Well, I went to a protest, and I don’t want to discourage anyone, but I have to say it felt bad. There were about twenty people, plus four counter protestors.
The organizers did their best, but they gave off fringe vibes via decisions like having flyers that said “Mein Trump.” Yes, he is a fascist, but man, that’s just not working. Then, the guy with the megaphone tried to get everyone to repeat a really long pledge about not repeating fascism.
I think there’s a really basic issue to rally around: Trump defying court orders in order to abduct people. But that message was lost among the “Fuck Trump” chants, that like five people did.
Meanwhile this guy from a pro-Israel group went around taking pictures of everyone, probably so he could upload it to
Canary Mission, a pro-Israel doxing site, so everyone can get ICE visits later. I was wearing a mask, HTH.
Some other idiot was yelling about how Biden is just as bad as Trump, and I just couldn’t take it. You know there are millions of liars like this, and that’s why Trump has a base. I told her no, that is a lie, he did not defy court orders to abduct people. She, of course said, yes he did. 70/30 on whether or not she really believed this.
I worked out before this so I would be chill, but I found myself really wanting to stick it to her and her husband, even though my friend tried to get me to back off. He was right, and I did disengage, but I absolutely hate these people for literally ruining the country.
Finally, twenty people protesting this in Harvard Square? Everyone should be out there when a president ignores court orders. That’s the end of this as a country in which you can make predictions that will allow you to live safely.
I probably could have avoided this by checking who the organizers were. And I do think you should go to a protest. Just make sure they share your focus before you go. Because there really isn’t much else to do, other than calling your congressman. We have very few levers at this point.