They’re popping up on walls around town, these Banksy-style images of a resistance fighter wielding a submarine sandwich rather than a brick. The imagery refers to the arrest last week of Sean Charles Dunn, a DC resident who feds accused of felony assault after he appeared to wing a hoagie at a federal police officer.
Sandwiches and baguettes and similar tubular foodstuffs have become symbols of protest in the wake of Sandwich Guy’s arrest. Slogans like “One Small Sub for Man…One Giant Gesture for Democracy” and “Don’t F*ck With DC Unless You Want This Footlong” were seen at protests this weekend.
Of course, you can buy a T-shirt.
The deliberately silly symbolism subverts the powerlessness that residents who oppose Trump’s takeover of DC may feel: By bringing a sandwich to a gun fight, they’re also using mockery, one of the few levers available to them at a very difficult time. It may not seem like much at a time when federal agents feel free rip down a sign in Mount Pleasant and leave a dildo in its place, but in DC at the moment, a halved loaf is better than nothing.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
