One of the latest “No Kings” rallies in Westchester drew nearly 2,000 people to Mount Kisco on a chilly but sunny Saturday.
The peaceful protest, held on March 28 in front of Village Hall, gave folks the chance to express their displeasure on everything from the war in Iran and immigration policies to the high cost of living and attacks on civil rights.
Clearly, they were spoiled for choice.
As one demonstrator’s handmade placard put it: “So many things, so little sign.”
While the reasons for being there were diverse, there was an underlying theme: unity.
In answer to a reporter asking what they hoped to accomplish, one said that it was “just a show of strength, you know. The more people that come out, the better.”
“I think we all need to be heard at this time,” he added.
Those watching the mass movement’s growth spurt attribute it to folks realizing that silence can be read as assent.
One woman said that while she knew how important it was simply to show up, she still felt somewhat “helpless.”
“Everything I believed about America is just being flushed down the toilet by this president and his people,” she said.
Millions of people around the country and the world were also showing the flag that day.
In Westchester alone, there were large rallies in White Plains, Mount Vernon, Mamaroneck, Hastings-on-Hudson, Yonkers, Greenburgh and Tarrytown.
Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson issued a statement dismissing the demonstrations as “Trump derangement therapy sessions” that left-leaning interest groups paid reporters to cover.
There were folks making their point in a humorous way by hopping into inflatable frog costumes. Another flashed a jacket lining displaying so-called “Trump Merch” including bitcoins, a tiny pair of golden sneakers, and monopoly money.
One sported a white coat that parodied the First Lady’s infamous “I really don’t care, do you?” jacket.
Perched on many a head was a tasseled hat inspired by the ones worn in the 1940s in Norway to protest the Nazi occupation.
One of the knitters in the crowd decried the fact that the toppers had become so popular that she couldn’t find a single skein of red yarn anywhere and had to make do with the next best thing: burnt orange.
Counter protesters had their say as well.
While most passing motorists honked in support of the demonstration, one drove past trailing an enormous pro-Trump flag behind his pick-up truck.
Another waded into the throng wearing an American flag sweater and holding aloft a sign that read: "RIP Sheridan Gorman. Age 19.”
Gorman, 18, a resident of Yorktown and a freshman at Loyola University in Chicago, was shot and killed on March 19 as she walked with her friends at a park near her campus.
A 25-year-old Venezuelan national, allegedly in the U.S. illegally, has been charged in her murder.
That night (March 28), about 1,000 people attended an outdoor memorial service in the teen’s honor in Yorktown. A private service for Gorman’s family and close friends had been held earlier on Saturday.
Asked why she was at a “No Kings” rally, the sign-carrying woman said she thought that anyone who was here illegally and who “in any way, shape, or form” breaks the law should “be exited out of the country for the safety and well-being of the citizenry.”
Music, as always, was an important part of the program.
Local folksinger Marc Black played the guitar. Doumbeks were deployed and inspiring songs shared. Wrapping up the event, Carolyn DiLorenzo belted out a heartfelt “We Shall Overcome.”
Leading the crowd in “This Land is Your Land,” “Deportee,” and “My Peace,” was Anna Canoni, a granddaughter of the late Woody Guthrie, legendary American folk musician, songwriter, and social activist.
“A folk song has a simplicity to it and, as my grandfather used to say, it’s just three chords and the truth,” she said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here