SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
CodePink activists Ariel Gold and Medea Benjamin protesting Sunday at the Kennedy Center's exhibition of former President George W. Bush's art. (Image: CodePink/screenshot)
No 'Artwash' for Bush's Crimes, Says CodePink in Protest of Exhibit of Former President's Paintings of Veterans in War He Started
"Why are we celebrating the guy who took these people to war?"
Oct 14, 2019
Activists from anti-war group CodePink on Sunday protested an exhibit of paintings of veterans by former President George W. Bush at the Kennedy Center, calling the decision to feature the work an example of "artwash."
Bush's paintings have been controversial over his post-presidency, with much of the criticism focusing on the appearance of the former president using as subjects the men who went to war in Iraq because of fase claims about Iraq.
"Why are we celebrating the guy who took these people to war?" asked CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin at the group's protest Sunday.
\u201cHere\u2019s what I thought about the Kennedy Center hosting an exhibit\u2014sponsored by Boeing\u2014of George W. Bush\u2019s paintings.\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1570990914
Benjamin and Ariel Gold, the organization's national co-director, also focused their attention on the fact that one of the country's largest weapons manufacturers, Boeing, sponsored the exhibit at the Kennedy Center.
"The other thing we're questioning is why is Boeing paying for this?" Benjamin said. "Boeing, which made billions of dollars from these wars--who create the bombs that kill the Iraqi people, the Afghan people--they are the ones paying for this. And it's of course our tax dollars that made them wealthy."
\u201cThe Kennedy Center is showing there paintings of George W. Bush. \n@medeabenjamin and I came to see it and were disgusted that they would artwash war crimes.\nWe had to say something.\u201d— Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a (@Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a) 1570986063
The protest comes after a week in which Bush's legacy was the subject of renewed discussion following daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres' appearance with the former president on October 6 at a Dallas Cowboys game.
During Bush's presidency, he started the ongoing "Global War on Terror," invaded Iraq based on false pretenses, codified torture into U.S. law, watched as New Orleans drowned in the aftermath of Katrina, used panic over gay marriage to get re-elected in 2004, crashed the U.S. economy, fired U.S. attorneys who were critical of his administration, set up an extrajudicial prison in Guantanamo, scrapped the Kyoto agreement, and did much, much more.
Thus there was much outrage and condemnation from the left at DeGeneres for using her public platform to legitimatize Bush, which led to DeGeneres addressing the controversy on her show October 7 in a plea for kindness that was quickly edited by activist Rafael Shimunov to show the true cost of Bush's presidency.
\u201cThis video by @rafaelshimunov, juxtaposing Ellen DeGeneres's apologia for George W. Bush with images of his war crimes, is being removed from Twitter, reportedly by means of bogus copyright claims. Shimunov recommends not posting again after getting a takedown notice. Bring it on\u201d— Shuja Haider (@Shuja Haider) 1570665726
"I guess Medea and Ellen have different opinions of George W.," tweeted CodePink's Gold. "Go figure."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Activists from anti-war group CodePink on Sunday protested an exhibit of paintings of veterans by former President George W. Bush at the Kennedy Center, calling the decision to feature the work an example of "artwash."
Bush's paintings have been controversial over his post-presidency, with much of the criticism focusing on the appearance of the former president using as subjects the men who went to war in Iraq because of fase claims about Iraq.
"Why are we celebrating the guy who took these people to war?" asked CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin at the group's protest Sunday.
\u201cHere\u2019s what I thought about the Kennedy Center hosting an exhibit\u2014sponsored by Boeing\u2014of George W. Bush\u2019s paintings.\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1570990914
Benjamin and Ariel Gold, the organization's national co-director, also focused their attention on the fact that one of the country's largest weapons manufacturers, Boeing, sponsored the exhibit at the Kennedy Center.
"The other thing we're questioning is why is Boeing paying for this?" Benjamin said. "Boeing, which made billions of dollars from these wars--who create the bombs that kill the Iraqi people, the Afghan people--they are the ones paying for this. And it's of course our tax dollars that made them wealthy."
