[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or several days in early January prior to Inauguration Day, Kyle resident Jim Nelson sat on a bench near the intersection of Center and Main streets and waited.
Through cold and warm weather and everything in between, Nelson sat on the bench with a sign in hand that featured various slogans. Through it all, Nelson, who is the Hays County Democratic Party Pct. 221 chairman, hoped to generate a response, positive or otherwise, for his views and concerns on the incoming Trump administration.
“It’s because I’m a 78 year-old man and I have a deep investment in this country ... What else am I going to do other than this?”
Jim Nelson, Hays County Democratic Party Pct. 221 chairman
The inspiration for the silent protest came from Gabby Moore, who is a real estate agent in San Marcos and is one of the “more important people in the Hays County Democratic Party,” Nelson said.
From there, Nelson gathered the assistance of his wife, Rosemary, who helped him with the idea of crafting signs expressing his political ideology.
The signs harbor several slogans the two crafted on their own. Signs featured slogans that expressed his displeasure with the president-elect, who was sworn into office Friday.
While it took three to four minutes to write a slogan on the sign, Nelson said the challenge was trying to craft a sign that was impactful.
Several slogans failed, as they were not immediately obvious to passersby, who only have a few seconds to read them.
But Nelson said some signs garnered waves, thumbs-up or even an occasional honk of the horn.
The only real feedback he received was from one young woman who disagreed with his viewpoints.
“I have not observed any negative reaction from someone in a vehicle passing by,” Nelson said. “But I may not have noticed.”
Nelson’s concern is that Trump, in his own opinion, is “not a normal human being” and “has no principles.”
He also claimed the recently elected President did not represent the majority of Americans.
“No one can predict what’s going to happen because the man is unpredictable,” Nelson said.
But he hopes his example could inspire others to conduct other small “grassroots” movements for those to speak out.
“What I hope is that many more people will do this sort of thing, right down to where people live,” Nelson said.
