The Joys of Protests in the North Bay
This past Saturday, we went to two “No Kings” protests – one in Sebastopol and one in Santa Rosa. Both were big; both were fun; both attracted all ages, ethnicities, genders, and a broad range of grievances about President Trump.
I missed the singing and songs from the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests of the 60’s. Where are today’s songwriters and their ballads?
The size, exuberance, and enthusiasm were a response to the federal troops occupying LA, to the manhandling of Senator Padilla when he sought to ask a question of Kristi Noem, and to brutality and cruelty of ICE’s arrests, detention and deportation of hard working immigrants who help grow our food, build our homes, landscape our gardens, take care of our seniors, and work long hours for low pay in often brutal conditions. We have been allowing Trump and his GOP enablers to threaten our democratic institutions, take away our health care coverage, ruin our most respected universities, despoil our environment, elevate white supremacists, erect high tariff barriers to freedom of trade and set back scientific research and inquiry. These are severe blows to our nation and to the world. So, we are protesting; that is what we can and must do.
In fairness, this is what he campaigned on, and we should not be surprised when he takes campaign rhetoric and tries to turn it into reality. What is surprising however is the obsequiousness and utter servility of some in his own party to policies that they know are wrong.
So, we are in it for the long term to remove the stench of corruption, the deterioration of American values, and the terrible damages to the fabric and reputation of our nation. It was a tonic to share the streets and sidewalks with so many like minded people. We have to harness that loving energy from the protest to build a counter-movement from the ground up. One that inspires and liberates; one that improves and builds; one that overcomes obstacles and inertia; one that unleashes energy not dissipates it.