ERA, where do you stand on Parody MAGA Hats?

[MasterYoshi]

Some context: I live in a small city in Southeastern Georgia. I've seen MAGA hats on a near daily basis for the past 2 years or more.

Anytime I've ever come across a parody MAGA hat, I feel like the person wearing said hat has zero self awareness, and has not considered the optics. Anyone who supports MAGA will see your red hat, white font, and feel validated and emboldened in their viewpoints. They will feel a sense of pride and unity through you. "One us us", if you will. They might not ever approach you, read your hat carefully or find that you have a difference of opinion from them.

That is why, in my opinion, parody MAGA hats are akin to taking a Swastika and trying to repurpose it. You only strengthen Donald Trump's message by wearing one. If you're imitating Donald Trump's most widespread and famed piece of campaign merch, you're not helping anyone who stands against him.

The red hat, white font is a symbol of nationalism, intolerance, and racism. It should not be imitated, no matter what the message becomes.

What do you think?

 

[AnansiThePersona]

Don't. They're all bad. Not because of the message, but because it stresses me out trying to squint and read the text on a goddamn hat.

 

[KillLaCam]

Don't wanna see anything that looks like that lol

 

[Deleted member 13364]

Very cool to have everyone more than 5 metres away from you think you're a Trump supporter so you can wear a hilarious parody hat.

 

[Slipknot666]

I approve

 

[Terminus]

They have no place.

It's like trying to "reclaim" the swastika by using one that predates the Nazis and insisting that no one has any right to be upset because the spiral goes the other way.

 

[Deleted member 2809]

Not a good look.
You wouldn't wear a parody nazi uniform.

 

[Geist]

Only works if they're not red.

 

[Brandon]

It doesn't matter at all.

 

[III-V]

I agree with you on all counts OP.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Wouldn't wear one. I was gifted a shirt that says "MAKE AMERICA THINK AGAIN" but am afraid to wear it in public in case it pisses someone off without them reading the entire thing.

 

[Fat4all]

the last thing i want people doing is looking as my ugly head

 

[sibarraz]

Depends on the kind of joke honestly, sometimes it works (like that tom morello hat) and others it feels edgy for the sake of it

 

[Kurita]

Cringe.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

At this point I see a MAGA style red hat and automatically think "racist piece of shit" and I probably wouldn't even bother checking to make sure what the hat said seeing as MAGA hats are already so prevalent. Not gonna waste time checking to see who is making a joke and who is a waste of oxygen.

 

[GestaltGaz]

Maybe a blue one that says 'make America cool again'

 

[Nox Potens]

I dont like them at all. Anytime I see any red hats anymore, I immediately judge the person wearing it rather harshly. Whether it is a MAGA hat or not.

 

[Deleted member 29249]

I saw a portly gentle man with a one piece tshirt and a red hat that said Make Anime Great Again in a Best Buy's not to long ago. Then realized it was my reflection in a fridge and I cried....

Spoiler

this is a joke

 

[Lucky241]

I have a real one. At game night the person who finishes last has to wear it until someone else loses. Wonderful dunce cap.

 

[Datajoy]

I have yet to see a funny instance of the MAGA parody hat, but I'm not 100% closed to the possibility that there could be one out there.

 

[RetroMG]

Only works if they're not red.

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This right here. If it's red, 90% of people will skip the text and just assume you're a MAGA drone.
Also there's no point doing it if it's not a direct slam on Trump. Anything else, to me at least, is a tacit endorsement.

 

[Cenauru]

MAGA parody hats are basically saying you don't care. You're deliberately wearing something to make people have a double-take because they think you support his views, it's not a joke.

 

[Keyser S]

I dont even think it should reference MAGA as a parody. A red hat with "You Stupid Motherfucks" seems more fitting to get the message across

 

[trioptimum24601]

If I recall correctly Everything Is Terrible released a limited run "Make Everything Terrible Again" hat. I found the idea pretty funny, but yeah, I'd have been remiss to actually buy and wear it in public. Too close for comfort. People are just going to read the iconography of it, not the parody text.

 

[Deleted member 6949]

Why would you risk looking like a nazi from a distance?

 

[Heckler456]

Not a good look.
You wouldn't wear a parody nazi uniform.

Click to shrink...

 

[Choppasmith]

At this point I see a MAGA style red hat and automatically think "racist piece of shit" and I probably wouldn't even bother checking to make sure what the hat said seeing as MAGA hats are already so prevalent. Not gonna waste time checking to see who is making a joke and who is a waste of oxygen.

Click to shrink...

