Perusing the news a few days ago, a photo from an article at PJ Media was hard to ignore. The article was reporting on the Chicago teacher’s union striking for more school closures due to Covid (‘Go Get Another Job’: Democrats and Republicans Lambaste Teachers’ Unions by A.J. Kaufman, Jan 05, 2022). The photo attributed to (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) shows protesting Chicago teachers wearing custom designed Communist revolutionary style t-shirts for the occasion:
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File. Found at PJ Media)
After sharing the above photo with one of our Casper contributors, they responded just a few hours later by forwarding the following photo – which is artwork being used by the Wyoming Food for Thought Project in Natrona County:
Most might automatically (and rightfully) perceive, at-a-glance, this symbolism as the revolutionary ‘power fist’ made recently popular by the Black Lives Matter marches and riots of 2020 that led to billions of dollars of property damage and loss and scores of violent injuries and death. It is disturbing enough that this is the intended cursory message being megaphoned by professional teachers in Chicago and a non-profit organization in Wyoming, what is much more disturbing however, is the deeper and malevolent message that this image historically symbolizes: The ‘power fist’ that originates from twentieth century Soviet Communist revolutionary propaganda, as well as the revolutionary propaganda from the Mao Zedong Regime of Communist/Marxist China.
This art style is referred to as Socialist Realism, a Communist art form that originated during the Russian Revolution in 1917. The Russian Revolution is the origin of the revolutionary ‘power fist’, not BLM. And more specifically, the distinct message in the eye-catching red and white sunburst emanating from the fist is a blatant salute to Maoists and Marxists (Communist ideologies that BLM leaders signal as desirable – see here and here).
To shed additional light on how this re-emerging Communist propaganda is becoming mainstream among self-purported radical-left revolutionaries, we found this same Maoist art style on the Antifa Anti-Fascist Handbook, which is on sale at a number of places including the Harvard Book Store:
Now you know the inside joke as to why the protesting teachers in Chicago are smiling so smugly, and why Antifa would choose the same Communist imagery – it is an in-your-face salute to fellow travelers.
There should be no doubt, how highly offensive this imagery is. And it is only the radical-left that is resurrecting this art-form, specifically for the purposes mentioned above.
We are truly stunned to see this Communist/Maoist/Marxist imagery being used anywhere in the state of Wyoming, much less by a non-profit that is allegedly charitably helping feed hungry families and children in Natrona County. After surfing around a bit to see where and how this artwork is being used by Wyoming Food for Thought Project, we quickly found that their Communist-Maoist power fist (holding a fork) is being used as the thumbnail icon for their website and in their official t-shirts, however the shirt we found occurs in different colors of brown and gold. Regardless of the colors, the radical symbology is still unmistakable:
At first glance we assumed that the leaders of this organization most likely thought it was just an attention-getting image and that they were ignorant of the ideology they are advertising and potentially drawing to their organization. But then we read their Mission summary:
Wyoming Food for Thought Project is a local, grassroots organization in Casper, WY dedicated to equitable food access & food justice.
What exactly is food justice? According to The Breakthrough Institute, food justice is “the struggle against racism, exploitation and oppression taking place within the food system that addresses inequality’s root causes both within and beyond the food chain” (The Soul of Food Justice, Feb 7, 2020). You can run several searches for this new social justice phrase, but you will get the same general definition.
Equitable is defined to mean “treating everyone fairly and in the same way” (Cambridge).
This play on ‘woke’ terms insinuates that families in Wyoming have unfair access to food and it is primarily due to racism, exploitation and oppression taking place within the state of Wyoming. This is intentional incendiary language being purposefully woven into a notably needed and admirable community effort to feed those in our neighborhoods, counties and state who are hungry. Why is this necessary? With the woke language removed, it would simply read:
Wyoming Food for Thought Project is a local, grassroots organization in Casper, WY dedicated to food access.
But apparently this straightforward language is not the focused intent. For some reason Wyoming Food for Thought prefers this incendiary language. Wyoming citizens deserve to know why this organization wants to cast such an evil “racist, exploitative, oppressive” light on our state.
