Courtesy of a dismissive article¹ on a protest outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel on March 9th 2010²: The Return of the Vampiric Octopus Squid. Giant red vampire squid used to depict the “blood-sucking aspect of trying to make profit … out of people getting sick”¹

And then there was the guy dressed up as what looked to me like, well, a Giant Red Squid of Death. The man in a black bodysuit with a red paper mache monster growing from his shoulders called it “a vampire squid.” His get-up, he said, was meant to dramatize the profit motive of publicly traded health insurers.

Thanks to hectocotyli for pointing this one out.

Footnotes

1. “Never underestimate the power of a lovely spring day in the nation’s capital to fuel a vigorous political demonstration.”
2. Audio recording in: Julie Rovner (2010) Protesters, Including ‘Vampire Squid,’ Picket Health Insurers’ Confab – Shots – Health News Blog : NPR (Accessed: March 16th 2010). 
3. Julie Rovner (2010) ‘Protesters … ’

Image Source: Protesters, Including ‘Vampire Squid,’ Picket Health Insurers’ Confab – Shots – Health News Blog : NPR