Bulls (Still) on Parade, or, Rage Against the Budget(s)

quilts
A throw-sized quilt lying in the grass. The words Weapons Not Food Not Homes Not Shoes Not Need are pieced in a white cotton fabric with little red flowers against a contrasting deep and blood-like red background. On the left side, punctuating each line like bullet points, are appliqued bombs, again in white fabric with red flower prints on a black background. Black quilting on the black background shows a cross-hatched pattern, evoking a chain-link fence.

Years created: 2025
Piecing technique: machine
Quilting technique: machine
Summary: The lyrics of Rage Against the Machine’s 1996 “Bulls on Parade” have been in my head quite a bit as I’ve watched budgets and bombs over the last couple years. I raided my fabric stash and inscribed what I was thinking and feeling into this quilt. It’s going to my church for now, as a hanging.

WEAPONS
NOT FOOD,
NOT HOMES,
NOT SHOES,
NOT NEED

I heard it as the Biden administration sent money and weapons, over and over, to Israel to bomb Palestinian civilians, destroying homes, libraries and universities, the world’s oldest churches and mosques, hospitals, infrastructure, and, most importantly life after life after precious human life. That money could’ve been spent on food, jobs, infrastructure, and assistance to help people keep their homes. It could have made such a difference in bringing life to people here and around the world. People here are hurting, food banks and homeless shelters are overstretched, and yet more money is being sent to kill more souls, not feed or house or clothe them.

But, as the next lines of the song go: “Just feed tha war cannibal animal.” Things came to a head in late June, as the Trump administration has only ramped up the military spending and action and cut into the insufficient social safety nets and regulations we already had in place. Bombs were dropping on Iran’s political prisoners and a budget was promising to send millions deeper into debt or illness.

The quilt lies on the floor in front of a communion table. A trio of lit candles are in a stand on the table made of three bayonets from WWI, a gift from a German church.

I started with the red on red. The variegated, dark, blood-red fabric felt perfect for a background, contrasting feel of the dainty red flowers on white. The black is a sibling fabric to the red, I believe (it’s all from second-hand sources). I used it partly because I didn’t have enough red, partly because I had been trying to figure out what to do with the bomb shapes.

A throw-sized quilt being held in the sunlight. The words Weapons Not Food Not Homes Not Shoes Not Need are pieced in a white cotton fabric with little red flowers on a deepl and blood-like red background. On the left side, punctuating each line like bullet points, are appliqued bombs, again in white fabric with red flower prints on a black background.

I knew I wanted them included (source Mennonite Action’s designs) but didn’t immediately imagine the bullet point layout. When that came to me, I realized I could use the black fabric as a backing and tie it all together with the black binding. An acquaintance noted that it evokes stars and stripes, but bombs and (stripes of) words.

The finished work has echoes of the original music video.

I backed it using a second or third-hand fabric. It was a gift from a friend, but only suitable for normal use in some parts. Other parts had small tears and stains. I think I can get some very cute blocks out of what’s left, but for this it was a perfect backing where a little tear or stain wouldn’t matter.

The quilt back fabric is a light tan color with whimsical Asian-inspired dragon and interesting antelope-like and other animals amid vines, etc. It is reminiscent of older tapestries and embroidery.

I quilted it with the machine, partly to maintain momentum and partly because it made the most sense to me to quilt within the letters. I then considered the black fabric and added a criss-cross chain-link inspired pattern behind the bombs. I thought about doing it across the rest of the quilt but then decided to simply leave the red backing unquilted. It wouldn’t be suitable for a bed quilt, but the point of the hanging/protest quilt isn’t the quilting. I might do something like that in the future, one of the beauties of quilts.

Quilt label: Bulls (Still) on Parade, or, Rage Against the Budget(s), August 2025, and a long time coming, Ruth K. Tillman

Lyrics

The full lyrical passage remains powerful and hauntingly relevant:

WEAPONS NOT FOOD, NOT HOMES, NOT SHOES,
NOT NEED, JUST FEED THA WAR CANNIBAL ANIMAL
I WALK THA CORNER TO THA RUBBLE THAT USED TO BE A LIBRARY
LINE UP TO THE MIND CEMETERY
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW KEEPS THA CONTRACTS ALIVE AN MOVIN’
THEY DON’T GOTTA BURN THA BOOKS THEY JUST REMOVE ‘EM
WHILE ARMS WAREHOUSES FILL AS QUICK AS THA CELLS
RALLY ROUND THA FAMILY, POCKETS FULL OF SHELLS

(copied from the “Evil Empire” CD lyrics booklet)