Street theater in the California 'burbs

Well, actually the location was at the Campbell-San Jose border, so the place counts as an urban area. But to a city dweller, it seems an undistinguished agglomeration of wide streets, hostile to pedestrians, and consisting mostly of malls populated by cookie-cutter chain stores. Here the Raging Grannies of the Peninsula turned out yesterday in force to greet any Minutemen who actually showed for their own demonstration against immigration. In reality there was only one Minuteman and a most amiable one at that. I'll muse on his story in another post.


These women weren't about to let all those cars whip by without noticing them!


And they understand they can create their own environment, if they are willing to be outrageous enough!




The aim was to "clean up hate," to exorcise the corner where the Minutemen would have gathered (if there had been more than one.)




Wands were waved; songs were sung.


Grannie Ruth invoked spirits.


Meanwhile supporters actually engaged a few equally out of place passersby in conversation.

When I attend events like this, I make it a practice to park some slight distance away and approach on foot. I see the gathering more as others do that way. At this one, I parked away from the gleaming Whole Foods plaza, in a seedy strip mall.

Returning to my car, I was reminded that massive immigration is bringing enormous disruptions and opportunities to people who live pretty much under the radar of both the one Minuteman and the Grannies.


Opposite where I'd parked, some people buy their familiar foods and send their remittances to families far away. Many worlds meet at the border of San Jose and Campbell, California.