Anti-Trump Billboard for the RNC

Hi, my name is Eric Helms, and you probably know me from however you know me in real life. My good friend Nathan Scherer (yup that guy–as long as we’re thinking about the same person) and I have decided it’s time for the good people to dust off our voices and be heard. And yes, we have the chance to do that in November, when we gather at the ballot box. But that glossy idea of “every vote counts” is just not enough when faced with the prospects of a tyrannical Trump presidency. And I know what you are saying, “Aren’t my passive-aggressive, anti-Trump tweets enough?” I mean I’m sure you always laugh at the Daily Show when they rip apart whatever terrible things Trump said that day too. But that’s exactly the problem; making fun of Trump is easy. We have to get serious. I WANT to do more. WE NEED to do more. That’s why this July, Nathan Scherer and I have designed a billboard (pictured above) to run during the Republican National Convention, right here in rusty old Cleveland, OH . It’s bold, it’s direct, and it’s a statement that we are not ok with Donald Trump. Not ok with his hate. Not ok with his threats. Let’s join our voices and echo out “NO!"They say the greatest trick the Devil ever played was convincing us that he doesn’t even exist. Ok, ok, that was a little overboard, I know Donald Trump isn’t the devil. But–the evil genius of Donald Trump is that he’s been able to repackage Nativism and Racism and sell it to us as red, white, and bleeding blue Patriotism. He’s spent his entire life branding himself, reality TV shows, and a seemingly endless barrage of sub-QVC level products. Now, he’s taking those talents, and using them for something much darker. Under Trump, demonizing entire people groups has now been rebranded as a healthy way to express patriotism.

But we totally get it. Everyone out there has an uncle like Donald Trump. They talk about how gosh darn great America used to be. They tell their sexist jokes and hog up all of Nana’s mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving Dinner, jerk. They fondly remember not having to wear seatbelts growing up, and all those endless summer days spent playing with the other racist Uncles in the neighborhood. You get to hear them ramble on about the fun, horrible things that today’s kids will never get to do because our country is shit now. We smile and nod, we roll our eyes, but of course we know this makes him a bigot. And of course, we know that makes him absolutely wrong.

Unfortunately, this is where we are today. The past generations, hanging on by a political thread, are clinging to the racist rhetoric  and hate-filled speech  of Donald J. Trump. Thinly veiled threats like, “Make America Great Again ” act as a dog whistle, letting his supporters know it’s safe to c’mon out of the woodwork, because Uncle Trump will make it ok to hate again.

But this election is about more than Democrat or Republican, or simply left or right, because no one should be able to endorse a candidate that openly condemns anyone he deems as “other”. He devalues women and minorities by reducing them to special interest groups. Then threatens those who speak out with warnings like “I’ll weed you out ” & “open up libel laws ”. It’s ok not to hate him, heck; he probably took you to your first ballgame or something. But just because you still love your racist Uncle, doesn’t mean you need to make him President of the United States.

Oh yeah, billboards are pretty expensive, and we’re not rich dudes, so this is where you come in. We’ve completely paid for this billboard upfront to ensure we have a space for this this message. A billboard location  along the West Shoreway leading into downtown has been strategically chosen to give us the most exposure for the buck. As it stands, we need $1,090 to cover costs and fundraising fees. And just for laughs, let’s make the target date Eric’s credit card due date, July 17th. Hilarious.

But wait it gets better.... Act now and get some primo swag for donating to this campaign:

$5 Level: Unlimited access to our full library of tweets.

$10 Level: All those great tweets plus, unlimited fountain refills at participating fast food restaurants.*

$20 Level: The tweets, the idea of free refills, and the knowledge your racist Uncle will be pissed off at you during Thanksgiving dinner next year.

$50 and Greater: All of the above, plus any “Make America Great Again” campaign hats I find littering the streets after the RNC.

*No restaurants will be participating, ever.