What The Hell America!

… Not to mention shame, soul, balls, brains, beer, taste or friends?

Originally published in the Substack The Contrarian on April 9, 2025.

“Have you no sense of decency, sir?” The iconic query—best known for the public takedown of U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his fearmongering campaign and persecution of Americans with supposed ties to communism and other “transgressions”—is making a comeback.

With renewed relevance and urgency, U.S. Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.) invoked the line a few weeks ago as a rebuke of fellow House member U.S. Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) whose boorish behavior at a committee hearing included deliberately, cruelly misgendering congressional colleague U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.).

But the appeal took on technicolor form last weekend, thanks to the vision and handiwork of award-winning graphic designer Bonnie Siegler. Her Hands Off! protest signage is serious, next-level art: capturing the political moment and long litany of transgressions by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and so many of their cronies and capitulators.

If Siegler’s aesthetic seems familiar … that’s because it likely is. Her work spans visual branding and logos for household name viewing—programs like SNL, This American Life and Late Night With Seth Meyers—as well as best-selling book design and covers like Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister, Oprah Winfrey’s Journey To Beloved and even the parody You Can’t Spell America Without Me (The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My First Fantastic Year as President) by Kurt Andersen and Alec Baldwin.

Everyone represented here is causing harm to countless people and does not seem to care. The cruelty is surely the point.

Bonnie Siegler

Siegler is also the author of the 2018 book Signs of Resistance: A Visual History of Protest in America. Published during the first Trump administration, the anthology features hundreds of pages of resistance imagery and artwork—a visual chronicle of the fury, resilience and civic passion that has driven American social movements for centuries.

Now, it is her signs galvanizing protesters. After I caught a glimpse of Siegler and her poster series on the Instagram account of New York Times photographer Adam Gray, I knew her Hands Off! creations would resonate with Contrarian readers.

“The end of McCarthyism was my wishful thinking starting point,” she reflected over email. “I quickly realized how many opportunities there were to build on the HAVE YOU NO theme. I sent a batch around to friends and got some great input, which ultimately became a collection of 12 two-sided posters—a mix of evildoers in and out of the administration, and institutions that have failed us. Everyone represented here is causing harm to countless people and does not seem to care. The cruelty is surely the point.”

Siegler rallied her fellow sign carriers to share a series of responses to the moment we are in—and to show why resistance art continues to resonate so deeply.

Kurt Andersen (aforementioned best-selling author): “I liked our signs because in their message mix they were both serious and humorous. And that the kicker of each was customized for the person or thing pictured—Shame, Soul, Balls, Brains, Beer, Taste, Friends. And their beautifully designed branded-ness both amplified the message(s) and provided we few—we happy few, we band of sisters and brothers—a beautiful ad hoc solidarity.”

Anne Kreamer: “As the powerful have caved to the irrational, vindictive demands of a true madman, it felt empowering to walk in solidarity with sane fellow citizens—none of us is individually capable of holding these tyrants accountable, but collectively there might be hope.”

Penny Shane: “Marching let me express my outrage, especially (but not only) at the powerful lawyers and law firms who’ve sold out the ethics I had always thought our profession embodied.”

Grace Shane: “The sign I carried on one side demanded ‘Have you no shame?’ with a picture of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and on the other, ‘Have you no taste?’ with a picture of a cyber-truck. I find the support these two receive to be truly baffling, and enjoyed the rallying cries of other people who have retained some shame and taste.”

Judy Goldberg: “My sign of Linda McMahon with the slogan ‘Have You No Education?’ was personal for me. Destroying the Department of Education is so reprehensible and hurts the most vulnerable children and heroic teachers. It goes to the core of how little regard this administration has for anybody or anything that doesn’t bring them immediate enrichment.”

Danica Kombol: “I was more than willing to abandon the collegiality of pussy hats and hold a sign filled with shame tactics.”

And the kicker, from Jenna Stern:

“Artwork like this doesn’t just communicate. It ignites something inside and strengthens the power of the entire movement.”