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Every Sunday at noon for the past 28 weeks, members of Indivisible Oregon have congregated at North Williams Avenue and Fremont Street to protest the Trump administration. These days, plenty of people show up in costume, including a dancing cow and a blue angler fish.
Keir Karson, 68, organizer of the events, says a few dozen progressives standing on four corners of an intersection of liberal Portland aren’t likely to topple Trump, but they are very likely to encourage more people to take stands against authoritarianism.
“We understand that honk-and-waves and protests are not strategic,” Karson, a retired human resources executive, says. “They’re tactical. We’re not going to change Trump’s mind. We’re not going to change Kristi Noem’s mind. Our goal is visibility for other people to understand that there are people like them who are brave enough to come out, and maybe by seeing us, they will come out.”
People who join Karson say they do so in part to keep themselves sane as barely trained men in masks terrorize and kill immigrants and American citizens who defend them.
“I’m out here for joyful resistance,” says Hannelore Buckenmeyer, sporting a blow-up black-and-white Holstein cow costume in the Oregon rain. “I love the idea of taking my energy here every Sunday, rain or shine, getting people excited, and letting them know they are not alone. It fills my soul.”
The atmosphere is buoyant, even in the rain. One participant brought two hefty speakers on a cart and pumped out dance music. Almost every car that passed blared its horn.
Portland is an overachiever when it comes to resistance. Karson’s group was the first Indivisible chapter in Oregon. Now, there are 52 Indivisible groups in the state, most of them named for their location. Portland District 2 Neighbors, named for their City Council district, have been doing honk-and-waves on North Rosa Parks Way for some 32 weeks, Karson says.
“People are having fun. They’re engaged. They’re getting to know each other, and there’s a community of people who are coming back week after week after week.”
