Protests
POSTNOTE April 12, 2025: This afternoon I went to a community meeting including my state representative and state senator. There were about 75 of us in attendance. The purpose of the open meeting was to update us on the Minnesota Legislature now in session.
The meeting was remarkable in its civility. The two legislators did an outstanding job. There is no doubt that the state budget will be extremely adversely impacted and that “the cloud of federal stuff” causes daily uncertainty. The obvious chaos at the federal level bedevils every level of government outside of Washington DC. We in the audience were listening respectfully.
I got to thinking back to a blog I published right before the inauguration of the 47th President: “A House Divided” (Jan 18, 2025), which included these words: “Two days from now will be the inauguration of the U.S. President. It feels, today, much like being in the eye of a hurricane. All seems calm. But no one knows for sure exactly when the chaos of the hurricane will resume and who it will damage worst or how. The prudent persons have prepared for the worst, but if they’re unlucky the preparation will be in vain. The hurricane is all of us. We will determine it’s strength or weakness. We’re all in the path of the storm. I will not predict what the incoming President will say, though the temptation is strong.”
Added January 25: “…a tsunami, intended to demoralize and defeat – call it “shock and awe”. Thus far, it has been worse than expectations. This is a madman with a wrecking ball and the building permit to destroy. On Jan 31: “a blitzkrieg, intended chaos” was added.
I review these words now 82 days into the 100 days, and I was being very restrained.
In times of chaos, the temptation is to crawl into some hiding place and pretend the consequences can be avoided if you just don’t see them head-on. My suggestion to myself, and to you if you wish: keep your mind and your heart fixed on the positive that you can be as an antidote. It won’t make the task any easier, but you’ll be part of the solution. The U.S. is you and I, after all.
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If you can still access it, watch Cory Booker on Stephen Colbert last week.
Bruce Peterson authored an excellent column on the protest in St. Paul on April 5: Star Tribune Bruce peterson Apr 2025
Join Indivisible. Minnesotans, I think the two main organizers of Indivisible are graduates of Carleton College.
Added April 10: Add this to your required reading list. In addition, pay special attention to Patsy’s comment in the comments section of this post.
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My intention was to attend the demonstration at the state capitol last Saturday. It almost happened. What I wrote afterward: I drove over to the State Capitol area in St. Paul late Saturday morning. The crowd was incredible and orderly with lots of signs. Parking was an impossibility. I managed to drive around the Capitol area before I headed home. I would suspect the same report comes from other places as well. The “proof of the pudding” will be the long term. A large percentage of people engaged is less necessary than sustained effort – doing something every day wherever one lives.
I took a single photograph from my car, below
Bruce Peterson, who was there, writes perceptively on the event and the issue and public participation. Do take the time to read his thoughts. I know Bruce, and he is a reflective thinker and long experience as a Judge. At the end of his column is a short bio about him.
I spent most of my work and retired life as an “organizer.” To be an organizer is very simple: you just want to get people to show up, as those five people in the cross-walk were doing last Saturday. Showing up they became part of a movement to make a difference.
But as any organizer knows, whether amateur or professional, this action, certainly essential, is only the beginning. To act without followthrough diminishes the possibility of results. It depends not only on what those five people above did by showing up at the gathering (and likely the nurturing of new relationships), but what they do afterwards back home, day after day for the long term.
The essence of organizing – I think all organizers would agree with this – is relationships. I once heard relationships described as the greatest -“referent” – power, really the most relevant and perhaps most elusive power, eclipsing the common ones, as Money, Position, and the like. In the end, people working and working together make all the difference. Years back I did a little graphic about this.
When I couldn’t find a place to park on Saturday I decided to go home and find the local Tesla dealership. I did. Nothing going on there, and I did nothing. Which accomplished nothing either.
Monday, I went back to the same place, same results, but this time I took a picture of the same scene I’d seen two days earlier. I share the picture with you to at least demonstrate that sharing the experience is the greater part of the value of showing up….
Yes, I have lots of opinions about the immense number of issues we face, all of them. But that’s for another time. Time to get to work on your issue at your place and in your way.
Back to you, wherever you are, whatever your opinion.
