What Capitol Riot Has to Say About Our Culture?

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early two weeks after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building that left five dead, including a law enforcement officer who was beaten to death by the mob, the New York Time Wondered why it was still possible to buy — on Amazon, no less — T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as “Battle for Capitol Hill Veteran.” As if an insurrection was just another souvenir-worthy event.

It’s a troubling question. And as much as sedition merch sounds like dark satire, it’s worth taking seriously. The objects a culture produces and consumes can tell stories and reveal truths; the stuff we buy both reflects and projects what has meaning to us. Taking objects and consumer culture seriously is a theme I’ve pursued for years, as a columnist, author, teacher, and occasional talking head. And it’s in that spirit that we’re launching a new column, Object of the Week, that aims to plumb the zeitgeist by exploring who is consuming what and why. And given this fraught, tentative, surreal moment, it seems somehow perversely appropriate to start by looking at designed objects that seek to commemorate — and profit from — the attempted overthrow of the government.