Protesting Monday Musing

Our motley crew, protesting in front of the Trump "Make America Conned Again" rally.  I mean, Make America Great Again.  We're gathered here for a photo op, and then to get our checks from George Soros,

I participated in a protest Saturday!

It was a first for me, believe it or not. I had been part of a teacher's union picket, back in 1978, but this is the first purely political protest I've participated in.

We only had about fifteen protesters, but  it had only been announced at one meeting of the Team RJ group, named for organizer RJ Hadley.  Given that, I thought our turn out was pretty good!

Meanwhile, the pro Trump group had advertised heavily, across many medias, both traditional and social, throughout Southeast Georgia.  Given this, and the fact that most counties here voted heavily for Trump, their turnout was not all that impressive.  There were crowd estimates of 200 (as announced by the rally organizers), but more realistically about 125.  Regardless, it was certainly not the numbers they were hoping for.

The police that were there were extremely helpful, and were neutral in the disposition of their job of keeping the peace.  They told us where we could protest safely, and we stayed within that boundary. A few Trump supporters would wander over and say things to us, mostly mild, but some of it clearly designed to provoke us.  They were met with love and respect, and the police only had to say something once.  When the rally was over, the police shook our hands and thanked us for our respectful behavior.

As you can see from the picture above, we weren't a very gruff looking crowd.  We were just regular people fed up with the autocratic direction that Trump and his cronies were leading us in.  I had hoped we would get a show of support from MILLENNIALS.  Hopefully, as MILLENNIALS find out more about our group and our area protests, the MILLENNIALS will come out and support us.

We were near a street that had a good amount of traffic, and we received a variety of notice from people.  We did get some dirty looks, some birdies shot, and a rare heckle.  "Go Trump!" was a big one which I would translate into "GO, Trump!", as in yes, he definitely has to GO!  One younger man shouted to us "Get a f------ job!"  Of course, it was Saturday, and most of us had good jobs, thank you very much.  The woman next to me had two jobs, and was a dog rescuer in her spare time.  Too bad he wasn't worried about the job status of those attending the Trump rally.

I have a personal preference to carry positive signs.  So the two I held at different times were "I Support Public Education" and "Liberty and Justice for All". I have a feeling if this area does shift its politics, it will be because educators finally wake up to the reality that Trump and Betsey DeVos and Republicans in general, are not their friends,  They would just as soon eliminate public schools, and switch to privately run charters that will pay them only about half what they make now, and will cut or end most of their benefits.

The rally speakers mostly ignored us, although I think they did pray for our souls at one point.  In general, their rhetoric was somewhat hateful and intolerant, and also heavily wrapped in religion. It's so odd.  The least Christian political figure of my lifetime enjoyed the support of 80% of white evangelicals.  It boggles the mind.

It was a great experience, and it felt good to be  part of it.

And seriously, no, there is no check coming from George Soros.  I did it because I love this country, and I want to be steered back to a place where we once again pursue liberty and justice for all.

Join us!