In Praise of Protestors

A quick salute to those in LA and heading to the streets on No Kings Day.

I had other topics on the agenda, more in line with my wheelhouse. But since I’ve been titling these essays “in praise of…,” it feels maliciously ignorant not to praise those actually deserving of it.

I’m specifically thinking of the protestors in Los Angeles, standing up for their communities in the face of what increasingly looks like the American Gestapo (formally known as ICE) even as their own president sends in the national guard and the freakin’ marines to silence them and enforce their autocratic, white supremacist wet dream of which the likes of Stephen Miller salivate over. It all feels like an episode out of some dystopian, futuristic depiction of an America that’s lost its way. Except it’s here and now.

I’m writing this from Bald Head Island, North Carolina –– a car-free vacation island where roads are for golf carts, cyclists, and pedestrians. It feels light years away from everything in the news. But it’s very much the same country.

On a golf cart outing with Melanie, we stopped by some historical markers and learned that this island was home to a Confederate fort built by enslaved Africans. Union soldiers took the island in January 1865, just months before the Civil War ended.

Reflecting on and living through horrific chapters of American history, it feels like there should be some parallel to draw. I’m not sure what it is in this case. Perhaps it’s just that, over time, enough good people will bend the arch of history back towards justice. Maybe it’s that, eventually, history will catch up and mark this president and his cowardly enablers for the tragic lessons in blind loyalty that they are.

All I know is that millions of Americans are gathering across the country today to protest this administration despite the unprecedented vindictiveness and hostility they have for anyone who dare to disagree with them. They’ll face the threat of violence and jail to remind them (and others watching from the sidelines) that, although we’ve often failed to live up to it, this is a country where peaceful dissent is not only protected, but encouraged. This is a country of the people, by the people, for the people.

In other words, we don’t do kings here.

If you’re unable to join a protest (or simply want to doubly show your support), consider making a donation to the Pretrial Bail Freedom Fund and/or the Immigration Bond Freedom Fund. You can donate to both here.

Happy No Kings Day.