Who is that man waving an upside-down American flag near the Tacoma Dome on I-5?
Bright and early Wednesday morning a man in a sweatshirt stood against the railing of an overpass by the Tacoma Dome. With one tanned hand he waved a large upside down American flag. With the other, he flashed a peace sign to the cars passing northbound on Interstate 5 below. Some commuters responded, honking their horns in solidarity, waving, flipping him off or giving a thumbs up.
Nearly every day since February, rain or shine, longtime Tacoma resident Shaun Anderson can be seen with his flag standing near the Dome District. Anderson, 41, spoke with The News Tribune on Wednesday after the paper received a tip from a curious resident who felt inspired seeing Anderson on their morning commute.
Anderson said he’s been involved with the anti-fascist movement for 20 years and is frustrated with “the lack of critical movement against Trump.” He’s not involved in any organizations but sees his quiet protest as a way to fight back and inspire hope against what he sees as tyranny.
“An upside-down flag is a historical usage of the United States flag — it’s a signal of distress from times before wireless communications. It’s a way for ships and ports and stuff to communicate with each other when they’re in trouble,” he said over the roar of the highway. “We’re all in distress. Irregardless of how you see things, we are in distress. You can disagree, but honestly, like, with the state of the world, many people are floating the possibility of World War III, and that is absolutely putting every last person on Earth in distress.”
Anderson said the president’s “starting [of] illegal wars” and “shaking up the geopolitical order of the world” is going to cause more global conflict “because that creates a power vacuum” to be filled with others trying to control resources, land and people.
“And just like, the destabilization of America as well, which is the leader of the neoliberal world order and has been since the end of World War II,” he said. “So that creates an even bigger power vacuum which is going to be filled, most likely, violently.”
Anderson, a self-described “creature of habit,” always stands in the same spot on the overpass. He’ll see people flip him off, honk their horns, flash their lights.
“People have their protest signs in their cars, and they hold those up to the windshield. I get peace signs, power fists, shakas, goat horns, yeah, everything. People raise their coffee cups at me,” Anderson said. “One guy, he wasn’t a fan, but he was eating a banana, right? And it was like, this cartoonishly proportioned banana, and he lifted his hand to flip me off and dropped his banana, and it just, like, further enraged him. And every single day I’m out here, no matter how bummed I am or depressed, I remember that moment, and I want to thank that guy because it motivates life. One of those simple moments.”
Spending so much of his time on the overpass is therapeutic in a way, he said.
“When I started, it was just a statement to raise awareness. I didn’t want people to forget what’s going on. I wanted to start conversations. But really quickly … people’s responses made me feel really good,” Anderson said. “Even the people who flipped me off and the haters — at first I flipped them off back. And then I accidentally flipped off somebody giving me a peace sign. And I haven’t forgotten that. I still feel terrible. Wherever you are, I’m so sorry.”
Now, Anderson said, he gives everyone the peace sign, even the haters. He’ll give those people “a really big, extra ironic smile,” too.
As for why he stands out there regardless of the sun, rain, hail, snow and sleet?
“I’m a huge outdoors man. I’ve worked construction, commercial fishing boats, all of that. I love adverse weather, so I’m out here with my hands frozen, feet frozen, everything. And honestly, I think that galvanizes people even more, because they’re like, ‘Yo, that guy’s dedicated,’” Anderson said. “It’s just like, yeah, and I’m dedicated to you guys. I don’t know how many seconds or minutes of joy it brings them, but that’s worth it, because it’s thousands of people a day. So, yeah, it’s worth it.”
Anderson said he’s literally “just a guy on a bridge with a smile and a peace sign.”
“Some days a smile doesn’t come, but it comes back. They bring it back. They inspire me,” he said. “I wasn’t even going to keep doing this. I wasn’t going to give peace signs. I didn’t know this was going to, like, help my mental health. I didn’t know any of that. I didn’t know people were going to love it so much. I didn’t know I was going to get interviewed. I didn’t know I was going to get all over social media.”
Anderson said he is currently “financially challenged,” and if anyone wants to support him or buy him a coffee, they can go to his GoFundMe, “Guy on a Bridge.”