\u201cThe Kennedy Center is showing there paintings of George W. Bush. \n@medeabenjamin and I came to see it and were disgusted that they would artwash war crimes.\nWe had to say something.\u201d— Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a (@Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a) 1570986063
The protest comes after a week in which Bush's legacy was the subject of renewed discussion following daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres' appearance with the former president on October 6 at a Dallas Cowboys game.
During Bush's presidency, he started the ongoing "Global War on Terror," invaded Iraq based on false pretenses, codified torture into U.S. law, watched as New Orleans drowned in the aftermath of Katrina, used panic over gay marriage to get re-elected in 2004, crashed the U.S. economy, fired U.S. attorneys who were critical of his administration, set up an extrajudicial prison in Guantanamo, scrapped the Kyoto agreement, and did much, much more.
Thus there was much outrage and condemnation from the left at DeGeneres for using her public platform to legitimatize Bush, which led to DeGeneres addressing the controversy on her show October 7 in a plea for kindness that was quickly edited by activist Rafael Shimunov to show the true cost of Bush's presidency.
\u201cThis video by @rafaelshimunov, juxtaposing Ellen DeGeneres's apologia for George W. Bush with images of his war crimes, is being removed from Twitter, reportedly by means of bogus copyright claims. Shimunov recommends not posting again after getting a takedown notice. Bring it on\u201d— Shuja Haider (@Shuja Haider) 1570665726
"I guess Medea and Ellen have different opinions of George W.," tweeted CodePink's Gold. "Go figure."
Activists from anti-war group CodePink on Sunday protested an exhibit of paintings of veterans by former President George W. Bush at the Kennedy Center, calling the decision to feature the work an example of "artwash."
Bush's paintings have been controversial over his post-presidency, with much of the criticism focusing on the appearance of the former president using as subjects the men who went to war in Iraq because of fase claims about Iraq.
"Why are we celebrating the guy who took these people to war?" asked CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin at the group's protest Sunday.
\u201cHere\u2019s what I thought about the Kennedy Center hosting an exhibit\u2014sponsored by Boeing\u2014of George W. Bush\u2019s paintings.\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1570990914
Benjamin and Ariel Gold, the organization's national co-director, also focused their attention on the fact that one of the country's largest weapons manufacturers, Boeing, sponsored the exhibit at the Kennedy Center.
"The other thing we're questioning is why is Boeing paying for this?" Benjamin said. "Boeing, which made billions of dollars from these wars--who create the bombs that kill the Iraqi people, the Afghan people--they are the ones paying for this. And it's of course our tax dollars that made them wealthy."
\u201cThe Kennedy Center is showing there paintings of George W. Bush. \n@medeabenjamin and I came to see it and were disgusted that they would artwash war crimes.\nWe had to say something.\u201d— Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a (@Ariel Gold \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dc \u2721\ufe0f\u262e\ufe0f\ud83d\udd4a) 1570986063
The protest comes after a week in which Bush's legacy was the subject of renewed discussion following daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres' appearance with the former president on October 6 at a Dallas Cowboys game.
During Bush's presidency, he started the ongoing "Global War on Terror," invaded Iraq based on false pretenses, codified torture into U.S. law, watched as New Orleans drowned in the aftermath of Katrina, used panic over gay marriage to get re-elected in 2004, crashed the U.S. economy, fired U.S. attorneys who were critical of his administration, set up an extrajudicial prison in Guantanamo, scrapped the Kyoto agreement, and did much, much more.
Thus there was much outrage and condemnation from the left at DeGeneres for using her public platform to legitimatize Bush, which led to DeGeneres addressing the controversy on her show October 7 in a plea for kindness that was quickly edited by activist Rafael Shimunov to show the true cost of Bush's presidency.
\u201cThis video by @rafaelshimunov, juxtaposing Ellen DeGeneres's apologia for George W. Bush with images of his war crimes, is being removed from Twitter, reportedly by means of bogus copyright claims. Shimunov recommends not posting again after getting a takedown notice. Bring it on\u201d— Shuja Haider (@Shuja Haider) 1570665726
"I guess Medea and Ellen have different opinions of George W.," tweeted CodePink's Gold. "Go figure."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.