I dug out my old pussy hat . . . and spent a couple of hours on Saturday yelling and waving a sign on one of the busiest streets in town with 2,200 of my friends (old and new) as part of the nationwide Hands Off protest rallies.
And, oh my . . . did it feel good! Like . . . really good. It was exciting to see so many people giving their time on a cold and windy Saturday to rally for democracy. It gave me shivers! (And not because of the temperature.)
2,200 of us lined a one-mile stretch of a very busy, retail-heavy thoroughfare. We cheered. We waved. And we were heartened by all the honking/waving/peace sign making support from the folks in the cars driving by. (And there were LOTS of honking/waving/peace sign making cars driving by.) We brandished some of the most creative and clever signs you can imagine. We laughed. I cried. (It was all such a release.)
Maybe some of you participated in Hands Off rallies near you, too. (YAY!) And if you did, I hope you, too, felt empowered and supported and . . . not so despairing.
And if you couldn’t make it to a rally near you on Saturday, I’m here to encourage you to get out there for the NEXT rally! Overcome the inertia. Remove your barriers. Stand up! Make your voice heard! (And bring your friends.)
If not now, when?
If not you, who?
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!
Step into your power!
(It feels really good.)
Good for YOU! I am so glad to hear that it felt empowering, and that it provided a release for some of your anxiety. It always feels good to do something rather than stew about it. Congratulations, Kym, on finding an outlet and making some new like-minded friends.
Good for you, Kym! I could not make the Pittsburgh rally… (and yes, the weather played a factor in that) so Go YOU for braving the weather! I loved seeing so many gathering to stand up to what is happening.
The weekend was pretty amazing all across the Nation. I am feeling hopeful! Yay for you and yay for everyone who participated.
What a great place to have a Hands Off Rally! Main Street in our little town is closed to traffic for construction and I couldn’t find a rally that was closer than an hour away and it was pouring rain, but maybe I’ll have to just go the next time. The protests were loud, large, and global!
I’m so glad to hear that you did this and had a positive experience! We had initially planned to attend the rally in Plymouth but with my leg situation I was worried about standing for too long and having another “situation” occur. A nurse friend suggested I contact my chiropractor (I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself!) and I will be calling him today to make an appointment and hopefully get this resolved so that I can attend the next rally without concerns!
Saturday was both reassuring and amazing!
And here in PA, there were some decent-sized protests even in some of the ruby red areas, which I was glad to know about.
My daughter and I were far north of you (in front of Panera) and it was awesome! It did my soul so much good, and made me feel less alone in abhorring this shitshow. Like our fight isn’t futile, after all. Traffic was so interesting to watch: the vast majority offering boisterous support, to the few who studiously avoided eye contact, to the small handful who taunted. And I learned that an advantage of these linear protests is how they allow people who physically of emotionally can’t stand in a crowd to still participate: so many people IN CARS waving signs and flags. I want to do it again next weekend!
Thank you for getting out there! I’m sure it really helped you feel less helpless. I certainly feel better just seeing the pictures from all across the country!
Thank you! I wasn’t able to attend (prior commitment with grandson), but I was SO happy to see the pictures & reports populate social media. My closest protest was in a city about the same size as yours — and it was THE SAME!! There’s a plaza in the center of it all, the actual “location,” but it overflowed — both sides of the street, for many, many blocks. There were even well-attended protests in the U.P.!
I attended the protest in our town and 150 of us were out in the pouring rain and 45 degree weather. We were encouraged by the horns honking by passing cars and trucks. Compared to your turn out150 sounds small, but is a great turn out for this small red-leaning town!
Chuck and I went to the protest here. It was really encouraging to be with so many people (over 1000) in our red part of a blue state. People had so many clever signs, and though angry, were also happy to be together. A surprising number of positive reactions from drivers on the busy street we lined. And a few not so positive, but that wasn’t surprising.