The Partial Observer by Teresa Winchester

June 14: the Resistance Against Tyranny Continues Today

June 14 was “No Kings”—a day designated to protest the ever more authoritarian policies and actions of the Trump administration. The two main organizers of “No Kings” at the national level were Indivisible and 50501. They were supported by a coalition of more than 200 other groups.

“No Kings” specifically sought to counter President Trump’s own contention that he is a “king.” The date was chosen by this would-be king to observe both the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and his own 79th birthday. Trump’s celebration took the form of a military parade—something for which Trump has long salivated, admiring, as he does, strongmen such as North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, Russia’s warmongering President Vladimir Putin, and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.

Trump’s parade featured armored tanks, helicopters and historical military equipment at a cost estimated to be somewhere between $25 to $45 million. Upwards of 6,000 uniformed troops, 34 horses, two mules and one dog marched down Constitution Avenue to the National Mall. Estimates of crowd size varied greatly, from 20,000 (Occupy Democrats), to 80-120,000 (Doug Blandry, political campaign event manager), to the White House’s claim of 250,000. According to the fact-checking website Snopes, “Estimates from outside the White House in the form of media reports … generally reported that fewer than the expected 200,000 people were in attendance.”

By contrast, organizers of “No Kings” reported that attendance had “shattered expectations.” The general consensus from newspapers across the nation is that more than 5 million protesters showed up at more than 2,000 events across the U.S. I found it exhilarating to play video after video clip of the rallies around the nation. The official count for the local “No Kings” rally, starting on Market Street in Oneonta, was 1,300 according the rally’s main organizer, Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible—more than twice the attendance of the previous May Day rally.

At every rally, the low youth participation is bemoaned by some attendees. Indeed, it does seem that the baby-boomers, now mostly gray-haired, heftier than in their younger days, and not as agile as before, are leading the charge. Nonetheless, I was impressed by the elderly and the mobility-impaired who did not let their physical challenges keep them from attending—people reliant on walkers, in wheelchairs, on oxygen, some with canes to help them along; others relying on one another for support. And there did seem to be a noticeable increase in the under-50 crowd at “No Kings.”

The mood of the day was overall peaceful, even joyful. It just felt good to be among kindred spirits—good to be showing up and speaking out for justice, equality, democracy and the overall well-being of “we the people.”

As part of the rally, in response to the Trump administration’s slashes to food programs for the needy, Linda and Ed Spencer of Oneonta organized a collection earmarked for the Oneonta Veteran Outreach Center. First aid items were also part of the effort, which brought in a combined total of 35 liquor-store-size boxes and grocery-store-size bags of food, plus three grocery-store-size bags of first aid items. Those who forgot to bring a donation or who were unaware of the collection contributed cash to the cause.

News of the day did not escape us. Even as some held signs saying “Abolish ICE,” we learned that ICE had arrested a man on Watkins Avenue in Oneonta, calling him “an illegally present Venezuelan.” A member of the Otsego Refugee Resettlement Coalition, as well as a member of the Oneonta Common Council, disputed this claim. At the rally, Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek, speaking loudly into a microphone, decried, “These arrests, not by uniformed, badge-wearing officers of the law, but by unknown, untrained, mask-wearing, camouflaged, GI Joe-wannabes,” and addressed ICE directly, proclaiming, “ICE… We see you. We recognize you for what you are. And we understand and we reject your vile purpose.”

In addition, we were shaken to learn, as the rally was getting underway, that a member of the Minnesota State legislature and her husband had been brutally murdered, and another, along with his wife, had been shot multiple times by an assassin who had a hit list naming Minnesota Democrats.

“We’re all targets now,” was the reaction of one protester.

After talks by representatives for various entities at risk under the Trump administration, attendees lined up two-by-two and walked up Market Street, proceeding along Main Street through downtown Oneonta, and circling back to the starting point via South Main. But for a necessary pause for pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Market and Main, there would have been a seamless line encircling the entire march route. As with other rallies, many cars driving by honked in support. A pick-up or two revved their engines, seemingly in opposition. Some occupants of second-story apartments on Main yelled continually, “Get a job!”

As the rally was ending, Virginia Kennedy, leader of Cooperstown/Oneonta Indivisible and emcee for the event, was approached by an elderly man with tears in his eyes and an unsteady voice. He presented her with four green banners, each bearing a white rose—one for each of the organizing Indivisibles.

There is significant history behind this gesture. The White Rose was a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, primarily composed of students from the University of Munich. Between 1942 and 1943, they distributed six leaflets condemning Nazi persecution of Jews and the war’s impact on Germany. They encouraged resistance and action against injustices of the Third Reich. White Rose leaders, Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, along with Christoph Probst, were tried for their actions and executed by guillotine on February 22, 1943. So it is that the white rose represents a symbol of courage and moral resistance against tyranny. It is a sobering legacy for us to live up to as we continue to resist.

Teresa Winchester is a freelance journalist living in the Town of Butternuts.