Our country is unraveling. My high school buddy Alise bought yarn wanted to knit this hat, but realized she doesn’t know how to knit, so I got a text last night, could I knit this. I looked at the patter and frankly it is poorly written ( sorry Paul) but the picture is good enough to for me to know what to do.

Norwegian Red Hat Resistance (According to Claude AI)

In Norway during the early 1940s, people knitted and wore red pointed hats with tassels as a visual form of protest against Nazi occupation. These hats had deep historical roots as symbols of freedom – dating back to the French Revolution when red caps became popular symbols of liberty throughout Europe, and later representing Norwegian identity during protests against union with Sweden. ScienceNorwayAncient Pages

The resistance symbol proved effective enough that on February 23, 1942, police in Trondheim announced people caught wearing red hats would be punished. Within two years of their adoption as protest symbols, the Nazis made these hats illegal to wear, make, or distribute. 

Textile use to make a statement

This reminds me of the pink “pussyhat” for the Women’s March, in protest of Trump’s remarks about “Grab them by the pussy”. Textiles have a long history of being a physical object, worn to symbolize a meaning intent on expression to the outside world. A soldiers uniform, a Priest’s robe, The Handmaiden red cape and white hat. Amish and Mennonite caps on the woman’s head. The MEGA hat, taking historical Red as a way to show dominance consistent with Trump’s authoritarianism view seen with his contradictory and militant use of ICE -Immigration and Customs Enforcement- troops as an American version the SS or Gestapo.

Hypocrisy to the Max

Alex Jeffrey Pretti was a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and ICU nurse who was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026. According to his parents, Pretti worked as an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. 

I have watched the video’s and his crime was to help someone -appears female- to be pushed to the ground. He did what all decent human beings impulsively do, he went to help. He is trained to help. It appears that he was knocked to the ground, beaten, then some hothead shot him. 8 times. This morning I was listening to an interview with the head SS guy who said it was insurrection, the protesters in Minneapolis. Insurrection my ass. Seriously? January 6th was an insurrection. Those who were pardoned by Trump simply shows the truth of what is going on.

My responsibility

I am called in many ways. Speaking truth to power is one of them and I can knit like a banshee. I will make as many red hats and bring them to protesters in town. I will make known what the red symbolizes and keep the movement alive. Our county might look like it is unraveling, but this knitter knows how to pick up the stitches and move forward. Thanks Alise for the nudge!