Interview With a Resister Sister of Ocean Beach

Editordude: The following is an interview between the OB Rag and a Resister Sister of Ocean Beach via email and originally published on April 12, 2018.

Question: Without revealing your name, just who are you?

Answer: Hi, I’m the 63-year-old lady you see at the grocery store or walking her dog, but I have a secret hobby.   I make anti-Trump signs — BIG anti-Trump signs — and hang them over freeways in San Diego and a few other places around town.

Q: What’s your background?  Are there really sisters from OB doing this?

A: I’m a born-and-raised OBcean:  OB Elementary, Collier, and Point Loma High.  I make the signs, and I have two Resister Sisters who help me hang them, one of whom is from Ocean Beach.  No, we aren’t blood sisters, but we’re “sistahs” at heart.

Q: What got you started hanging banners off freeways?  How did you come up with this idea?

A: Like so many of us, I was absolutely devastated when Trump was elected, and I wanted to do something, anything.  But after I’d written the letters, made the calls, and marched, what was next?

My first project was writing TRUMP after the STOP on the pavement next to a Stop sign. I did a few other messages on the pavement, which was fun, but it involved going out in the middle of the night with spray cans, and that’s a bit much.

When I saw the giant RESIST sign that Greenpeace hung from a crane next to the White House, the proverbial light-bulb went off, and I was happy to make the transition from the pavement to signs that I could create in the comfort and security of my own back yard.

Q: How do you decide what to write on your banners?

A: There are two issues involved with the signs:  What to say and where to put the signs.  Space is limited and the message has to be very concise!

My brother has given me some of my personal favorites, such as “Jail to the Chief.

There are a couple freeway overpasses I have primarily used, and I’m very much constrained by size.  It’s my understanding I can only use the bridges with a “cage” of chain link fencing that is there to prevent pedestrians from throwing things onto the freeway.  If you look, you can see that each panel is hung between the poles holding the chain link cage.

Q: How long do you leave them up for?  Do you take them down?

A: No, I don’t take the signs down.  I call them disappearing signs because they get taken down by Trump trolls, as I call them.  Sometimes the signs last a few hours, and if I’m really lucky, 24 hours.  As soon as I hang them, I take pictures to post on various Facebook pages.

This was one of the most popular banners hung by the Resister Sisters. It had thousands of reaches on OB Rag facebook.

Q: What’s the best type of fabric to use?  What kind of paint do you use?

A: I’ve bought plasticized banner material, but I find what works best is plain old muslin.  I’ve used spray paint in cans, which I’m not crazy about because it’s so wasteful.   Just one big word, RESIST, takes almost a can of paint!  So I’m looking at air sprayers and also spray chalk.

I started out with 36-inch stencils, but they make such huge signs that eventually I bought 24-inch stencils.  The stencils are expensive, hundreds of dollars for each set.  In fact, I’ve spent well over $2,000 on the signs, but I’ve done 40 or 50 signs.  Each panel costs anywhere from $15 to 25, and the signs are made up of one to four panels.

Q: Have you ever had any close calls, where you might have been caught?

A: I’ve been very lucky and haven’t had much in the way of close calls.  A few people have yelled at me and called me an idiot, but most people are pretty positive, and believe me, these are very public places and I’m right out there for the whole world to see.

As far as legality, I’m told it’s not illegal to do the signs over the freeway, so I’m not too worried.  Back when I did signs on the pavement, I kept the phone number of an attorney friend in my pocket, just in case, and luckily I never needed it.

Q: Where else besides freeway overpasses have you hung your banners?

A: The OB Pier and the Cardiff Kook and the Bed Bath & Beyond.  I have some ideas for other places for signs, in particular, hillsides along freeways with good visibility, which might accommodate larger signs.  If anyone lives near such a site, please let me know, or if you have other suggestions for locations.

Last year at a big sporting event — such as the Super Bowl or something — someone had hung a great anti-Trump banner in the stadium.  If you’d like to try that, let me know and I’ll make you a sign to hang.

Q: What else would you like to tell our readers, or the people of OB or San Diego?

A: If anyone is interested in doing signs, I highly encourage you!  It’s fun and easy and, as far as I know, legal.  You don’t need expensive stencils.  Use old sheets and Sharpies!  It’s a great feeling when you step back and look at YOUR sign and YOUR message over the interstate.  Very rewarding.

The Cardiff Kook

This is not exactly how I planned on spending my golden years, and my signs won’t change anyone’s mind, but I’ll keep doing them because I think it’s important to keep the resistance in the public view and remind people that this is not normal.