The seniors who attended the anti-racism rally in Innisfail deserve some recognition.
They haven't made an article's lead or a headline, that I've seen to date, and are not featured very heavily in the media coverage I've seen.
I was there that Saturday, June 13 at the green space next to John's No Frills, whose owners had graciously agreed to allow people to use its parking lot and location to host the demonstration.
The pessimist in me feared the turnout would be abysmal. Maybe a few dozen people — or worse, outnumbered by some mouth-breathing, chest-thumping, knuckle dragging meatheads on motorcycles.
Low participation rates in democratic elections, especially at the municipal level, have never inspired much confidence in me.
But the hopeless idealist in me was elated to see a crowd easily numbering in the hundreds, although I couldn't hazard a guess at an accurate number.
I read one exaggerated report claiming nearly 1,000 attended, while others ranged around 300.
So probably somewhere between all that.
Either way, the numbers dwarfed the maybe dozen or so counter-protestors, of whom most were peaceful.
It was just a handful of instigators who tried to provoke and escalate tensions following the peaceful rally, when people had largely already started to disperse.
Among the demonstrators was one elder lady who audibly strained as she groaned to kneel during the rally's final minutes.
She wanted to join the symbolic gesture of solidarity inspired by Colin Kaepernick's iconic peaceful protest against police brutality. A peaceful expression of grievance that made him the target of unhinged reactionary hatred, even from the so-called president, who labelled the famous football player a "son of a bitch."
There was also an elderly gentleman who brought with him a chair and a poster that read "Equal Treatment," along with some spare masks.
Yet another woman held a sign expressing frustration over still finding herself demonstrating after participating in civil rights movements back in the 1960s.
I also spoke with a friendly fellow who was up in his years and had lived in the area for some time. He seemed to think attending the rally to express solidarity against injustice was worth his time.
They were all wearing masks, as these elder citizens were more at risk of potentially contracting COVID-19 than the average.
Yet they attended regardless.
This matters for a couple of reasons.
For one, these seniors' efforts punched a fatal hole in the false unwanted-invasion narrative that has been spun and pushed by certain "news" outlets that manufacture outrage to pander to their base's deep-seated prejudices.
They, along with all of those who came out from the community and neighbouring towns, collectively debunked the fabricated claim that the locals were all feeling indignantly violated by this unwelcome and ruthless invasion of antifa thugs, potentially come to plunder, or whatever ridiculous nonsense the propagandists are trying to peddle. Their dismissive stance seems to be founded on the shaky assertion that racism apparently no longer exists in Small Town Alberta, or is too insignificant to bother doing anything about.
"Mission accomplished, great job everyone! Now low, let's all pat ourselves on our privileged backs, go home and call it a day, shall we?"
One particular prize of a right-wing propaganda machine has been shamelessly, and quite enthusiastically, fueling fears that Innisfail was "invaded" — to use their own term — by antifa "radicals" and "extremists."
Don't get me wrong. Some locals were indeed undeniably against the rally. A few were even quite vocal. But certainly not all. Perhaps those who were so vehemently against the rally represent why it's still needed.
And for another, arguably more important reason, this all matters because the numerous local seniors who participated shattered no shortage of stereotypes.
Seeing so many seniors supporting a positive movement propelled by the youth was encouraging. I sure hope to see more such scenes in the coming weeks and months.
As we push forward in the struggles against injustices such as racism, sexism and all of the other '-isms', let's not forget ageism.
Seniors should never be dismissed as some of the common stereotypes condescendingly imply: old fashioned, deeply and bitterly entrenched in their ways, angry at the world and beyond the reach of reason or senile and spent.
Some, perhaps. But by no stretch of the imagination anywhere near all to make such egregious generalizations.
In fact, many strike me as more open minded, as well as capable of intelligible and meaningful communication, than no shortage of all the younger know-it-alls I've encountered along the way!
So, we should always strive to be mindful not only to refrain from judging people by the colour of their skin, but also by the number of wrinkles under their eyes.