The strange behavior of some men

I took this photo with my phone’s camera, a couple of hours ago. It’s Ruth Adkins and her mother, Jane, taken while they and other Ruth Adkins for School Board supporters waved to auto, bike, and pedestrian commuters on the Hawthorne Bridge over rush hour.

I found these “visibility events” surprisingly fun when I was doing them this time last year, and I enjoyed doing it again today. Travelers generally smile, glad to have a change in their usual boring commute; some wave or honk if they’re supporters; others drive by intent on their cell phone conversation or looking like they’re on automatic pilot, which is benign and understandable. Today’s event was particularly delightful in the warm breeze, with a huge number of cyclists on the bridge interacting with us.

Just one fly in the ointment. And each time I’ve done this type of campaign action, there has been one. Always male. Always young-ish (25-40). Always white. The guy who passes in a car, looks at a small group of women waving political signs, and gives us the finger.

I could understand it if we were waving signs making a statement for or against something people should care passionately about, like the war or abortion. When it happened to me last year, I was a little surprised that the incumbent generated that level of devotion by his supporters, but marked the display down to that cause. But today? What could possibly make a person feel compelled and justified to flip the bird at a woman running for an unpaid position on the School Board, and at her companion who is grandmother to my daughter’s friend in 11th grade?

What was he thinking?