The Great Helmsman

The other day Elizabeth and I were walking around the Crate and Barrel when I saw a hipster walking around with his lady-friend; he had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder with a graphic of Mao Zedong. Maybe it's the history major in me, but it made me very upset. Either a) he doesn't know or care who's face it is or b) he believes his Maoist politics need to be immediately evident to everyone who sees his bag. Seeing as how he was shopping for a fancy new knife set with his lady in Crate and Barrel, the veritable high altar of capitalism, I'd say he isn't a Marxist-Maoist. Then he must just be totally ignorant of the fact that Maoist repressions and policies are responsible for the death of, literally, MILLIONS of people. Or he's a big fan of Mao's more violent policies and those cheap Target knife sets just don't have the quality he needs for the repressions he's planning.

So, if this gentleman's grasp of history is bad, he should at least have a better grasp of the Beatles: "If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't goin' to make it with anyone anyhow."