It’s only been two weeks since Donald Trump assumed the highest office in the land, and it already feels like we’ve had a bucket of baby shit dumped over our collective heads. So, as we continue strategizing effective forms of resistance in the weeks, months, and years to come, perhaps we should consider giving the Trump administration a taste of its own dirty pampers.
For inspiration, we need only look to one eccentric Mexico City politician who recently bombarded the national offices of the country’s corrupt ruling party – the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) – with a thousand used diapers. That’s right, the so-called #pañalazo brought together 20 brigades of civically minded diaper launchers who set up shop across Avenida Insurgentes with giant sling shots to “give the PRI back all the shit they’ve given the government and the country with their corruption and impunity.”
Tras el #Pañalazo contra la sede del PRI, organizado por @arnemx, policías de la Ciudad de México arribaron al lugar https://t.co/EaUYr21AFM pic.twitter.com/rwTVnHB90L
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) February 2, 2017
The first rumblings of the #pañalazo were felt back in January, when the PRI turned to Mexico City’s Head of Government, Miguel Ángel Mancera, for special protection after ex-city manager Arne aus den Ruthen announced the impending diaper bombing. While the hysteria eventually calmed, it seems that Ruthen was actually just biding his time and collecting sufficient ammunition to guarantee a powerful and pungent symbolic act.
Of course, Ruthen’s own political record isn’t free of controversy, and accusations ranging from conflicts of interest to human rights violations have swirled around his tenure as both Jefe Delegacional and City Manager for the Miguel Hidalgo delegation. But even so, his gravest accusations don’t come near the brazen acts of corruption that continue to characterize the PRI’s actions across all branches of government. In fact, just weeks before the #pañalazo Ruthen was in the headlines for throwing tomatoes at a Rolex-wearing PRI congressional leader who had recently authorized his own 150,000 peso Christmas bonus.
So now, as our own political climate becomes increasingly reminiscent of the corrupt and repressive regimes of our southern neighbors, perhaps we could pick up a trick or two from the loyal opposition. But before you go hurling dirty diapers at Trump Tower, make sure you’re prepared to be disappeared into a CIA black site for the next four years. You never know.
H/T Sopitas