By Mason Kung ’22

Tired of those liquid beads sliding down your face. Those tears of hard work that don’t actually come from your eyes. What you need is a bandana. The traditional piece of cloth used to tie in whatever what you want since ancient times. Wearing a bandana is a throwback to the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and times far earlier. Until it got replaced by the tasteless headband. To this I say: Bring Back the Bandana!!

The bandana has had a long complex history with America. In the revolutionary war, George Washington’s wife, Martha Washington had a bandana  custom print with a picture of him made. This bandana became a marketing strategy for politicians. They would have special custom prints made of themselves in an attempt to copy Washington. The bandana was later used for a more practical purpose. Blue collar workers like cowboys would wear a bandana to keep their noses and mouth clean from all the dust. They also serve as a stylish sweat cloth. I bet you can’t  wipe your face with a headband.

Now a days people turn good old words into bad words. The term redneck wasn’t always bad. Miners would spend hours in the mind, and because they didn’t have gas masks, they used red bandanas to cover their mouth and nostrils. Thus the term redneck was coined. Miners who went on strike during something called the Mine wars, wore these iconic bandanas. Mine wars was a series of strikes miners had against coal companies in the hope of getting better working conditions and benefits.

Wearing a bandana shows that girls can do the same things as men. In the picture Rosie the Riveter, she is wearing a red bandana. Wearing a bandana like that shows how women have the same capacity to do the same jobs as men if not better. Rosie the Riveter was a symbol for many that filled them with hope and confidence. This poster was considered to be a war poster, but rather than promoting violence, it promoted hard work to inspire women to work.

The bandana not only has a lot of history behind it, but it also has some current value. You should wear a bandana to support farm workers. Female farm workers are being sexually harassed. For many of these workers, they are the sole income of their family. If they were to get fired they would have no way to feed their family. Also, many of these workers are illegal immigrants. Supervisors know this and take advantage of these women. The bandana project where a person can draw a bandana and show their support. Like in past history, bandanas are a way of showing ideas of things we believe in. Make your own bandana, and show your support for this movement, or show your support for something you believe in. There is also another bandana project with a different purpose. Colleges are distributing lime green bandanas to students. The students attach them to backpacks, or wear them. These bandanas show that a student is willing to help another student with mental health issues like suicidal thoughts. The lime green bandana shows that the student is a student that you can confide in and help. I will personally buy a lime green bandana, and try to request the school if we can order some.

Bandanas are a way for you to show support for something you believe in. Wear a bandana so you can show support for something you believe in.