America in Distress

The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

- United States Code Title 4, Chapter 1, section 8a

By Cameron Williams (may 2020)

In the wake of the 2016 election, I traveled the country trying to understand how we became so polarized and to see how we could rebound from it. As I was traveling, I was also going around to thrift shops and I would find incredibly well made, vintage Americana pieces or pieces with American flags, something I was not exactly keen to be wearing at the time but were too well made to pass up.

I wanted to figure out how to wear these pieces in a way that I felt comfortable with, and inspiration struck in the most unlikely place: Sean Spicer’s lapel. Spicer’s upside down flag lapel pin led me to the section of the flag code referenced above, and the inspiration to rework all of the flags on existing pieces, flipping them upside down to represent the distress signal.

What you see below is a culmination of this journey. This collection contains pieces from American history that have played a huge role in our descent into distress. Highlights include a reworked NRA jacket, assorted pieces from the NYPD, Halliburton, Enron, the EPA & more, and a Leman Brothers emergency kit that was turning into a shoulder bag.

America in Distress is more than just an editorial shoot. It is an exploration of the history of American institutions letting us down, told through pieces found at thrift shops across America over the last 4 years.

Though these pieces may have just come to me during my travels after the 2016 election, they tell a story decades in the making - the story of the effects of crony capitalism, corruption and corporate greed. The story of devaluing science and putting profits before the planet. The story of America in Distress.

Stylist and Model: Cameron Williams

Creative Direction: Cameron Williams & Shannon Elliott

Photographers: Shannon Elliott & Danielle Duval

NYPD

The. shortcomings. of. the. NYPD. are. well. documented.

Aux Police NYPD Turtleneck purchased from Salvation Army New York

Blue Lives Matter flag patch purchased from Ebay

Halliburton

Halliburton is one of the world's largest oil field service companies and has been involved in numerous controversies, including its involvement with Dick Cheney – as U.S. Secretary of Defense, then CEO of the company, then Vice President of the United States – and the Iraq War, and the environmental crisis, Deepwater Horizon.

Jacket purchased from L Train Vintage

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota. In 2020 the rally was held during the pandemic in spite of concerns from local health officials and potentially became a super spreader event. One study estimated that over 250,000 of the reported cases between August 2 and September 2 were due to the Sturgis Rally. 

Jacket purchased from Ebay

EPA

Over the last four years, the Trump administration dismantled major climate policies and effectively neutralized the EPA by rolling back many rules governing the environment. The Gowanus Canal, where this was shot, was designated an EPA superfund site in March of 2010. As a result of its use as a major transportation route in the 1800’s, the Gowanus Canal has become one of the nation's most seriously contaminated water bodies.

Jacket purchased from Ebay

MTA

The MTA is perpetually overspending and underperforming. Performance has improved since the 2017 Summer of Hell but there are still plenty of issues with bus performance and accessibility.

Jamaica Bus depot hat purchased from a thrift shop in Queens

Marlboro

According to the CDC, Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States - nearly one in five deaths. Marlboro commanded 43.1% of the U.S. cigarette market in 2018 and has a long history of marketing to teenagers.

Jacket and Hat purchased in a thrift shop in New Orleans

D.A.R.E

The D.A.R.E program was an educational program created in the 1980’s during America’s failed War on Drugs. Much like the War on Drugs, the program was proven ineffective and failed to significantly reduce drug use among participants.

Jacket purchased in a thrift shop in Alabama

ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is one of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies and is a world leader in pollutants emitted. In 2019, InfluenceMap reported that ExxonMobil was among five major oil companies who were collectively spending $195M per year lobbying to block climate change policies. No actual “Commitment to Safety”.

Purchased from a thrift shop in Louisiana

Clinton/Gore Administration

Neoliberalism. Monica Lewinsky. 1994 Crime Bill.

Hat purchased from a thrift shop in Massachusetts.

NRA

The National Rifle Association of America is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States and is arguably the most powerful lobbying organization in the country. Since the 70s they have lobbied against gun control despite increasingly regular mass shootings - insisting that having more more guns would prevent gun violence.

Interestingly, the only time that the NRA ever supported meaningful gun control legislation was when the Black Panther Party marched on the Capitol in Sacramento in 1967 in protest of an anti-gun bill aimed at them. The Panthers openly carried rifles, pistols and shotguns, while in their signature dark glasses, leather jackets and berets and marched up the front steps and into the Capitol to demonstrate their opposition to an anti-gun bill by the Oakland Republican Mayor Don Mulford. When the Panthers arrived, Ronald Reagan, who was then at the beginning of his eight years as governor, was on the Capitol lawn, hosting a gathering of eighth-graders before he was quickly ushered off inside to “safety”.

The Black Panthers’s action resulted in approval of bill with Mulford taking it a step further by adding a clause barring anyone but law enforcement from bringing a loaded firearm into the Capitol.

During the signing of the bill, Reagan was quoted as saying “There’s no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons,” a sentiment that is inherently against the NRA and conservative stances today.

Jacket purchased from a thrift shop in North Carolina

Lehman Brothers

Lehman was one of the largest financial services firms in the world before its collapse in 2008. Its bankruptcy was the largest in US history, and its involvement in subprime mortgages during the housing market crash was thought to have played a major role in bringing about the global financial crisis of 2008.

Evacuation Kit purchased from ebay and turned in to a shoulder bag

The US Government

The Department of Defense’s budget for 2020 was approximately $721.5 billion. This exceeded the next 10 countries’ defense budgets combined and accounted for roughly 38 percent of military spending worldwide alone.

Sweatshirt purchased from DC thrift shop 

Utility vest purchased at a thrift shop on Long Island

Russian Military Patches purchased from Upstate NY Thrift shop