On February 5 and February 17, 2005, I attended the protests at the Capital Campus in Olympia against recent actions by the Trump administration. The JOLT, NPR, and The Olympian, among other mainstream press, published comprehensive articles on both protests. So below I report just what I learned from talking to protestors in the crowd about their motivations for attending.
Dan was with a group of friends supporting their colleagues who were recently fired from the National Parks Service. He is angry that these young people, who have spent years preparing for these careers and have just embarked on them, have been treated so unfairly.
Denise was fired from the National Parks Service the previous Friday because her recent promotion put her in the “probationary” category. She said that she was protesting because her life had been turned upside down by the sudden firing. She did not know what she would do to keep paying the bills or whether she would get a new job in her field.
She was particularly bewildered because the government has procedures for dismissing people in a Reduction in Force (RIF), procedures that Trump and Musk did not follow. Just the week before her boss said in a meeting that if the Trump government dismissed employees that the RIF process would be slow, even up to a year, and the National Parks Service had money reserved to pay employees during their transition. She knew that she could be RIFed but was not prepared for the brutality.
Jonathan explained his virulent sign by saying that we need to fight back against Trump. This is not the time to be passive.
Ashley said her violent sign was necessary because of the takeover of our government by Elon Musk. We need to resist fiercely his assault on our values and our lives.
Kathy said that she understood that the protests were just a gesture hardly noticed in Washington, D.C., but she felt she must show her support for resisting Trump’s agenda.
Vanessa brought her children so they could see that many people support the rights of diverse people. Many of their relatives are immigrants, people of color, or LGBTQ+. She wants her children to see that many people came to show their love and support for all kinds of people.
Lynn said she was glad she came because the huge numbers of protesters were encouraging. Protesting is not enough, but fired up people will be inspired to take action.
So many different reasons for people to brave the cold and snow and to bring their bodies, minds and souls to join a crowd of protesters!
Charlotte Persons is an environmental advocate who has contributed to WIP for three years.
Protest photos by Carla Wulfsberg and published with her permission. Protest sign photo by Charlotte Persons and published with her permission.
Be First to Comment