Vaccines and Bull-rushes

I made this photo as I was waiting for my shingles vaccine this morning. The arrows and X-marks are commonplace all over the world now, though they would have struck us as odd eight months ago. 

The “Count Every Vote” protest last night ended with more police brutality. The National Guard, the Sheriff, and the Portland Police joined in what the Governor calls “Unified Command.” (I’ve linked to the only news article I could find for it today. Most news outlets ignored the whole event, being entirely taken up with the Counting of Votes.) The police form lines and hit the crowd running, knocking down those who can’t outrun them. Protesters call that a “bull rush.” Police also trap protesters between groups of police at opposite ends of a city block, which is called "kettling." If you view the videos in the article above, you can see how it’s done.

My friends Aimee (of the Bronze Shoes) and Mike (Vietnam vet, photographer, age 75) were kettled, bull-rushed, and hit with metal truncheons as they were documenting the protest. Mike was knocked down in the street, his camera battered but not broken. Aimee says they are both bruised today but have no broken bones. Mike’s hands were scraped up, but Aimee treated him with a first aid kit she keeps in her backpack.

New motto popularized on Twitter today: Keep Calm and Count On.