Adam Simon, “study for an arrangement” (2017), graphite and watercolor on paper, 16 x 16 inches
Trump loves McDonald’s. He says that you know what’s in the food and that it has to be safe or else the company would be sued.
McDonald’s is contributing to the global obesity epidemic (see last Sunday’s NY Times article, “How Big Business Got Brazil Hooked on Junk Food,” 9/16/17).
The company responded to the workers’ demands for the $15 minimum wage by installing touchscreen self-service kiosks.
Chains like McDonald’s make it tougher for mom and pop restaurants to survive.
But it’s also true that McDonald’s serves people in both the inner cities and the rural United States who struggle to make ends meet. The Golden Arches could stand for their shared economic interests.
Because the rural United States has been identified as white and the inner cities as non-white, politicians like Trump have been able to set each group against the other. One day they may unite around their common interests. When that happens, everything will change. So next time you see the Golden Arches, think of them as a symbol for revolution.
