Recently the sleepy little town of Rancho Santa Fe has become the scene of street-corner political protests.  For a couple of months, there has been a table on the sidewalk selling Trump paraphernalia.  I have to admit that every time I drive by I have been tempted to scream obscenities at these Trump supporters.  However, I concluded that there must be a more effective way to respond.  To my delight, during the past weekend, countering the Trump table, anti-Trump, and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters started rallying on Rancho Santa Fe street corners. 

The scene escalated when a woman holding a “Defund the Police” sign was told by a woman in a car that she hoped the protester would get raped. News of this brought out more BLM protesters.  Meanwhile, conservatives in the Ranch are up in arms over the “Fuck Trump” bullhorn chants in “their” sleepy little village and are expressing concern that the protesters might turn into rioters.  Even some Democrats are concerned that the protesters are going too far, and that they might dilute democratic ideals or progress.

Congressman John Lewis called for some good trouble. Is that appropriate in Rancho Santa Fe? Should RSF remain an enclave of the quietly affluent, protected from the realities of our ever more divisive world?  Isn’t RSF a perfect symbol of the inequities of our society, in which we monied folks don’t have to be worried about being pulled over for reasons of our skin color, or worry that we might end up with a knee on our necks, or that we will be disproportionately sent to jail for a crime for which a white person wouldn’t even be charged?

Are you willing to make a little good trouble?  I suggest that we club members spend some time on the sidewalks of Rancho Santa Fe (even if you don’t actually live here) and help keep the protests civil, peaceful, and even loving.  I believe that we can convey an anti-Trump, pro-Black Lives Matter, pro-Biden message, while being courteously troublesome.  I believe that we can exercise our Constitutional right to protest, peacefully, and without rioting.  This is a monumental election and while we have the privilege of thinking globally, we have the duty to act locally.  I encourage you to bring your signs and convey your thoughts.