Most people scrolling past this image on their newsfeeds probably won’t immediately notice anything wrong, but history buffs will instantly lose their minds.
For the educated, this meme suggests that the Republican Party in the United States is embracing literal communism by supporting President Donald Trump. Now, it’s pretty odd that the regressive left would actually take any issue with this if it were the case, but let’s move onto to just how ignorant this image is.
Just a quick reality check: the sickle and hammer is not synonymous with Russian identity. The tools were adopted as symbols for communism and socialism in the early 20th century due to their association with the working man. After the formation of the Soviet Union, a collection of socialist republics governed in Moscow, the symbol was appropriated on the communist nation’s flag.
The sickle and hammer has also been employed by other communist movements around the world, with North Korea adding their own twist to designate its own nationality.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia essentially started from scratch — ditching the sickle and hammer in the process.
Truthfully, the Trump-Russia memes are more than old at this point, but can we at least ask for some historical consistency?
~ Facts Not Memes
