Of all the signs at all the rallies protesting President-elect Donald Trump, there was one that captured the global “oh ffs” response more than any other:
One of my favorite signs from this giant protest in New York City today pic.twitter.com/4fUG8Cn3g9
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) November 12, 2016
Now that he’s officially a Twitter moment, The Not Usually A Sign Guy (real name Jim Crocamo of Queens, New York) has spoken to NY Mag about his reasons for joining the thousands of New Yorkers who marched last weekend, creating his first, now viral, protest sign, and distilling his (rather popular) reaction to “geeze”. He explained that while he normally found signs cringey, this time was different:
“It seemed like the wrong time to be like “ugh, signs.” So that’s what I was thinking about when it came to me. Plus, “geez” struck me as a perfect way to capture the fact that I truly do not even know what to say to people right now.”
Crocamo hits the nail on the head that, no matter how important a protest is, marching with a large group somehow just feels different to marching with a homemade sign. Instead of becoming part of a massive group, you’re putting yourself out there and drawing attention to a specific message that you (presumably) made yourself.
Anyone who’s marched in Australia’s “Let Them Stay,” “Black Lives Matter” or any other variety of rallies can probably empathise, but also appreciate that there’s not really any wrong way to protest (other than, y’know, involving fire or violence and the like).
As to how he felt becoming a meme, Crocamo is just glad it was for something he did intentionally (unlike a certain Pedestrian Deputy Editor):
“I feel truly fortunate that I became a meme for doing something funny on purpose and not for something like falling off of a stage while stomping on grapes and making a crazy noise. Also if anyone wants to make a GIF where sunglasses descend on me in that pic and make the sign say GEEZ WITH IT I wouldn’t be mad.”
For the full story and what Crocamo intends to do with his newfound fame (spoiler: he doesn’t honestly know), you can check out the full interview here.
And to all our fellow depressed/terrified/confused protesters out there, know that you’re at least only one home-made sign away from internet fame.
Source: NY Mag.
Image: Twitter / Alex Leo.
