I hurried through my morning chores so L and I could head to the hands-off protest around 11.
I haven't been singing with the women's choir I got into two years ago regularly, but today, I stood on the steps of the capitol with Sistrum and sang call-and-response songs to start up the crowd. There were some fiery speakers. I particularly liked that Rep. Dylan Wegela shouted out the DSA and suggested that anyone not representing the people (no matter what their political affiliation) should be voted out.
And what a great turnout for the "hands off" protests all across the U.S. today. On social media, I'm seeing videos of rallies that are miles long and and thousands of people strong.
I'm also hearing that while the protests were shown on the tv in other countries, mainstream media in the US hasn't been covering it. (I don't have cable and don't know for sure.)
I'd heard of the #SitYourBlackAssDown signal from Black leaders ahead of today as a way of protecting Black people from police violence as well as a "your turn" gesture to the rest of the population. And post-protest, Black leaders have correctly pointed out 1) the absence of black people at the protests has meant absence of police in helmets and anarchists inciting violence 2) how in the long laundry list of all matters that need protection from this administration, Black Lives are seldom mentioned although Trump's interactions are always adversarial and his initiatives always antagonistic towards Black people. I cannot unsee that now--posters at the protest supported everyone from immigrants and trans people to veterans and teachers, but I did not see any posters about racial injustice. We need to do better.
Still and all, it felt good to be at the rally today, and made me feel like I was actively engaging with the democratic process. And it was great to be there with comrades like L and RS, AH, SD, and so many others. Standing on the steps of the capitol and seeing the thousands of people amassed there, I, along with many of the singers around me, teared up. It was powerful and humbling.
Pic: A portion of the crowd at the protest today. My eyes kept going to the "if your voice held no power they would not be trying to censor it" sign.
22 comments:
I felt good being there too. Inspired, energized, hopeful. Nothing will happen tomorrow but it will happen.
I wasn’t able to attend since I was tending to Will while he heals from surgery but I was happy to see that an estimated 6k people showed up at the capitol here. The crowd looked massive and energized. I saw a sign from a nun that said ‘it’s so bad that even the introverts are here’ which I thought was kind of clever. Reading about a group of nuns being there gave me hope.
It is sad how different the police presence is when there are fewer black people. :(
Take care.
Thanks for singing out and speaking up!
-Steph
It was relegated to the Metro section in the Post, as if it were a local story and not national news. And on page A3, there was a story about how people are demoralized and are resisting less than in 2017, which is so not true...
Good for you for showing up, Maya!
Yes, that sign is great. But- great point about racial injustice being moved to the back burner. It's like there's so much wrong that we're forgetting about that??? Interesting that mainstream media hasn't been covering this- I don't think most people trust mainstream media anymore anyway.
So many communities in Ohio turned out in force! Jordan took Theo to a rally in their city, and he held and waved a Pride flag (sending you a photo). Unfortunately, I got a migraine due to changeable weather, and my sign and I could not go, but my sister and her husband were at the rally and promised to make extra noise for me.
I didn't hear about the SYAD movement. It makes sense to me. That the Black Lives Matter mural was removed from the street in DC is beyond disappointing. Yes, we need to do better and demand better.
Wow, you know, I had noticed (especially yesterday when our local demonstration was about 5,000 people, much bigger than the last several weeks) that the demographic is mostly white, mostly older folks. I was heartened to see more people under 50 the last couple of weeks, but still not too many people of color. And you're right, not a lot of police either. My sign yesterday said "Hands off our Democracy", but maybe I need one that says "Black Lives Matter". I did see a couple for social justice writ large, but not a lot for anything more specific regarding people of color.
Another Jeanie miss :/! But we have a meetup coming this month! Yes, it was uplifting to be in good company.
I hope Will is healing well and enjoying the grape juice and popsicles :)!
I loved all the clever posters! Agree that the introverts one is clever and funny and sad. There was one that said, "I've seen smarter cabinets at IKEA." lol
Thank you!
Of course! Silence feels like the worst possible option, Steph...
That's so dismissive, Steph--it must feel extra annoying since you were there. I had a couple of friends head to D.C. as well. Is it because the Post is taking direction from Bezos these days?
Thanks, Nicole. There were some signs about Canada and Greenland too!
They're right not to trust, but at the same time, it worries me... people will probably just go find some kooky echo chamber to get their news from :/
I'm sorry about your migraine, Nance, I hope you've recovered! I'm sure Theo and the members of your family who attended did so extra large and voiced your protest too. (And sadly, I'm fairly certain you'll have plenty of opportunities to take your sign out on an outing soon.)
Right? I'm going to wear a tee or add to my sign for next time.
Maybe. The Post did not endorse a candidate in the presidential race for the first time in several decades and then it officially changed the political orientation of its opinion page (though I've noticed plenty of anti-Trump pieces still there). The news side of the organization was supposed to remain untouched, but who knows? I have been on the verge of cancelling a couple times, but I just love newspapers so much. We could always get the Times, but I want to be reading my local paper.
It was so exciting to see all those protests. Let's change the course of history!
I know Bezos said just the Opinion pages, (https://www.npr.org/2025/02/28/nx-s1-5312819/washington-post-bezos-subscriptions-cancellations) but perhaps there has been a chilling effect in other areas of the Post as well. Such a pity--WaPo was such a beacon.
I'm feeling so optimistic too Engie!
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