I'm kinda in the same boat. I see the red hat and think, "Oh no." But if I look closely and see that it's saying something else, I just shrug it off. I don't hate it, but I really don't find any sort of humor to it either.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I'd say the MAGA hat is white supremacist regalia and wearing it is an implicit act of aggression designed specifically to make other people uncomfortable. The response people have to the MAGA hat can be really strong and upsetting. It can be enough to make you leave a restaurant or vacate a premises. I would not encourage someone from where I live to wear a parody hat because it places undue stress on people around them for a payoff most people will not find satisfying. I have a negative response to red hats in general now. People would not appreciate the joke.

But I live in New England where a MAGA hat is a rare sight. I haven't seen one in over a year. Maybe people are desensitized elsewhere and the hat would be received differently. I can ultimately only speak from my experience in my environment. But I would say no. MAGA hats aren't funny.

 

[Annubis]

It's never a parody. It supports the movement by propagating it.

 

[Deleted member 176]

they've never been funny and the only people who wear them also would readily wear the real thing

 

[MrRob]

I'm not trying to get close enough to someone wearing a red hat with white text to be able to read it. So if your wearing one I'm going to think you are a cult member.

 

[Log!]

Parody MAGA hats are too easily mistaken for the real thing from a distance, and I'm not going to drop everything just to walk over to you and confirm you're not a racist asshole instead of just a regular asshole.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

It's not worth someone thinking I support him for a single moment to make a joke.

 

[Deleted member 176]

the parody shirts are less bad but still bad too

 

[ascagnel]

(deleted photo of Charlie Chaplin in a fake Nazi uniform to save scroll space)

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There's a bunch of stuff you can dig into when it comes to Charlie Chaplin wearing a fake Nazi uniform, but the biggest takeaway from him doing it is that it had a clarity of purpose that good satire requires (just like the fake Nazi uniforms in The Producers). If you can do the same thing with a MAGA hat, sure (the Tom Morello photo is a good example of that, given the context of RATM), but you can't wear it "just to be funny".

 

[aerie]

I think it can work.

 

[Deleted member 28076]

I haven't seen a single MAGA parody hat that's actually funny, and I'm already stressed enough as it is having to check exits every time I see someone wearing a red hat given that my city's baseball team's main color is red.

 

[Psamtik]

I haven't seen a single MAGA parody hat that's actually funny, and I'm already stressed enough as it is having to check exits every time I see someone wearing a red hat given that my city's baseball team's main color is red.

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Seriously, my heart skips a beat every time I see a Phillies cap.

I've only seen the actual hat twice in the wild, and barely restrained myself in both cases.

 

[mhayes86]

I've been called out for someone misreading a shirt up close, so I wouldn't want to be seen with a hat even remotely close to MAGA since it can be easily recognized and misidentified from a distance. I also don't want to propagate the "meme" and just want it to disappear with the administration.

 

[Liquid Plejades]

the last thing i want people doing is looking as my ugly head

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I just wanted to say you have a beautiful head

*winking emoji*

 

[VISION]

I won't even wear a red hat anymore because people behind me will think I'm a trump supporter

 

[angelgrievous]

Not a good look.
You wouldn't wear a parody nazi uniform.

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[Fat4all]

I just wanted to say you have a beautiful head

*winking emoji*

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don't you dare try to butter me up, honey lips

 

[theotherMittens]

Nah cause most people will think it's a MAGA hat. My kids got a red Mario baseball cap they all share and I get nervous with them wearing even that.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

I haven't even seen an actual MAGA hat out in the wild now that I think about it.

 

[Euron]

They're very outdated. Trump parodies were funny in 2015 before it looked like he'd even have a shot at the nomination but they're exhausting now. Nothing about Trump is funny anymore and this especially does not make you clever for wearing it. All it is now is an outdated attention grab with the initial scare factor of "this guy looks like a bigoted asshole"

 

[skipgo]

It consistently makes me do a double take to read what's written, not really a fan myself. But people are free to express themselves however they wish.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Seriously, my heart skips a beat every time I see a Phillies cap.

I've only seen the actual hat twice in the wild, and barely restrained myself in both cases.

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Every time I see older white men wearing Phillies or Nats caps from behind I get super mad lol

 

[Addi]

Don't like it. Making a parody only makes the original appear more iconic than it should. It just basic red hat with fuking ugly text.

 

[Gentlemen]

I think it can work.

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Timing and context matters a lot. That wasn't even a day into the new presidency. The more time passes, the more news of atrocities originating from this White House gets out, the faster and stronger the negative response to the badge of the white supremacist enabling it all gets, and the less effective an ironically worn parody red hat becomes.