If Elderly People Protest in the Sticks, Does Anyone Hear Them?
“Why?” I wondered aloud. “Why here, where nobody can see them? What impact can such a small protest have?”
Journalism is too opaque and misunderstood. Chills gives a behind-the-scenes look at how dangerous investigative journalism gets made.
All I wanted was a quiet day on the Olympic Peninsula. Some time by a lake watching my dog paddling badly in cold, clear water with a backdrop of fir trees. A hike through the woods, ferns feathering the forest floor and red cedars towering above. Skies where long-winged hawks drifted high on the wind. Instead, my trip began with a drive-by of a sprawling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility encased in barbed wire, with parking lots filled with buses with blacked-out windows. My traveling companion had my same sense of the macabre, I guess.
We did manage to do some highly entertaining watching of my dog swim and some forest hiking, but we also came upon another sign of our politically fraught times: a random anti-Trump protest in the small city of Port Townsend, WA. As we drove along the town’s main thoroughfare, which flanks some of the oldest buildings I’ve seen in my few years in the Pacific Northwest — Victorian houses and churches from the 1870s and 1880s — some of the older residents lined the road with handmade protest signs.
“Why?” I wondered aloud. “Why here, where nobody can see them? What impact can such a small protest have?”
Writing this, I see now, answers my own questions. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these men and women who spent their Saturday making known their anger and frustration at the Trump administration.
No, they were not demonstrating in front of the White House or somewhere like the New York City federal courthouse — places journalists flock to like flies. They were in a sleepy town with no visible media I could see. So there was just little old journalist me, in a car, snapping photos, photos I’m now sharing with you, posting to let you know that on Saturday, in quiet Port Townsend, a bunch of older people came out to express their political discontent, a kind of discontent that I’m pretty sure isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, not if the elderly people of this out-of-the way Pacific Northwestern city have anything to do with it.
Chills is self-funded, without ads. If you want to be a part of this effort, of revealing how difficult reporting is made — of sending me to places like Ukraine to report for you — I hope you will consider subscribing for $50/year or $7/month.
Thank you for sharing your and their experience. Never underestimate the power of a small group of people...
I'm glad to see it, and not terribly surprised. I don't know if you're aware but there is a Department of Energy Laboratory there - https://www.pnnl.gov/pnnl-sequim. With the arbitrary and capricious cuts by the Trump administration to research, especially environmental research, the laboratory is almost certainly being negatively impacted. Also, a surprising number of laboratory staff and management personnel tend to be politically conservative. Protests like this one, even a small protest, can let their like-minded neighbors know they're not alone. Thanks for sharing!