There seems to be a general consensus that Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman was a breakout star at the Inauguration last Wednesday with her memorable rendition of “The Hill We Climb”.
But what also will be remembered is Bernie Sanders sartorial choices for such a solemn occasion. Vermont’s Senator-cum-Grandfather haberdashery was memorable in its own right. Enough so that the Memes just started pouring out!
In case you were out of the country and missed it, here’s a quick review of what inspired all the creative juices to flow:
BACKGROUND & OUTFIT
WRT that manilla envelope he’s carrying – apparently Bernie had a few errands to run afterwards, including a stop at the post office.
(Actually it’s been reported that the envelope was the official Inaugural Invitation with all the related packet materials.)
There were literally hundreds and hundreds of creations, so it was hard to get it down to a manageable number. And then to make presentation easier, I decided to group them in very broad categories, so they don’t take up quite so much real estate.
CHRIS CHRISTIE
I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay homage to Bernie’s predecessor for Memes when Chris Christie got caught sunbathing at Island Beach State Park over the July 4th weekend back in 2017 – even though the entire island was closed to the public because of a NJ statewide government shutdown.
POLITICS
Keeping in the political arena, I think these are pretty self-explanatory – from the Grand Alliance portrait to the closing Inaugural fireworks. (But I got a real kick out of the Trumpkin domestic terrorist stealing Bernie rather than Pelosi’s Speaker podium.)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Vogue Cover; Beatles; Bernie Challenges Ringo; Where’s Bernie (He’s in there – you can stop the slideshow by clicking on the photo); Lunch Atop a Skyscraper (Photographer of Iconic Photo Is Unknown); A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (George Seurat); The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci)
TV
These are also pretty self-explanatory
MOVIES & BROADWAY
Some are obvious to us oldsters, while some are more familiar to newbies. I tried to put them in chronological order:
Breakfast Club; Basic Instinct (Unlike Sharon Stone, PUH-LEAS Bernie – do NOT uncross your legs! We’re begging you!); Forrest Gump; Big Lebowski; Hamilton
Several folks created GIFs of the Bernie Meme. The two I liked best were Bernie on a subway train and on a roller coaster.
Presenting: Lofi Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/BIKFjaabYO
— GOOD (@good) January 20, 2021
— Chanandler Bong 🇺🇸 (@_ChanandlerB_) January 21, 2021
There was a web site that allowed you to create your own Bernie Meme – but it got too expensive for the NYU Masters degree student to post them.
I’ll give the last word to Jen Ellis – who gifted the now-famous mittens to Bernie a couple of years ago.
I made Bernie’s mittens as a gift a couple years ago. They are made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece (made from recycled plastic bottles). #BerniesMittens pic.twitter.com/lTXFJvVy9V
— Jen Ellis (@vtawesomeness) January 21, 2020
12 Responses to “Friday Fun: Memes of Bernie’s Mittens”
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All that because of a pair of bespoke mittens.
I suppose we all need to diversify now Trump isn’t handing us the memes on a platter, but you sure did an outstanding job on this one, Nameless.
I hope you don’t mind adding one I think is cute, but I can’t order it from here:
Thank you so much, Nameless. I swear I did not see your post when I put mine up! It’s purely a “great minds in the same ditch” thing. And how can there ever be too much Bernie? Seriously!.
Of course the price to Bernie for the mittens was $0.00 – but they are in fact priceless. She will not be making any more. People are begging her and she is turning everyone down. She’s a teacher. She has more important things to do. Perhaps it would be more accurate to show the cost of the mittens as $
.
.
I just came across this and absolutely had to add it:
The Hill We Climb
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast,
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
and the norms and notions
of what just is
isn’t always just-ice.
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken,
but simply unfinished.
We the successors of a country and a time
where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes we are far from polished.
Far from pristine.
But that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge a union with purpose,
to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,
that even as we grieved, we grew,
that even as we hurt, we hoped,
that even as we tired, we tried,
that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat,
but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
and no one shall make them afraid.
If we’re to live up to our own time,
then victory won’t lie in the blade.
But in all the bridges we’ve made,
that is the promise to glade,
the hill we climb.
If only we dare.
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth,
in this faith we trust.
For while we have our eyes on the future,
history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption
we feared at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert,
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was,
but move to what shall be.
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free.
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation,
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain,
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy,
and change our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with.
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west.
We will rise from the windswept northeast,
where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.
We will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover.
And every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful.
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
the new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
———————————————————————————————————
I thought this was worth a word for word printing. I enjoyed it a lot.
It certainly was worth it.
Nameless, you outdid yourself on that one.
Thanks Nameless–the memes also pay tribute to the message of getting back to the basics and what is important.
Wonderful!
Super post, Nameless
They’ve been speaking so much about Bernie’s mittens on various News channels ever since his visit to The Inauguration last week.
I love the way you characterized him sitting in so many categories. Really got a kick out of each one.
Thanks again Nameless
I love them all. It’s a relief to have something to smile at.
Bernie was adorable….mittens, jacket, freezinghisbunsoff cold!
Bernie memes are awesome.