Trump protest in downtown Minneapolis
2019-Oct-22, Tuesday 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerThe Trump campaign event in Minneapolis happened on 2019 October 10 Thursday. The forecast that evening was for thunderstorms and rain in cold weather. Cold rain is worse than snow, so I started doubting that I would go to the event after work. The forecast changed mid-day to drop reference to those storms, though, so I decided to chance it. After work, I walked from the east side of downtown to the west side for the protests.
I carried a sign that says "Protect Mother Earth! She is the only one we have." It's not my own, but it's one that somebody else handed to me as they left the first Science March in 2017. I carried it to this protest because it's all plastic and would withstand the rain. Also, my other sign has a wooden stick, and the police were asking people not to bring signs with sticks. We're safer with more guns on the street, supposedly, but sticks are just a weapon too far.
I like best that first photo and video that I took. The daylight was still bright enough to see clearly. It was a good vibe. There were a lot of people blowing whistles. "Whistleblowers", get it? Okay, well, I thought it was a clever metaphor as a protest gimmick. I should've brought ear plugs, though.
This corner also happened to sit beneath the observation deck where the Trump campaign rally was happening. I wish I had a photo from their perspective as they looked down at the masses below them.
I ran out of space on my phone, but I managed a few other short video segments. There's the very appropriate crowd chant of "Lock Him Up" (YouTube or mp4), the view of the crowd at First Avenue with the iconic "45 swastika" poster (YouTube or mp4), and the Trump balloon in the air by the Mayo Clinic (only mp4).
My favorite poster is probably this new "Revolution or Extinction" image. I like the visual reference to water and nature together with the human action.
I'll list some of the poster text here, so it's easier for search engines to locate relevant stuff. These thumbnails are small, but they link to the full images with wider view.
"Make America Respectable Again. Impeach" and "45 swastika"
"Grandmas for Antifa" and "stop fascism"
"Impeach the Liar-in-Chief" and "Lock Him Up"
"Rights for All" and "Tell the Truth"
"I'm here, I'm queer, I'm filled with existential fear"
There was both a Trump Baby balloon in the air and a person in a costume on the ground.
I also like this poster at the left, but it requires some local history. Visitors wouldn't have any real idea what it means. There's a popular lake/park south of downtown Minneapolis that was formerly called Lake Calhoun. It was named after a U.S. Secretary Of War who was also a slaveowner and a pro-slavery politician. There was already discussion to change the name, but the Charleston Church massacre in 2015 finally led to decisive action to eliminate these memorials to our country's slavery-filled past. The name was changed to its original Dakota name of "Bde Maka Ska". It took me a few tries to learn the new pronunciation, but I like it much better than the old name.
With that history in mind, this poster finally makes a lot of sense for the Minneapolis protest against Trump.
First Avenue is a local nightclub. They promised to donate the day's profits to Planned Parenthood. They were smack there on the busiest street corner for the protest, so hopefully they saw increased business to make up for the frustration of this event.
That news article link says they successfully raised (through profits and donations) a total of $18,166. Not shabby at all. Minneapolis really turned out for this protest.
You would think that Trump organizers or the police would have kept the two groups entirely separated. Apparently, though, there was only a railing between the two, seen here on the right side of the photo.
I tolerated an hour or so of the crowds, then I walked back across downtown to my car and drove home uneventfully. I made it home after 7pm, I think. I heard there was some very unnecessary and discouraging confrontations between the two sides later in the night after the Trump rally ended. Frustration shouldn't end in violence. I know the feeling, and I succumb to the anger as much as anyone. It matters, though, when we give in to our emotions without thinking things through.
These kids did it right.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/10/11/these-middle-schoolers-turned-trump-rally-into-a-civics-class
Good for Minneapolis.
I carried a sign that says "Protect Mother Earth! She is the only one we have." It's not my own, but it's one that somebody else handed to me as they left the first Science March in 2017. I carried it to this protest because it's all plastic and would withstand the rain. Also, my other sign has a wooden stick, and the police were asking people not to bring signs with sticks. We're safer with more guns on the street, supposedly, but sticks are just a weapon too far.I like best that first photo and video that I took. The daylight was still bright enough to see clearly. It was a good vibe. There were a lot of people blowing whistles. "Whistleblowers", get it? Okay, well, I thought it was a clever metaphor as a protest gimmick. I should've brought ear plugs, though.
This corner also happened to sit beneath the observation deck where the Trump campaign rally was happening. I wish I had a photo from their perspective as they looked down at the masses below them.
I ran out of space on my phone, but I managed a few other short video segments. There's the very appropriate crowd chant of "Lock Him Up" (YouTube or mp4), the view of the crowd at First Avenue with the iconic "45 swastika" poster (YouTube or mp4), and the Trump balloon in the air by the Mayo Clinic (only mp4).
My favorite poster is probably this new "Revolution or Extinction" image. I like the visual reference to water and nature together with the human action.I'll list some of the poster text here, so it's easier for search engines to locate relevant stuff. These thumbnails are small, but they link to the full images with wider view.
"Make America Respectable Again. Impeach" and "45 swastika"
"Grandmas for Antifa" and "stop fascism"
"Impeach the Liar-in-Chief" and "Lock Him Up"
"Rights for All" and "Tell the Truth"
"I'm here, I'm queer, I'm filled with existential fear"
There was both a Trump Baby balloon in the air and a person in a costume on the ground.
I also like this poster at the left, but it requires some local history. Visitors wouldn't have any real idea what it means. There's a popular lake/park south of downtown Minneapolis that was formerly called Lake Calhoun. It was named after a U.S. Secretary Of War who was also a slaveowner and a pro-slavery politician. There was already discussion to change the name, but the Charleston Church massacre in 2015 finally led to decisive action to eliminate these memorials to our country's slavery-filled past. The name was changed to its original Dakota name of "Bde Maka Ska". It took me a few tries to learn the new pronunciation, but I like it much better than the old name.With that history in mind, this poster finally makes a lot of sense for the Minneapolis protest against Trump.
First Avenue is a local nightclub. They promised to donate the day's profits to Planned Parenthood. They were smack there on the busiest street corner for the protest, so hopefully they saw increased business to make up for the frustration of this event.That news article link says they successfully raised (through profits and donations) a total of $18,166. Not shabby at all. Minneapolis really turned out for this protest.
You would think that Trump organizers or the police would have kept the two groups entirely separated. Apparently, though, there was only a railing between the two, seen here on the right side of the photo.
I tolerated an hour or so of the crowds, then I walked back across downtown to my car and drove home uneventfully. I made it home after 7pm, I think. I heard there was some very unnecessary and discouraging confrontations between the two sides later in the night after the Trump rally ended. Frustration shouldn't end in violence. I know the feeling, and I succumb to the anger as much as anyone. It matters, though, when we give in to our emotions without thinking things through.
These kids did it right.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/10/11/these-middle-schoolers-turned-trump-rally-into-a-civics-class
Good for Minneapolis.