Summer is officially in full swing. That means it’s time for swimming, barbecues, celebrations and…parades intended to honor settlers but mostly consisting of weird political floats. Yeah, this is a strange one. I’ll explain.
Parades are awesome, right?
Actually I’m doubting myself here, because standing for hours to watch a bunch of floats go by sounds like a waste of time to me. But hey, parades keep happening, so someone must like them.
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Let’s go to Highmore, South Dakota.
A small town in the middle of nowhere, Highmore is home to a little less than 800 people. The city was settled in the 1880s, and every year residents gather to remember these early settlers.
Festivities take place here.
The Elmer Quirk Memorial Park could use a new sign, but at least it has washroom facilities. It looks like as good a place as any for Settler’s Day festivities.
Hmmm.
Here’s a float from Settler’s Day, featuring a svelte-looking mannequin of President Donald Trump. It seems kind of overtly political for an event designed to honor the community’s founders, right?
Oh dear.
Yeah, the float wasn’t just Trump-centric. It also featured mannequins of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama inside a cage. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I’m really starting to think this just might be politically motivated.
This guy made the float.
“I had to think about it with the mask of Obama, coming out as racist,” said float creator Jeff Darner. I mean, he says he thought about it, so good for him?
They’ve been getting complaints.
Mayor Vikki Day says she’s fielded lots of complaints, adding that she supports free speech. Like, that’s fine and all, but was any thought given to how relevant this float is to the spirit of the parade?
It wasn’t even a great float.
Like, if they’d had a big truck or something, they might have attracted the big guy himself. But ultimately, this small town’s effort was just, well, a small-town effort.
If we’re talking about locking them up…
I could point out that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller basically said in his long-awaited report that Trump probably colluded with Russia prior to the 2016 election, and the fact that he’s the sitting president is saving him from further scrutiny.
What do you think?
It’s certainly a bold move. Fourth of July celebrations are coming up, and we want to hear from you: what kind of floats do you want to see at your local parades?
h/t: KSFY ABC
