An idyllic retirement community in California has been torn apart by politics, with wild reports of pickle fights and robberies at the local farmers market.
The gated paradise of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, near the San Francisco Bay Area, is home to 10,000 seniors and features 27 holes of golf and eight tennis courts.
But residents now live in a hotbed of political tension, as the split groups battle the same partisan divisions plaguing the nation.
The final blow came when Trump was nearly assassinated on July 13, prompting a violent scuffle between two female retirees on the pickleball court that same day. Wall Street Journal reported.
Rossmoor’s gated retirement community in Walnut Creek is home to 10,000 seniors and features 27 holes of golf and eight tennis courts.
Residents live in a hotbed of political tension as the split groups battle the same partisan divisions plaguing the nation
The two women reportedly got into an argument over their political differences when a pro-Trump resident blamed Democratic rhetoric for the assassination attempt and a liberal resident made an inappropriate comment about the shooting.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos, with an irate older woman confronting players and daring anyone to celebrate the attempt on Trump’s life.
The confrontation then escalated into a fight between the woman and an older pickleball player, with reports of kicking, punching and hair pulling.
The pensioners began pushing and shoving each other before throwing punches, leaving clumps of hair on the ground. San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Walnut Creek police were called to the scene and one person was cited and released after a “pushing and shoving match” at the Tice Creek Fitness Center – but the district attorney declined to prosecute because there was insufficient evidence.
This incident is just one example of the political unrest that has broken out in Rossmoor.
Demonstrations, dueling columns in the weekly Rossmoor News and heated farmers’ market discussions over cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates have now become increasingly common.
Rossmoor is a 55 and older community where the median home price is $595,000.
Most residents were once at the top of their fields and are used to voicing their opinions, the Chronicle said.
Rossmoor’s transformation from a conservative retirement haven to a politically diverse community reflects California’s leftward shift in recent decades.
The influx of aging Democrats, often bringing with them the San Francisco Bay Area’s activist culture, has led to the formation of new clubs focused on social justice issues.
But the demographic shift has left many longtime Republican residents feeling outnumbered and left out.
“We went out to vote in 2020 and talked to registered Republicans, and one of the first things they said was, ‘Oh, it’s good to see a Republican, I’m afraid to reveal who I am. am,” said Bill. McConnell, member of the Republican Club.
The community’s newspaper, Rossmoor News, has become a flashpoint in the ongoing tensions.
Columns on current issues such as guns and immigration have sparked angry responses and even hate mail.
In an effort to maintain civility, the paper’s editor, Ann Peterson, has limited the number of political columns, conceding the difficulties in fact-checking different views.
However, this decision was met with complaints about censorship from Republican columnists.
As tensions have escalated, protests over a range of issues, from xenophobia to the war between Israel and Hamas, have become increasingly common.
Richard Rubin, a 71-year-old retired attorney who helps run the local Republican Club, summed up the situation.
“I think the feelings are intense, and they are intense across the country. This is kind of a reflection on that,” he told the outlet.
Two women reportedly got into a fight on a pickleball court over their political differences
Demonstrations, dueling columns in the weekly Rossmoor News and heated farmers’ market discussions over cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates have become the norm
Rossmoor’s transformation from a conservative retiree haven to a politically diverse community reflects California’s leftward shift over the past decades (Photo: The Rossmoor Community of Walnut Creek, California)
The suppression of protests to diffuse tension has sparked outrage among the senior community, who now claim their freedom of expression is being violated
In response to the growing unrest, Rossmoor has stepped in with a host of new measures and even launched a ‘Civilility Task Force’.
Since the pickleball fight, the community’s managers, the Golden Rain Foundation board, have have banned corner protests at Rossmoor, as well as political commentary in the community newspaper.
Under the new rules, Rossmoor groups can only hold one demonstration every fortnight, although they can apply to hold more in an emergency.
Demonstrations must also be held on a narrow strip of grass near the community clubhouses and must display a “Please Don’t Honk” sign.
However, these measures only appear to have led to further backlash.
Michael Goldberg, a 74-year-old retired professor of philosophy and religion and protest leader, told the Wall Street Journal: “They’re treating us as if ‘we’re the adults and you’re the kids.’
Rossmoor management said the decision to move the demonstrations away from the entrance to the community was due to safety concerns after five incidents where drivers claimed they had been in an accident because they were distracted by signs or someone in front had braked too quickly , the outlet reported.
The board’s communications director, Ann Peterson, told the Chronicle that the pickleball fight was just one of the incidents that led to the policy changes.
Peterson said political tensions in the community had been rising for months and several residents at the Rosmoor’s farmers market were confronted with political columns or films shown at gatherings.
Some clubs had also received “anonymous letters that were threatening in nature, again due to their political beliefs and some of the speakers they brought to Rossmoor,” Peterson added.
But The changes have sparked outrage among the senior community, who now claim their freedom of speech is being violated.
Pensioners protested in August, demanding the new policy be reversed.
‘They infantilize us, with the idea that we cannot express ourselves. They know better,” resident Michael Goldberg said in an interview with CBS News.
Katha Hartley, who heads the 1,240-member Democratic club in the community, added: “We’re being treated like kids in a high school cafeteria where two people had a food fight, and now everyone’s suspended.”
New rules say Rossmoor groups can only hold one demonstration every fortnight, although they can apply to hold more in an emergency
Resident Michael Goldberg said in an interview with CBS News, “They infantilize us, with the idea that we can’t express ourselves. They know better
Rossmoor is a 55 and older community and has a median home price of $595,000
Many residents on both sides of the political divide are now expressing fatigue over the division.
Some worry that Rossmoor will develop a reputation for hostility if most interactions between residents remain cordial.
Ron Kalb, an 80-year-old Democrat, told the Wall Street Journal, “Some of us are concerned that Rossmoor will get the reputation of being a bunch of crazy, grumpy people, even though we usually get along just fine.”