Tesla Woodbury April 7. 9800 Hudson Road
COMMENTS (more at end):
from Lindsay: I wanted to share some photos of the demonstrations that have taken place in Denver thus far. I have participated in all three and will continue to do so. I have a myriad of reasons for my personal upset. Not only has this administration been the antithesis of a great deal of what matters most to me on a personal level, my work in non-profit (supporting survivors, victims of violent crime, and their families) was briefly on the chopping block…and the outlook for the important work that we do continues to be a grim one.
from Dick: Lindsay sent along eight fine photos which I will print as pdf composite. Stay tuned. Here’s one of them:
Colorado demo, one of photos from Lindsay
The others are here: Lindsay, Denver Spring 2025(first photo includes Bernie Sanders)
from SAK:
Of course there will be protests after the fiasco that was caused by Trump’s favourite word, tariffs.
In the UK Liz Truss was the UK prime minister (PM) the reason she was the shortest serving PM was that the markets thought her economic policy was disastrous, the bond yield shot up & she was shown the exit. The bond yield in the US also went up significantly meaning the US would have to pay a lot more to finance its huge debt – & issue more debt. This was what made Trump reverse course.
According to Scott Galloway, the tariff fiasco was the definition of stupid.
Previous treasury Secretary & Berkeley economics prof, Yelen said:
Trump’s economic policies are ‘worst self-inflicted wound’ by any administration on an otherwise well-functioning economy.
In the picture you posted of a demonstration [see above] I noticed the placard:
That is fine but the foxy James Carville who coined the famous campaign slogan ‘It’s the economy stupid’, is still around & clever as ever. I read a short article by him, 25 February, advising Democrats to basically sit still, giving Trump & co enough rope to hang themselves & then pounce when the time is ripe. I quote:
“roll over and play dead. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us”
&
“when they’ve pushed themselves to the brink and it appears they could collapse the global economy, come in and save the day. Be the competent party and not the chaos party”
So yes to people in the street demonstrating but there will come a time for Democrats & others in Congress to pounce, “ripeness is all” – as Edgar says in Shakespeare’s King Lear.
from Dick: Tim Snyder offers a brief and powerful video about leveraging anti-semitism. Here is his “Thinking About…,”It’s 7 1/2 minutes.
Fear not, many more protests are already in the works. I was there. I’ve never seen so many pissed off senior citizens in one place. We started out early in Minneapolis and rode the jam-packed rails. It was fun except for one perfect young blonde who complained the whole way. She’d never survive the subways of Boston or NYC. I had a sense that her over-privileged little self was seeing some form of public dissent for the first time and that it was not to her taste.
Cory was great
Good for you to all that went, walked, sang, talked, etc. I was a trained and employed Alinsky-style organizer for awhile in my life and, with that background, I share this: Dick was right; the essence of organizing is relationships. Yet we can have together so many people and not get anywhere other than patting ourselves on the back for an afternoon spent (I’ve see that happen too many times in my lifetime and that ultimately “burns out” participants) if we don’t 1. build that power with more people; with each participant taking responsibility to “build the troops; 2. clarify a winnable issue with expected solution and target the person(s) who can make that change/solution happen; 3. repeatedly voice that issue to all around us and to the target in convincing manner/actions, including the solution we expect–in other words, speak our truth to the people with the power to make the changes; 4. if necessary, adjust the solution into a “smaller step” or target it more accurately (everyone, even the target, needs success–remembering that one builds power that makes positive change through creative, clear manners/actions in pursuit of a clear goal/change that is achievable.) 5. Celebrate thoroughly and publicly the group’s success so they can feel it intensely, while simultaneously moving on to the next step of the problem/clear winnable solution/expected change and person(s)/targets who can enact that change (Success breeds success, but fits-and-starts take more energy than staying in a continuous make-change posture). Yes, anger fuels anger, which creates energy, but we certainly know from history and today that anger destroys and divides, not builds inclusively toward positive success. Let’s all stay organized and keep striving to get targets to change on specific, clear-cut issues. And, thank you, Dick, for creating a space in which we can keep supporting change-agent relationships.
better at watchin u’all but will throw in my 2 cents (with bad punctuation;
I also was at the MN State Capital, early and left after a few hours, driven by anger, sadness for others and feeling this protest doesn’t work with its bad sound system and the impact it has, thinkin there’s gotta be a better way. Well of course this is just a small part of a lot of things that must happen to save democracy.
I also feel the latest scam with the impossed tariffs and how this manipulated on some lacks any sense of logic or fair and then the president posts on “X” 4/9/25 Now is a good time to buy (insider trading advising) before he pauses the tariffs and the market goes up a thousand.
Hold on there’s a lot more to come from the most powerful bully gang boss