There aren’t any NFL games scheduled on Inauguration Day, so does this mean there won’t be any mixed martial arts on TV either? Oh, wait … Meryl Streep said at the Golden Globes that football and mixed martial arts are not the arts. So what’s the deal January 20?
According to the New York Times, more than 130 artists and critics have signed a petition calling for a “J20 Art Strike,” during which museums, concert halls, and other cultural institutions would close to protest “the normalization of Trumpism — a toxic mix of white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchic rule.”
More than 130 artists and critics are calling for cultural institutions to close on the day of Trump's inauguration https://t.co/vXEU1s51K4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 10, 2017
@nytimes So the employees can watch the inauguration on tv?
— Stephanie (@steph780278) January 10, 2017
Just to be clear, according to a statement by the group:
It is not a strike against art, theater or any other cultural form. It is an invitation to motivate these activities anew, to reimagine these spaces as places where resistant forms of thinking, seeing, feeling and acting can be produced.
Major museums don’t seem to be on board with the strike, as some contacted by the Times will maintain regular hours, while another is offering free admission that day. Somewhere in the country, though, a museum will close, and a staffer will have the satisfaction of telling a group of school children it’s Donald Trump’s fault their field trip is canceled.
@nytimes Damn! That was the day I was planning my heteronormative research on cultural institution cultivation, too. #bummer
— Ryan (@ryanfield) January 10, 2017
@nytimes I'm old enough to remember when it was horrendous to reject the results of an election.
— Christie (@RepRepublic) January 10, 2017
@nytimes I feel your pain. Obama transformed hacks into fawning poet laureates. Now their status is threatened & they show their true colors
— Pearl (@Emperorpearl) January 10, 2017
@nytimes What? That seems like the best day to be open and offer free admission. But if they know better, then by all means.
— Joshua Morrison (@mv_photog) January 10, 2017
@nytimes Take the day off…Take the week off…Take the month off. 99.99% of America won't lose any sleep over it.
— Israel Heinz (@IsraelHeinz) January 10, 2017
@nytimes Close and stayed closed for all I care. If any of them are getting taxpayer money, most certainly stay closed.
— CT Pundit (@ctpundit) January 10, 2017
@nytimes I think this falls under the category of "who gives a sh*t?"
— Evelyn Beatrice Hall (@EvelynBeaHall) January 10, 2017
@nytimes So, the only people to notice would be a 4th grade field trip & homeless drifters? Good plan ?
— Yacht Club Sandwich (@ImJeffBlake) January 10, 2017
@nytimes Corrected: Not realizing no one would notice, self-important artists call for cultural institutions to close during inauguration.
— America Matters (@tpcjk) January 10, 2017
@nytimes the energy you're wasting trying to change the outcome is mind numbing. Face the facts and try and find a good opponent for 2020.
— sturn (@scott_stturn) January 10, 2017
@nytimes pic.twitter.com/ZTjWrPFpJa
— Scott Rueb (@trupatriot1969) January 11, 2017
@nytimes and they just keep digging. It's very amusing to watch them bury themselves even deeper. Proof they are completely out of touch
— ellie (@missellie76) January 10, 2017
@nytimes maybe they need another award show to figure it out. Make it an even 20 award shows for the year.
— Christopher (@320Christopher) January 10, 2017