Be quiet.

A preamble to protesting.

I wanted to write something that expressed my mood, before I took myself off to the local No Kings protest. But I only glanced at some blogs, avoided main news. Perhaps I should have looked harder.

But at the time, there seemed no reason for immediate alarm, and I didn’t want to be rendered immobile by the fear of nuclear conflict in the Middle East.

What did I see? 

I saw a former governor and body builder, someone who appears to be just, still proclaiming himself a Republican, saying America is the best country in the world, and that both sides need to stop finger pointing and work together. That we will get over this part, as we recovered from the assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy and the shame of Watergate.

Then a video of people taking pictures of an 80 year old veteran being arrested before the shabby dictator’s military parade, Saturday morning in Washington DC, for protesting. The police put white zip cords around his wrists, arms held behind him. He was kept upright by two police officers, as they have taken away his walker, which another policeman can’t seem to decide whether to put it to one side, abandon it, or bring it along, wheeling it. He finally chooses the last option. I hope he has a mother or father or grandparent, and that his hands on the walker remind him of human frailty. I will hope that some of these people, at least, remember humanity.

Another blog showed pictures of Washington DC, pre-parade. Practically deserted except for the ubiquitous black Suburban SUVs that roam like wasps. The blogger talked about joking with the Trader Joe’s cashier, saying the people supporting the parade wouldn’t come in a store that seemed lefty. Oh they will, went the reply. We have beer.

Two world famous, Nobel winning economists, Paul Krugman and Branko Milanovic were in dialogue with each other, and the more public facing of them, Paul Krugman, posted their discussion. One interesting part – publishers weren’t terribly interested in inequality. The ideas were tossed back and forth. How Smith is not as right wing as people would like to think. The obstacles to looking at global inequality, how to standardize tools of measurement. Another item – that China has worked hard to erase poverty. This was only part of a conversation. Neither is worried about becoming poor. Neither is worried about becoming very rich, in fact, it appears that the super wealthy, like Musk, are left out of the equations because they skew the numbers. Certainly Musk with his outrageous ups and downs doesn’t help you to see the figures. They discussed. 

So much knowledge. Yet, after all this reading, drinking coffee, flipping through headlines that sought to distill Brian Wilson’s legacy, or opining on the logic of dropping bombs, I was just overcome with a sudden sense of depression and futility. Fine, say the energetic. Go for a walk. Stop doom scrolling. Better yet, stop thinking. What good comes of it?

No kings! We’d all be happy with a king – we already are. We just call them billionaires.

Theory Meets Practice

I walked to the protest. I made a sign this time, which singled me out as I walked down the road, a lone figure next to automobiles whooshing past. It felt precarious until I joined with others. Over 1000 people turned out, which for a smallish town is considerable. There were many cars honking and waving in support, more than before. Perhaps people are finally realizing that this is not normal, that something needs to be done.

The usual supporters of the current regime were not as numerous, but just as depressing. A couple of thumbs down from people who were obviously in the bottom bracket, who must not realize the budget bill will take away more from them, or don’t care because they trust in their overlords, so long as they are given people to hate. Orwell had the “Two Minute Hate,” because he understood this fascist way of refocusing dangerous energy. One man yelled out “Commies!” from his truck. Commies? What decade are we in? And seeing as America now votes with North Korea and supports the regime in Russia, one could be confused. Except there is still China. That’s right. The communist country with skyscrapers and clean public transport. The country that has made strides towards eliminating poverty. China, the country who has invested heavily in education. Who is not as bothered by the inherent stupidity in the back and forth on when and how the US will impose punishing tariffs or confirm the elimination of student visas as one might think. Who needs Chinese goods and students, after all? We do. The USA. And while China isn’t thrilled about their students learning about life elsewhere, or about the freedom of speech or assembly – freedoms that used to be something taken for granted here, they appreciate the importance of having a world-class education. But Americans forget that world-class exists in other countries. But if being called “Commie” means that we are protesting against defunding of schools, scientific research, health care – then yes, we are. If it means we want propaganda to win, then no.  But they are persistent, these “low-information” voters, as they drive past, scowling. One person yelled out over and over – “He won!” – as though that were the entire issue. Like their claim in the last election, which encouraged revolt and murder. Persistent, these people in their big black trucks and old sedan cars, giving the middle finger to a bunch of 60 year old men and women. Tough, like their guru.  Another man yelled something from his car, then opened the passenger door while he was stopped in traffic so he could yell more clearly. They want a fight. That’s clear. And the group of people standing there with their homemade signs, with their good natured waves and cheers, wanting health care, education, and stability, are the enemy. 

But lots of people, lots of signs. More people under the age of 50, which is a very good thing. This can’t just be a movement of the retired. Small town denizens, waving to each other. Today, entire families were there. There was a young woman next to me who looked uneasy, but stayed the entire time. One woman pointed out to her friends a young person across the street who she had taught in second grade. 

I felt that being in a group, with people of like minds, would help my feelings of anger, of helplessness, of discouragement. And it’s true that the action, the very physical sense of being with people and seeing people – the communication both physical and verbal – made things seem less unreal.

Today, for the first time, there was a police presence. The squad cars drove back and forth, surveying the crowd, unsmiling. Then there was a police officer on foot, moving amongst everyone. I saw him try to hurry someone crossing the road. He looked genuine, wished someone a good weekend when they thanked him for his service. Still strange, here, in the midst of colonial wood framed houses, and people in their country garb of windbreakers and sneakers, grey haired, the very white, very middle class, being watched at close range by the police. 

And then I get back to the internet, and I see two lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota – Tim Walz’s state -have been shot. Two are dead. Apparently, they were killed by a man impersonating a police officer. And I see they are telling people to avoid anti-Trump demonstrations as the gunman may go there next. Handy. Of course they are, as if that were the key issue here – the protests. 

This country is like a big ship, heading towards a rock, and we will hit it, because something this big takes some time to move. The current regime and their funders, most importantly, were planning actions for a while – Project 2025. And the current leader lied about his involvement, as he lies about everything. He is a pawn. That doesn’t mean there’s time to wait for the next election.

A war on TV is not the same as a show about a war. Gil Scott Heron was correct – the revolution will not be televised. The irony comes from this government taking people from television to fill cabinet jobs in the real world, when it’s unclear that these people know the difference between TV and actual conflict. They want to start a civil war, because they know they are already on television, and the news media is never going to call something a revolution. They know that the direction the cameras point in makes the narrative, and greed and need and ignorance will help their cause, like a tabloid gossip column, war the new fashion to be admired and envied.

The revolution will be spread by word of mouth, by rough videos on phones, shared without editorial control. No wonder they want to silence us – with fear.  The senator being strongarmed out of Noam’s briefing and pushed to the ground, and handcuffed – it’s that imperfect handheld phone video that showed up the lie she tried to sell, that he rushed at her, that no one knew who he was. The video shows him stating his name, asking for people to unhand him.

Resistance, consistent and cautious, like the underground railroad and the resistance to the Nazis in WW 2, requires courage. But they are going to try and frighten us, and men cosplaying as ICE, disappearing people off the streets has now become actual violence towards opposition in government.

No, I’m not feeling ok, in case you were wondering. Even if you weren’t, which is more likely.

They are going to try to tell us our voices don’t matter. They already try to describe to us what we see, gaslight us. Many people believe them, even the good ones. They believe we have freedom. Or, like a body builder, think this too shall pass.

What are children told? Silence is golden.

Courage to overcome a lifetime of containment. Maybe the truth will be found sometimes in silence, but not the kind that is the result of fear and obedience.