“Die!” “No!” “They’re the same,”

But are they really so different?

Image circulating on Facebook. Most of the captions or commentary I’ve seen indicates “this is what ‘both sides are crazy’ people sound like — as in, anyone who believes that both sides are the same is nuts.

One person holds a flag. Says “die.”
Another says “no.” Arms down, hands behind.
Round head. Blank face. Black lines. White space.
Red flag. Blue, white, pink stripes.
Same stick figure? Same types.
I want you to die. I don’t want to die.
Different. Same. Why?
Same artist. Or is it?
That twisted cross on red — who did it?
Those stripes, those colors, same source?
Symbols shared, each from its own course.

Blank “Third person” says “they’re the same!”
Arms thrown wide: to shrug? Or hug?
Or blame?

© 2023, Tom Tordillo. All rights reserved.

Gen X subverted “Have a Nice Day!” smiley faces imposed upon us by Baby Boomers. For decades, how many of the people forced to say “Have a Nice Day!” did so while working fast food/retail/customer service jobs for minimum wages?

Millennials subverted GenX’s subversion their own way — retain the smiley face, just omit smile and face. Commas become legit punctuation because,

The artist probably intended third person’s gesture as a “shrug” rather than spreading arms for a “hug.” The artist behind the original “Have a Nice Day” smiley face also had an intended meaning. But authors/artists don’t have the final say.

Being willing to hug a Nazi isn’t an endorsement of Nazism, so much as an acknowledgment that shared humanity supersedes every other difference. We must do what we must — but should strive to do so “with malice toward none.”