Last Saturday someone locked the gate we use access to Bonnie Doone with a bike cable lock, during the protest, forcing us to walk all the way around. Someone, possibly the same person, also pasted no parking stickers on our windshields that were difficult to remove.
Multiple people from the protest, including my wife Peggy, talked to the city about these events. Our usual parking spots on Bonnie Doone are regular city street parking and nobody has the right to prohibit it. The stickers were illegal. The gate is a public access gate and the city, after multiple complaints, cut off the lock. We discussed possibly moving to another location but after confirmation from the city that we have every right to park and use the gate, I think we should stay where we are.
Starting this Saturday we will begin using a “gate monitor” in shifts, someone sitting at the gate to keep an eye on it and our cars.
We have walkie-talkie radios for the monitors so that if there is a confrontation, they can call for backup. We will come running.
Last Saturday we were also harassed by some annoying kids on e-bikes. We called to the police who showed up and told us that the kids on e-bikes were within their rights so long as they don’t touch or otherwise physically assault anyone. As we did last week, we will have people assigned to video anybody who harasses us so we have evidence in case there is a physical assault.
It’s a shame we have to address stuff like this but I think we just need to adapt our tactics to deal with potential threats and not be intimidated, certainly not by a bunch of bratty 12-year-olds. Compared to what our forebears encountered in the 1960s, these issues are small potatoes. But we need to accept that as MAGA gets increasingly isolated and Trump gets justifiably humiliated, MAGA attacks against anyone they perceive as a threat are likely to get more vicious. Stand strong!