I think it was number seven. Perhaps number eight. Or number nine. I don’t know. I’ve lost count.
The first one was the day after the inauguration. My wife wore her knitted pink pussy hat to that one. There were thousands of people there. And then there was the one protesting the Muslim ban. The one protesting the attempt to repeal Obamacare. The one protesting the new tax laws. The one to protest the administration’s assault on women’s reproductive rights. The one to protest the rollback of environmental protections and the denial of science and climate change. And the one to protest the separation of children from their parents who were seeking asylum in the United States.
Yesterday’s rally was to protest the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. There were banners and signs. There was music. There were local politicians and other speakers.
The only thing that was missing were the protesters. Maybe 500 or so people actually showed up at City Hall. Not tens of thousands like there were on January 21, 2017. Not the thousands who protested the Muslim ban, the Obamacare repeal, the tax laws, threats to women’s rights, science and climate change denials, and family separations. Not even close to a thousand people showed up yesterday.
I’ve noticed that with each rally to protest Trump-related actions, the crowd sizes have grown smaller. I don’t think the drop off in participation is because the purposes for the rallies are less important, less critical. I think it’s a case of rally fatigue.
Trump has given us so many reasons to protest and to march and to rally. There new are causes to fight with every passing week and I fear that people are growing tired and numb and frustrated because nothing is changing. So what’s the point?
We can’t get lazy. We can’t give up. We can’t be apathetic. That’s what got us here in the first place.
We must continue to resist, to protest, to rally, to march, to make our voices heard if we don’t want Trumpism to become the new American normal.
This, That, and the Other 
Suppose fewer people understand the significance?
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Thanks for that, Fandanglo. I certainly think what you say is true. I can’t even stand to read the news anymore. It’s like we are trying to keep him from infecting our daily lives and thinking, even though of course it is going on even if we aren’t thinking about it!!!
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Yep. it sucks. I kept hoping that they’d grow and escalate so as to give Americans and OUR President the excuse to gun them down en mass as a matter of national security.
And yeah, you “wife” would look so much better with a bullet hole through her nasty face, just like any other domestic enemy of the American people.
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What could that vitriol possibly be about? An example of the “right”?
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one more disgusting white supremacist at work. that’s all. ignore the jerk.
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Thanks, SUZE
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Whoa. You are one sick puppy.
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Excuse me. Token conservative here. You do nothing for your point of view by making death threats. Please go troll somewhere else, and my advice to Fandango is to block your name and IP address.
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Thanks for the support, James.
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Well, we’re not all thugs, Fandango. 😉
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One, I made no “death threat,” which has specific requirements, which nothing I ever write online meet. We are, after all, for the moment still bound by civilian, peace-time law.
As for “thug.” – That’s a meaningless term. Yes, I’m more than ready for the war that’s coming, which you, James, don’t seem to be. Oh well, your loss and your ruin.
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You’re seriously deluded, Jonolan. No, you didn’t make any *specific* death threats per se, but you suggested that protesters should be shot en masse and that my wife would look better with a bullet hole in her head. You are a sadistic sicko.
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And the fact that MOST of the rallyers are our age — Boomers. Mind you, even during Watergate, there was a drop off periodically — like around finals when we actually had to crack a few books and figure out what class we’d been ignoring all year. But we were young. We could rally, protest, and fight … and still have a party afterward with guitars and some singing.
Where are the kids? Where are they? Why aren’t THEY bothering to fight? What are their grandparents the ones going to war?
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Good point. Most of those who regularly go to these anti-Trump protest rallies seem to be us grayhairs.
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Many of the “kids” take the rally to the Internet. Mass petitions have increased dramatically, but this administration is, unsurprisingly, violating the law in regards to public comments. Many rules are being passed without proper comment periods. Another way “kids” are working to change things are through voter registration drives, lawsuits over voting redistricting, and escorting people directly to voter registration offices. The difference between the generations is how they view change. Older generations saw how protests could change social norms and values, while the younger generation sees how change can be made through legal and political processes. They actually go hand in hand. Public policy can elicit temporary changes in behavior (punishment for bad behavior) or can reflect changes in social norms (environmental laws for instance). The 1960s and 70s saw the rise of changes in social norms and values and subsequent policy changes. The 80s and 90s saw a push back of those changes through public policy (declaring corporations people for example). Today there are more grassroot organizations and local organizations driving changes in social norms and values again. What is frustrating is that the normal flow of the tide is being dammed by the current administration who is hell bent on reverting back to the social norms and values of the pre-1960s. As much as they may try, they will not succeed though. Once a social norm and value has been changed it is very hard to revert.
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By the way: Ban Jonolan. Anyone who threatens you with a bullet in the face, ban him from your sight and REPORT HIM TO WORDPRESS. Don’t mess around with them. They aren’t cute or funny and ignoring them is a good way to wind up dead.
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You could also file a complaint with the police and/or FBI
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I agree with magnoliajem, I second the “notion” — because, as someone else said, it is terrorism. Whether domestic or international terrorism (or cyberbullying), legal authorities ought to be informed about it. I wonder if WordPress does that when they are told… whether they pass it along to the FBI or DHS.
By the way, the fact that someone says “our” president doesn’t make that person domestic necessarily — because it could be one of those Russian meddlers (directed by Moscow) or, if a white supremacist, someone anywhere in the world. But, of course, it could be someone residing in our country… a citizen or not.
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This guy Jonolan is NOT a WP blogger and he is considered not protected. He should never have appeared on your site and you need to upgrade your protections. He is a dangerous, loose cannon, not just a troll. Seriously, be very careful.
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I agree, Marilyn. In these days of open communication you must be careful!
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He does have a WordPress blog. It’s called Reflections from a Murky Pond. How do I upgrade my protections? Is there a setting somewhere to do that?
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He will be gone eventually , and hopefully sooner rather than later. Truth will out…
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When has truth ever won out
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Not recently, it seems.
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Very well said. Lack of participation does not always equate to lack of interest or apathy but often saturation, especially when results aren’t obvious. As for the vicious troll who replied, it’s just terrifying to see and read the violent vitriol since the election of the newest WH occupant. While he didn’t cause long simmering hatred, he pushed every button and did as dictators do – inflamed the pep rally long waiting to happen.
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Protests, marches, and rallys won’t make much (if any) difference. GOPs just ignore the protests/marches/rallys & continue to support 45 with their votes. That goes for both GOP legislators & your next door neighbor GOPer. Dem legislators will protest with their votes. What will *really* make a difference is if more Dems show up to vote; if we can get more voters registered; if we can get newly registered voters to vote Dem whether or not they join the party. That’s where we need to direct our efforts!
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“What will *really* make a difference is if more Dems show up to vote.” I agree, but people need to be engaged and active, and one way of doing that is making your presence felt. The GOPers may ignore the rallies and marches, but the news media doesn’t, so people will see that the truth is other than what Trump says it is.
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True
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I can’t believe what an a-hole Jonolan is.
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Agreed… Careful Sensei..
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I can’t seem to find the link to report that guy..
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Nor can I.
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Usually their is a follow button, in which you click on the the three dots and their is an option to report.. Their is no such thing here.. I’ll look into it Sensei..
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I think that only works for blogs, not for comments.
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I’m going to report both the blog and the comment..
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Report it to who?
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Happy Engineers…
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Sensei got it for the comments. Go to the Dashboard. Then select comments. Look for this a**hole comment. Click on the i icon and block and also report him as spam from there.
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