Here's my sign from early November: "Who Murders Fishermen? Bad Guys, That's Who!"
Becoming a member of the protesting class has meant meeting a variety of new people. It also has meant that these new people get to meet me too. Last summer, the average age of protesters was fairly old - forties through sixties - and relatively easy to meet. These days, however, the average age is much younger - in the twenties. So, the affability gap between me and the average protester has grown over time, simply because of age and different lived experiences.
The initial impression I make on people seems to be that of a dotty old guy. Hoka wicasa described the process. Paraphrasing him: "I asked someone 'Who is that old guy with the signs?' The other person replied, "Oh, he's a protester from way back.'" Hoka wicasa then had a question for me. "I saw that sign you had, and I didn't understand it. I want to ask you: Do you have a problem with fish?" I laughed, and replied, "Yes! Have you ever seen fish? Those big eyes, those open mouths! OMG!"
The problem, of course, is that it's hard to keep up with forced march of the fascist Trump Administration. My sign was on the cutting edge of politics early in November, 2025, when fishing boats were being attacked off the coast of Venezuela and Columbia. Now, late in January, 2026, two-and-a-half months later, my sign is just a confusing, cringey relic from the remote past. So it goes.
Last night, milling in the dark on 7th Street, Scott had to corral dotty old me a couple of times. because I was wandering too far from the group. These predatory ICE beasts deliberately target the weakest members of the protester herd, and that could be me under the right circumstances. When the four ICE thugs opened the pedestrian gate, protesters retreated. Not me: I stood my ground and tried to engage them in conversation, as I had earlier conversed with the more-amiable Sac PD cops. Maybe a bad idea, but you've got to face your fears.
Most of the protesters on 7th Street wore black clothes and had black face coverings. I could appreciate their reasons for doing so, but I had decided last summer to be as public as possible and not use face coverings unless absolutely necessary. A young man approached me in the dark and said this was the time and place when face coverings were a good idea. He might have been right! He had a spare face mask, which he gave me. We talked, and he described his Instagram page and prepper mentality. He was prepared to disappear if the heat got too hot, and vanish overseas. Under those circumstances I might be a sitting duck. That's what happens to dotty old people.
A local fascist with the handle "Matthew916" wandered on the fringe of the group doing his TikTok Live for his Placer County friends as we shouted out insults. He retreated to where the Sac PD cops were. Little coward.
ICEy nights in downtown Sacramento in January.
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