We Spoke With "Green Shirt Guy" About His Sudden Fame and What It's Like to Be a Meme

ike many before him, political organizer Alex Kack didn't go to a city council meeting expecting to become a meme. In fact, he had some stiff competition at a meeting to vote on whether or not to make Tuscon, Arizona a Sanctuary City for undocumented people. The meeting, which some have described as pretty normal for Tuscon, played host to screaming, chanting and a guy playing the banjo, but it was Kack's laugh that made the vote headline news.

Hours after the footage hit the internet, the hashtag #GreenShirtGuy was trending on Twitter. As many found a connection in his laugh, sharing GIFs, videos and pictures sporting his image, Kack has found himself in the middle of his Internet whirlwind. We spoke to Kack about his newfound meme celebrity, what it's like to be at a Tuscon City Council meeting and memeing yourself.

Q: Thanks so much for talking with us. I'm sure the last few days have been crazy. What has it been like?

A: It's been absolutely insane. But it's been an absolute honor and a privilege to interact with so many people and to have been a part of something that made so many people feel good, especially about subjects that have been so scary and turbulent and violent.

Q: How did you find out this was all happening and what was your initial reaction?

A: So there were two parts to it. After the city council meeting, my colleagues and I went to a local restaurant La Cocina to have a bite, and a friend of mine tweeted out the original news clip that had been shared on Twitter. At the time, I think it had, like, 30 comments, and I interacted with some of the people that were on there. I tweeted it as a joke, and said, like, "Guys, look, I'm famous." I talked to my friend a little bit about being on the local news, and that was it. I went to bed. I woke up the next morning and it had just blown up. It was everywhere all of a sudden.

Guys look I'm famous. https://t.co/PekoXsnmcb

— Alex Kack (@Alex_Kack) August 7, 2019

What did that feel like? What was the first thing you thought of?

A: It's exhilarating. I mean, it's also kind of terrifying. I don't know if there was a first thought. The first thing, you know, looking back, kind of feels like a fog. It's been absolutely surreal to try to believe that this is real life.

Do you attend city council meetings regularly?

A: So, not really. I actually moved away from Tuscon for a couple of years, and I just got back here a couple of months ago, so this is the first one that I had been to since I moved to town. I was there, specifically, because I'm a field organizer with the People's Defense Initiative, and they're really the driving force behind Tuscon Families Free and Together, which is the Sanctuary City campaign. That evening, the mayor and city council were formally placing it on the ballot. You know, it was a big night for us. It was the capstone on a lot of work that we had pushed through, making sure we could get the signatures from registered voters within the city to qualify and allow the voters to have a say on this important issue.

Was that exchange something new to you in terms of attending meetings like that?

A: A lot of people have been shocked by so many things in this particular meeting. You know, banjo guy, the lady singing, the red shirt guy screaming "jackass," and ultimately the protestors, but Tuscon's an odd place. The original reporter who filmed the that footage actually wrote on Twitter and said that that's not that uncommon for a Tuscon City Council meeting. I've said a few times now that that's not the weirdest one that I've ever been to. It was definitely the loudest and probably the tensest, but it probably wasn't the weirdest.

For people asking about the guy with the banjo. Here he is. #GreenShirtGuy pic.twitter.com/G2gUCiNumm

— Nick VinZant (@NickVinZant) August 7, 2019

What was it about this protestor that made you laugh so emphatically?

A: I mean, it's such an absurd thing to me, and there's background and context obviously, not included in that clip. At least one of those people is not from Tuscon. They don't live here. They came to town. They drove a couple of hours on the highway to come to town with their Big Gulps and their signs to disrupt this city council meeting, and they had been mildly disruptive through the entire thing.

One of my favorite things, there was a group called AZ Patriots there, and at the beginning meeting, you know everyone has to recite the pledge of allegiance, and they added words into the pledge of allegiance, like they changed the words ever so slightly to, like, fit this anti-immigrant, nationalist agenda that they spew. I think it's so insanely ironic that a group who calls themselves "patriots" would feel the need to change the pledge of allegiance in the middle of a government building. That was actually the first time during the meeting I laughed out loud.

Q: What's it been like being a viral meme? Have you been recognized in public and offline?

A: Yeah, immediately before getting on the phone call with you, I just took three pictures with people. I got recognized in a gas station buying cigarettes the other day, and in a coffee shop earlier. It's absolutely insane. People sent me memes from, literally, around the world and in different languages that I couldn't hope to read if I wanted to; and newscasts that have picked it up from different countries. This morning, I was doing an interview in Toronto.

Q: Have you had the opportunity to use your own meme yet?

A: I think I shared the first meme of myself today. it was from a labor organization in Wisconsin. I think it said something to the extent of "When your boss tells you that life is better without a union." I think that 's the first one I've shared from my Twitter account. I've seen a lot of good ones, and a lot of good political ones, a lot of great that are completely unrelated, like about sports and pop culture.

Maybe my favorite one I've seen so far, from 'defeat right to work Wisconsin' on FB pic.twitter.com/8LZ1f08I4M

— Alex Kack (@Alex_Kack) August 9, 2019

Q: Have you received compliments about your laugh before?

A: I don't know if I'd say compliments, but it's definitely something people have noticed. I was thinking about this for the first time in a long time today, but many, many years ago I had this girlfriend and that was one of the things that she would always say, you know, she'd razz me about my laugh, and the fact that it was so physical and animated. That's probably the one thing that I've been reflecting back on. It's definitely something that people have mentioned before.

Q: I asked some people around the office if they had any questions for you, and a bunch were wardrobe related. One being, how many green shirts do you own or is that the primary green shirt?

A: This is the only green polo I own, but I own some green dress shirts from the same company, actually. And I definitely have a few green t-shirts laying around. Green is my favorite color.

Q: Now that you are known as the Green Shirt Guy, do you plan on making that your trademark, adding more green shirts to your wardrobe or are you out of the green shirt game?

A: I think I'm just gonna keep wearing this one the same way I have been.

Q: Finally, do you have a favorite meme, and if so, what is it?

A: God, that's a good one. I'm gonna throw it back. Do you remember the Socially Awkward Penguin? Yeah, let's go there.

Q: Is there anything more you'd like people to know about the Green Shirt Guy?

A: I'd like people to remember, ultimately, why this all happened. In Tuscon, we're actually doing something important and historic. From my understanding, I think this is the first time that the city has the opportunity to be declared a Sanctuary City through an entirely citizen-led initiative. This isn't something political figures are leading the charge on. This isn't something that politicians are getting a vote on with any other weight than people who live here. We have a chance to define our own sense of morality and what we view to be human rights. But we're also under attack, so if people are supportive of this meme or this video or this cause, I would implore them to go to the website familiesfreeandtogether.org and do whatever they can. Even if it's just a tweet of support, it helps get our people through the day.