Why I Show Up, Stand Up and Speak Out

On April 19th, I joined members of my community in Doylestown, PA for yet another round of protests in the face of mounting fear about the impact of the actions already taken by this administration and the threats of future absurdities and atrocities. It is like living in a dystopic movie with a script penned by a screenwriter who was high on crystal meth at the time. The alternate script which had Kamala Harris in the White House is hidden in a drawer somewhere. I imagine what it would have been like to have sanity in the country with the solid protections of our rights and freedoms rather than having them slashed and burned and torn out at the roots.

The Day of Action included folks of all ages and stages of life holding clever signs and chanting words of love for our country, spontaneous speeches, rallying cries to motivate us to keep on keepin’ on when despair takes hold and then gathering bags and boxes filled with food, diapers, books and hygiene items that will be donated to two local charities, The Opportunity Council and Casa Del Pueblo will be receiving the bounty. There were reminders of the importance of voting in every election and ways to stay involved in between action events.

At 66 years old, I have lived through the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the Kent State Massacre, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK and Malcolm X. I was a child/teen during those tumultuous years, so I didn’t realize the seriousness of those events. I also trusted that the grownups would somehow handle it. Now, we are the grownups. In my young adulthood, I marched for the ERA, No Nukes and Gay Rights. In the mid-80s, I was involved with an organization called Del-Aware whose mission was to ‘Dump the Pump,’ which referred to the Pt. Pleasant pumping station which was to send water to the as yet unbuilt Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. Despite the efforts of thousands of dedicated people, the pump and the power plant were built.

I never imagined that in this stage of my life, I would need to be out there again, standing up for everyone’s rights. I never thought that we would be in such a dire state. I had in mind a Star Trek reality in which different species would have learned to live together in peace. Instead, we are in a Star Wars reality in which the Resistance needs to be fighting the Empire. I haven’t quite mastered my Jedi abilities, but I’m working on them. I do embrace the idea of the Force that exists in all things, including the darkness.

A friend suggested visualizing what we want to occur, not just what we are speaking out against. She encouraged the day when this mess is cleaned up and we are all celebrating in the streets. She reminded us not to worry about the ‘how,’ rather, focusing on the ‘what’. I have been doing that daily since I saw her Facebook post.

Yesterday, in the midst of the spirited gathering came two disruptions in the Force. One was a man who came up to the area where the megaphoned speakers were encouraging the crowd and started chanting the name of the man to which he is an adherent, arms raised. Those who heard him, continued chanting, almost ignoring his presence. At the end of his performance, he raised his shirt and ‘flashed’ the crowd with his bare belly.

The next, I did not witness, but the image at the top of this article, highlights the vitriol and embodies the rage of those who, despite having their guy in the White House, are in attack mode. Toward the end of the protest, I was chatting with my cousins who were there, and they spoke about people they saw whose faces were so red with anger that they thought they might explode. Imagine carrying that much hostility. Their minds must be very dark and shadowy places. As I looked at the photo that was taken by local photographer Mike Maney and used here with his consent, one thing I noticed, in addition to the raised fingers and bitter faces, is the sign that clearly says DO NOT ENTER. It couldn’t be a more poignant reminder.

I know that we each have within us, our shadows. We can all succumb to fear and hatred. I do what I can each day to face my shadow, the part of me that wants to retaliate and to ‘other’ those who oppose my idea of a peaceful, loving world. I willingly take sides as is espoused by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel “Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

May I never succumb to the darkness.

That is why I continue to show up, stand up and speak out as a patriotic peaceful protester.

This man told the crowd that he is on the Autism spectrum, and he is a valuable member of society, has a job and girlfriend who I met later in the day. He told me that he would like to invite RFK, Jr. to the place where he works to show him that he is wrong about people on the spectrum. His girlfriend said that she would rather vote for my purple hair for office than the people who are there now.