April 19th Protest

This year's Earth Day was very different from other ones in the past. We say that politics shouldn't effect your daily life but this one had activism in a bit of a twist. Earth Day is on April 22nd, Protest are happening April 19th, and on April 20th the President might enact the Insurrection Act. It's important to clarify this protest was planned before many realized the supposed deadline. This Earth Day weekend was a little bit different than the past but many people showed up to make it their own.

Planning a protest the weekend before Earth Day is a hard feat because you deal with the two crowds to try and keep safe. You have the protesters who are protesting the government, and others who are there to celebrate Earth Day. The UVOTN safety team wanted to have a weekend protest because many people could not make it during the week. This is seemingly becoming a more common thing within protest planning. We shifted the focus completely though, and in a big way.

The protest stayed on the sidewalk so we avoided the need for a permit and concerns for marching. We stayed across the street from each other and shouted chants across the street. If you have seen any signs or photos then you know, a lot of issues have come up. This newsletter is called The Ant Colony in reference to the 99% of Americans who are not in the top 1% of all wealth in America. This 99% majority are the "ant" in comparison to the grasshoppers of the 1% who have a majority of the wealth. In a way the Trump Administration is giving the 1% in a simple silver platter, which is what these protests typically aim towards fighting. The simple silver platter is his entire cabinet and the legislation they are trying to pass. To clarify, these protests are against the overreaching of the Trump Administration not the wealth disparity; in my personal opinion two birds with one stone.

These protests have had signs that declare education for all to keep hands off their Government. These movements are all centered around the same thing which is fighting back against fascism and governmental overreach. Ten or twenty years ago, Republicans would have stood for the same thing. This is where those party lines became more blurred. The sidewalk protest did not get as much adverse reaction that concerns some protesters when attending an event. For the most part a lot of these protesters were met with cheers and honking in support. There will be continuous protest as this administration continues to overreach into the lives of American citizens.