We also found that the Wyoming Food for Thought Project is being directly promoted by the Wyoming Hunger Initiative as the top-of-the-list Food Pantry for Natrona County. The Wyoming Hunger Initiative is the #1 legacy project that was launched by First Lady Jennie Gordon, Governor Gordon’s wife, on October 3, 2019. Does the Wyoming Hunger Initiative support/believe/condone the concept of “food justice”? Chances are they are completely unaware of this language being used by Wyoming Food for Thought and/or are unfamiliar with what it actually means.
Further delving found that Wyoming Food for Thought Project has joined forces with AmeriCorps in the past, as well as the Central Wyoming Boys and Girls Club in Natrona County. How woke is the Wyoming Food for Thought Project? If they are aligned in any way or form to BLM or Antifa, their having access to children and teenagers through the Central Wyoming Boys and Girls Club and AmeriCorps is an enormous red flag that should not be ignored.
On page 13 of their 2021 Annual Report, Wyoming Food for Thought boasts, “In 2020 we collaborated with Skull Tree Brewing in Casper to bring Casperites a locally produced beer. Brew For Thought is an American Red Ale brewed by Skull Tree Brewing with Cascade Hops grown by at our urban farm at our program center.”
Wyoming Food for Thought is growing hops in their community vegetable gardens for local distilleries to make beer?! The same gardens that school-age children from Central Wyoming Boys and Girls Club have been recruited to pull weeds from?
So what in the heck does beer have to do with hunger and food access?! How in the world does growing hops feed hungry families? What kind of vile mission creep is going on in Natrona – are they a food pantry or are they in the brewery business?!
At their site under Community Partnerships, Wyoming Food for Thought also boasts about their Casper Mountain Gin Project:
In 2016 we combined local efforts with Backwards Distilling Co. to source local herbs and garnishes for Backwards’ cocktails. Since then, this partnership has steadily continued to grow and prosper, to the point where we cultivated the idea of bringing a limited edition Casper Gin to you, from mountain to bottle.
We foraged high and low for the highest-quality products we could find, and let us be the first to tell you that beautiful Casper Mountain delivered! From juniper berries to rose hips, currants and licorice root, this gin is guaranteed to remind you of the 307 we love and call home.
So what in the heck does GIN have to do with HUNGER and FOOD ACCESS?! Why was Wyoming Food for Thought “foraging high and low for the highest-quality products they could find” to make both GIN and GARNISHES for COCKTAILS?! Were they foraging for ACTUAL FOOD to distribute to hungry families in Natrona County? Are any of the children or teenagers they’ve recruited through the Central Wyoming Boys and Girls Club and AmeriCorps being put to work to help forage high and low for the best ingredients for GIN and COCKTAIL GARNISHES?!
How does one reconcile a non-profit food pantry doing free work for a for-profit distillery? It sounds like a win-win for somebody, but not for hungry families.
Have they ever included any Casper Mountain Gin or Brew For Thought beer in the meals they provide and deliver to hungry, needy families?!
Wyoming Food for Thought lists over one hundred Community Partners and Sponsors at their website. Some of these include: The Wyoming Community Foundation; the McMurry Foundation; Veteran’s of Foreign War; Menards; First Interstate Bank; Saint Anthony Catholic School; Casper College; Natrona County School District; City of Casper; Jonah Bank of Wyoming; the Wyoming Community Development Authority; the Wyoming Medical Center; Casper Housing Authority; the Casper Events Center; etc. Are any of these Partners and Sponsors aware of how shady an outfit Wyoming Food for Thought appears to be?
Clearly, Wyoming Food for Thought must be receiving funding and grants from somewhere – it would be extremely interesting to see their financials and tax returns. Our guess is there are many more shockers to be found.
Is there anybody else that has eyes on this for crying out-loud? From the Governor’s office all the way down to the City of Casper, is there anybody paying attention to this non-profit food pantry?!
Somebody really needs to get to the bottom of this mess.
