Finally meeting Claire

We have been waving to each other at protests, often at a distance, for seven years, and I’ve often photographed her, but until today we hadn’t met one-to-one. We live so far apart (though both in Portland, both in subsidized housing), that it took me an hour to reach her on public transportation, but I’m happy that we finally connected. 

I told her I seldom spend time with political activists older than myself. “Tell me about it,” she laughed. She’s 86. I wanted her perspective on protests, the Democrats, capitalism. The whole thing. 

“I’m furious with Biden,” she confided over coffee, “for his war-mongering with Israel, for this genocide of the Palestinians. But I’m terrified he’ll lose, so I guess I’ll vote for him. Reluctantly.”

We have a great many parallels. She was an English major; she taught composition classes. She was horrified by Vietnam and radicalized by the war in Nicaragua. She never cared about money. She’s done years of work on her racism. She divorced early in life, has a couple of children, one in Portland. She only has one grandchild and sees him a couple of times a year. We donate to the same charities, we both listen to Democracy Now. We didn’t find a single subject we disagree on. 

She wanted to hear about my life, and I got so excited talking about southern Africa and theatre that I knocked my cup over and spilled milk all over my clothes, but I sopped it up with napkins and we went right on talking.

I asked her if she thinks street protest matters. “No. I think our democracy has caved in. It’s all capitalism now. Nobody cares what the people want. But sometimes I have to get out in the street because I can’t bear to stay home and do nothing. At least if I’m at a protest, I’m in community. Lately I’m reading more. It’s an effort to go anywhere. I used to do a lot of quilting and embroidery, but…” her voice trailed off. 

She texted me a photograph of a quilt she made during the covid lockdown (see Extra): it represents a Portland protest, and she has included in it signs that say, “Healthcare Is a Human Right,” “Black Lives Matter,” “There Is No Planet B,” and “Climate Justice,” among other things. I think it’s beautiful.