CHS asked Capitol Hill people on the street what they thought about Independence Day in 2022 — Here is what they said

 

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The stars and stripes are frayed this 246th birthday of the United States of America. CHS wandered the streets of Capitol Hill over the 4th of July holiday weekend to ask people about the holiday and what it means to them in 2022.

We asked three not so simple questions:

  • How do you feel about the Fourth of July?
  • Are you going to celebrate?
  • And how do you feel about the direction the country is headed?

Here is what the people we found on Capitol Hill said:

Richard

How do you feel about the Fourth of July? 🎆 A lot of mixed emotions

Are you going to celebrate? 🥳 I’m retired, so I’ll have a beer on weekends anyways, no fireworks, nothing special.

How do you feel about the direction the country is headed? 🇺🇸 It’s very troubling. I’m a New Yorker, so I knew Trump when he was in business in New York. He was always sort of crooked and New York politics are tough and dirty. The world has become more that way. We’re more divided.

Victoria

🎆 Not the greatest.

🥳 Not really. I just don’t like where we’re at in politics and what just happened with the Supreme Court.

🇺🇸 Not good. It’s going down. It feels like we’re going backwards in time, regressing. We’re going to have put up a really good fight to keep moving forward.

Fatou

🎆 I don’t care for it. It’s a holiday, I get a day off from work.

🥳 Yeah (pointing to her partner) whatever he does, I’ll do.

🇺🇸 It’s expensive. We’re immigrants, we don’t have many opinions. It is getting expensive and there’s a lot of guns. A lot of drugs, but at the same time, this is a country where you have freedom of speech, a lot of liberties that other places may not have, so very appreciative of that.

Michael

🎆 It’s a day, just another day.

🥳 I might BBQ, I’m not looking for anything, because there’s not a lot to celebrate with all the things that are changing in the world. It seems like the country is being taken over by a bunch of Catholic extremists. Why celebrate how great the country is when we’re going backwards in time.

🇺🇸 I see this becoming like the Islamic State, but with Catholicism leading the charge.

Mark

🎆 Relaxed

🥳 Not really. I have friend festivities, just being around people that you want to be around.

🇺🇸 I think it’s going better than it did before. I think some people need to be in prison. My philosophy is I think Biden is doing his best to pull out the best he can from whatever the hell we went through.

Gabrielle

🎆 Not to be too funny about it, but I’d rather celebrate Post Malone’s birthday this year after Roe v. Wade and everything. A little dim. Continue reading

People on the Street | Jorge Vilchiz Pilar in Cal Anderson Park

Jorge Pilar
On most nice days, you can find Jorge Vilchiz Pilar painting on a bench in Cal Anderson Park. Pilar has made five paintings from that bench over the past several years, and said he paints in Cal Anderson because he is staying in a shelter right now and it is the only place available.

Pilar used to work as a paver in Seattle until he lost his job in 2009. He was always interested in color and art, and started painting because he could not stand doing nothing all day. On sunny days he sits in Cal Anderson painting scenes of futuristic Seattle from noon to about 7 PM. Pilar was working on the painting pictured here — The King of the Clouds — Wednesday in the park. He says it is about 70% finished and has traveled around with him since he started painting it in 2014.

People on the Street is a semi-regular feature on the interesting citizens we find out and about on Capitol Hill. Somebody you think we should learn more about? Let us know.

People on the Street | Khloe5X on E Madison

Khloe5X_2

Those walking or speeding along E Madison earlier this month might have seen an interesting daylight sight: a person dressed in an otherworldly, space-age getup outside the entrance to the Pony bar. Despite appearances, this was not a visitor from another planet — it was drag queen Khloe5X, AKA Derrick Jefferies, filming a short movie with friend Tara Fisher for Fisher’s grad program at the University of Washington. Jefferies has been performing as Khloe5X around Seattle for about a year and a half now, and the movie Fisher and Jefferies are shooting centers around his drag character. Fisher and Jefferies were shooting one of the final scenes at Pony.

People on the Street is a semi-regular feature on the interesting citizens we find out and about on Capitol Hill. Somebody you think we should learn more about? Let us know.