ann arbor insurgence

A bathroom, more or less clean, in a café on one of the main streets. Over the toilet, a scribbling on the wall – a rare sight in this city. Three words, written with a black pen which was clearly not designed to write on walls.

My Berlin brain looks at the line and expects allusions to masturbation or homosexuality, requests to engage in sexual activity with police, or misspelled slogans propagating anarchy.

I smile, and shake my head softly. A scribbling on a bathroom wall … I had not expected this. Not here.

I finish, and look up again. My mind had been somewhere else for a few seconds, and I realize I haven’t read the slogan yet.

“Support local businesses!”, it says.

Welcome to Ann Arbor. It’s good to be back.