Todd Lyons is “demanding” that we stop saying bad things about his Gestapo. Hegseth has threatened to deploy the Marines against the American people. Let’s give them the answer they deserve.
On June 14, Donald Trump is celebrating his birthday with a Soviet-style military parade at our expense. It’s also a day when there will be many protests against the brutal turn our government has taken. You can look for one in your area at 50501. Read the description of any event you’re considering, and check other sources if necessary. Some event organizers merely want a socialist all-controlling state instead of a populist one, and they’re trying to hitch a ride on justified public outrage. In my limited experience, though, most are focused on the administration’s gross abuses of power.
The Haverhill, Massachusetts event looks like one of the good ones. June 14 is also Flag Day, and the event’s page says, “The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it. On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t — to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.”
I still have serious doubts about the effectiveness of protests. They happen, they get a mention in the news, and the government keeps doing whatever it was doing. Their most important effect is to remind ourselves we haven’t given up or given in. In times like these, keeping quiet isn’t an acceptable alternative. With luck, you may get some people to think. At least remember that your goal isn’t to insult them. You don’t win people over with mockery.
Most of these events welcome signs, but many discourage signs on sticks; they can be grabbed and used as weapons.
If you bring your mobile phone to a protest, you may want to turn off Wi-Fi, location tracking, unlocking by face recognition, and Bluetooth. Make sure someone knows where you’re going and arrange to check in afterward so they know you’re safe. ICE doesn’t play fair.
If you’d like to get people together to sing my song, “Breaking the ICE”, feel free.
Update: I wrote this a day or so before posting, because early morning is a good time to have a post appear and it gives me time to reconsider and edit. Since then, the situation in Los Angeles has deteriorated into rioting, with threatening or destructive actions aimed at local law enforcement and infrastructure. As with the actions against police violence a few years ago, it’s easy for legitimate protest to turn into rioting. It can be Antifa types, government provocateurs, or just people looking for a chance to wreck stuff. An unidentified arsonist destroyed Uncle Hugo’s, an iconic science fiction bookstore in Minneapolis, during riots in 2020.
Don’t let that happen on Saturday. Hurting bystanders and legitimate law enforcement just trying to keep the peace won’t help the cause of freedom. Don’t join in if some moron decides blocking traffic will win the drivers over. Trump is the enemy. ICE is the enemy. You want the people in your city, your community, to be your friends.