Revisited

Today is the twelfth anniversary of my initial posts on Nobody In Particular. My first real post, The Police States of America? was about the weekly anti-war protests that take place in Lake Forest Park, a suburb of Seattle not far from here. It's been a while since I've been down to check on them, so I decided to see if they were still at it.

It turns out, they are. For sixteen years as of last week. Things don't start as early as they used to. Their normal spot was empty when I arrived at 11, their normal kick-off time. And since they still wrap up at about noon, the protest is a bit shorter than it had been in the past. And the "support the troops" demonstration that used to hold down the 10 to 11 timeslot has moved on.

There were only about half-a-dozen people there today. But a couple of them recognized me from my infrequent appearances and welcomed me back. Soon we were chatting like old friends. They still wave signs from the roadside, and people still honk as they drive by, but the activists are fewer and the honks more infrequent. But the most interesting thing about it is the mellowing that's come with time. When I first showed up there, looking for a picture that I could submit to a photography contest that the BBC was holding, there was a palpable tension in the air, a fear that they were transgressing on something to the point of risking their freedom.

But now, it's just a thing. No-one bothers them anymore. The local merchants and the police department alike hardly pay any attention. But while there's no concern about "the Man" coming after them, "it's also easier for people to ignore," as one activist told me. (Now, Black Lives Matter protests were the ones that scared the authorities and, to a lesser degree, the public, as far as they were concerned.) They've become a group of aging "hippies," gathering once a week to protest wars that for many people are out of sight and out of mind.

And that's the thing that's striking about it. There were no young people there. I doubt that anyone was younger than 50 at an absolute minimum. Because of this, the protest's days are numbered. One of the activists had speculated that the reason the "support the troops" sorts had stopped coming was that they had all simply become too old for it. And they knew that their time was coming.

There was a sense of pride in what they had done. In keeping their tiny movement alive for more than a decade and a half. For having made peace with the local government. For having stood up for what they believed in. I wonder if they'll be able to find someone to pass that pride along to.