thinking they're going to change the world. It's just a fun way to communicate with your neighborhood.

bluecanary

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:45:19 -0800

If the dead don't want ill spoken of them, they shouldn't behave like assholes while they're alive. I never bought that whole "don't speak ill of the dead" malarky.

ProtestTheFuckingWar

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:32:24 -0800

You must read the Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Milton Friedman has to be first on the list. He's the global king of pain. No doubt about. He didn't care about how many people died under General Pinochet or anywhere else his ruthless ideas were put into practice . Recently dead or not, I don't think we can wait any longer to denounce what the guy stood for. He's pretty much the root of all evil.

AugustCJohnson

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:29:10 -0800

I got no love for friedman, a man who did everything he could to reverse the social gains of the 30's, but he died two years ago, what happened to not speaking ill of the dead? Couldn't you come up with three living people that you hate?

T.E. Lawrence

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:02:22 -0800

Ah, there's a phrase to describe the people that make these prints in Spanish, revolucionario de cafetin. Exhibit A, the characters hanging outside Cafe Boheme on 24th St. Exhibit B, the people at Ritual Roasters, goddamn commies.

conryw

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:01:43 -0800

Milty? Dunno. But the other two hit the nail right on the head. Sadly, Pelosi is not alone in her capitulation to the Bush administration. BTW, Krissy Keefer ROCKS!!! Long live Krissy Keefer!!!

Generic

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:27:06 -0800

Senador FiDi: Ella ama el dinero de la guerra!

jnice

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:19:46 -0800

mindblowingly appropriative

bluecanary

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:12:45 -0800

Where's the one for Dianne Feinstein? No one war profiteers like she does. I'd have preferred Nancy Pelosi's pic reference her shameful behavior toward American Samoa, because basically everyone in Congress is aiding and abetting, but whatever.

Arnaud H

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:10:46 -0800

Probably brought to you by Krissy Keefer fans.

Brock Keeling

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:42:37 -0800

Grathias, Generic.

jacksevanroo

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:41:46 -0800

I'm hating Donald Fisher right now too -- this track jacket is making my gut look big.

Generic

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:40:19 -0800

Señor Capitalista: Padre orgulloso de la miseria global! Señor Gap: Ricos sucios del trabajo auxiliar del niño! Madame Transmisor de la Casa: Criminales de la guerra que ayudan y cooperación!

icbalaam

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:50:16 -0800

Repeated viewing of these posters may induce a coma Zzzzzzzz

RinconHillSF

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:47:03 -0800

What, no race bating posters this time around to divide us further?

fizzandpop

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:39:57 -0800

Could they be more juvenile? And Milton Friedman? A more accurate headline would have been: Proud Father of a global system that enabled me to print these posters so cheaply and not have to sell a kidney to my neighbor just so I could afford one sheet of this paper.

Aventinus

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:33:37 -0800

What's missing: Newsom.