Lan Diep is one of us, folks. He’s collected comics since the third grade, he owns novelty kryptonite and a ghostbusters trap. And recently, at his swearing in ceremony for San Jose’s city council, he held an aluminum life-size replica of Captain America’s shield.
This swearing-in ceremony was technically Diep’s third. In November, he got a 12-vote win for the nonpartisan seat. In December, he took the official oath in a quiet ceremony meant to ensure that San Jose had a working government despite a scheduling fluke. He was meant to then participate in a third swearing in ceremony with colleagues, but opted to attend President Obama’s final public address before leaving the White House. So on Tuesday January 24th, he was sworn in alone and appeared with the red, white and blue shield on his arm.
“I don’t want people to assume I assigned more forethought and meaning to this than I did,” he told The Washington Post. “The political landscape as of late has been gloomy. I just wanted to bring a moment of levity to the proceedings.”
Well played, sir. We salute you!