In the local news today there were reports of yet another protest of the perceived loss of some of the civil liberties we Americans enjoy under the wonderfully adaptable document titled the US Constitution.

Apparently, putting fences up in certain places gets some folks more riled up than others and this whole COVID-19 deal would seem to have us all worked up just a bit more these days.

Upon further review however, it was noted that this latest interaction with the local authorities happened in the normally quiet beach town of San Clemente.

Wait, what?

San Clemente?

Again?

Who knew that under the calm and usually friendly San Clemente skies lay such determination to root out any semblance of inequity put upon the free man by the heavy oppressive hand of an out of control government?

In this case it appears that although the beaches are back open to recreational use – surfing, jogging, etc. – a still standing temporary fence attracted the ire of one SC resident by the name of Alan Hostetter. Mr. Hostetter, once a former municipal police chief AND a sheriff deputy, and who is now a yoga instructor (Is it even possible to be all three of those things anywhere else but in California?), decided it would be well worth a trip downtown in the back of a police paddy wagon to make his point known.

Eight others also made the trip.

The “San Clemente 9” has a ring to it, no?

Regardless, when did SC get so righteous?

Is it somewhere in the roots of its military population? SC is, of course, hard to the north of the sprawling Camp Pendelton, home to over 100,000 hyper-patriotic US Marines. Or are the long lingering politics of city founder Ole Hanson still in play? Or perhaps the actions of past US President Richard Nixon had some influence? After all, ‘ol Tricky Dick, the heaviest at Cottons for much of his term, used to park a Coast Guard frigate off the point to keep the riff-raff away when he was in town.

Who knows?

But whatever the reason, one of the “surfiest” towns you’ll ever visit has apparently become ground zero to a heady stock of libertarian angst of which has become a protest poster child dead set on igniting the “movement” that is freedom.

Anyway, you do you SC and have a great Memorial Day while you’re at it.

Should be some great protest weather.

Hopefully somebody bailed out Alan and the other “9” before the long weekend kicked in.

What Youth