Coffee, Misfits, and Hugs

I missed a day or two in my entries. I’ve been busy enjoying life to the fullest in strange and comforting ways. I’ve found that coffee shops are very useful as way stations for misfits. As I enter different coffee outlets, cafes, or amalgamations of every concept; (hookah, food, alcohol, entertainment, wayward misfits, and of course coffee) I discover odd tidbits of excitement. Brisk conversations. Grandiose ideas masking themselves as daily escapes from our imaginary boxes we have labeled as life and responsibilities. Caffeinated unrest. Energy and drive and gumption with nowhere to take it. A shot of whiskey and a double espresso please. Excuse me, I need another cigarette, it’s been fifteen minutes.

I was in one of these corner coffee way stations yesterday and met a group of exciting individuals indeed. A group of bearded, tattooed, cigarette wielding men. Sporting Metallica belly shirts and cut off jorts as short as their scrotums would allow. They were on their way to a Donald Trump rally… to give out hugs and spread love. I had all of my juggling equipment and was ready to help incite love fueled mayhem wherever I could.

It was a beautiful day. 88 degrees and sunny. A ragtag group of undesirables instilling love with every step. Police forces out in triple rank. Officers on bicycles and atv’s going where they please. Protesters cornered in their designated protesting area. We were holding a sign that says free hugs. People were waving Mexican flags and blaring bull horns. News outlets, photographers, hobbyists, professional protesters. These individuals stand out in the crowd. They have a separate flow, a more directed agenda. They aren’t just part of the flock of sheep.

Then of course you have the protestors. Don’t get these individuals confused with the other people standing around them. These particular breed of people believe that protesting does something. That a well written sign, easy to repeat chants, and the willingness to stand in the hot sun could overcome the massive systems in place that creates this scenario. They just fill a much needed role in the cycle of hate. To control a large group of people you must divide them, instill fear usually with an outside foe or enemy, and allow conflict to develop. It’s the reason we have a two party political system in this country. The illusion of choice is just that, a very powerful illusion.

For the correct recipe of control to work you must have every ingredient. Take two large groups of people with opposing views, add a figurehead spouting propoganda, sprinkle in an over the top display of police power, and ice it over with groups of unorganized protesters, bake in the hot sun for five hours and tah-dah! Breaking news! Several arrests were made at the political rally today. Police were forced to use tear gas to calm the situation down. A riot broke out when one protester stepped in the street and refused to get back on the grass. He was “assisted” to the ground by five police officers using batons. The police had to use force because the individual was resisting arrest and attempting to incite a riot. (John Smith is a promising academic at a local university. He is 19 years old and top of his class. He will be eating through a straw for the next six months)

At first everything was peaceful and loving. As the day wore on you could feel the tension rise. The officers looked worried. When the pigs smell their own fear it’s time to strap in for an unpredictable ride.

The group I came with stayed true to our message. Free hugs, spread the love, hate begets hate. Every person has their role to play. We are all just pawns in a much bigger game. I personally feel that most protesters scope and understanding of the situation is so limited they don’t even know what they are trying to accomplish. They don’t understand what change the actually want. So I juggled and gave out hugs. Entertainment, joy, love; these were my weapons of choice.

There’s so much fear present in the eye’s of every person I saw yesterday. It’s very sad. They are just lost, and very scared.

-The Adventures of the Indelible Jack Regal
6/15/16 12:02 pm