Protest at the White House (Save Mueller)
Protests At The White House
The right to assemble and publicly demonstrate is woven deeply into the principles of what the United States was founded upon. When a Democratic president is in office Republicans can be found standing at the gates of the White House, with picket signs colorfully illustrating their grievances. The same goes for when the roles are reversed. As unconventional as Republican Donald Trump is, he is sure to always be greeted by hoards of protesters everytime he leaves the building.
With as tight as security is around the White House, one would be surprised by the number of things protestors get away with outside the surrounding gates. Threats against the president’s life, borderline acts of treason, and even small-scale riots are all too common a sight mere yards from the Oval Office’s windows. Some, such as the White House Peace Vigil, has been staring down the White House for over 37 years. For tourists, when planning on visiting the White House, prepare yourself to run into the groups of protesters massed at the gates as well.
You can read more about the White House Peace Vigil here!
The Majestic Protester
It doesn’t matter if you are s Republican, Democrat, or have any other political allegiance, the protester always carries themselves with a kind of self-righteous grace. In the protestor’s mind, they have justice and righteousness on their side. With this kind of mentality, you see peoples chests being filled with whatever valor they may feel and chins raised as their confidence lifts their feet off of the ground.
From women’s suffrage to civil rights rallies, protests and demonstrations have made a considerable impact on our society. If we as a people lay idle as civil injustices are committed, there would be no hope to grow as a nation and give a voice to those who have none. The wheels of progress are turned by those who stand up for they feel is right.
While unity and solidarity amongst people has its virtues, it also has the tendency to turn a crowd into a senseless mob. Slogans, chants, and marches, when misused, turns the protesters into one brainless entity operating under the command of a puppet master. People united together to fight an injustice or evil can be manipulated to do nearly anything by those who fly the banner of which they follow. An individual is intelligent, it is not until they are in a group that people can be swayed to do the most mindless of actions.
The Radicals
The people on the two sides of any argument or government will always have its fair share of radicals and extremists. This unique group of people can severely tarnish the reputation of an organization, while their intentions were to wholeheartedly devote themselves to the party’s cause. Usually accompanied with outlandish costumes or vulgar signs, these protestors often come across as comical, if not a tad bit mentally unstable. Republicans satirize Obama as being a communist or Democrats portraying Trump as Hitler, both sides use the same extreme rhetoric devices to cut through whatever noise that may be in their way. The result, however, is that the side that yells the loudest is also the side that loses any sense of credibility.
Save Mueller
Just as when Obama first came into office was questioned on his birthplace, the underlying controversy of Trump’s presidency has been whether or not there was tampering in the 2016 election. With the forced resignation of Jeff Sessions, Robert Mueller’s investigation on Russian spying and Trump’s involvement with the Russians is thus threatened. The new attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, is critical of the Russian probe looking into the manipulation of the 2016 election and may potentially hinder Mueller’s progress.
In response to this cabinet shake-up just a few days after the mid-term election, moveon.org organized protests around the county on November 8th at 5 pm. Protestors in various states and cities took to the parks, posterboard in hand, ready to stand up for what they believe in.
You can read more about Moveon.org here!
Riling Up The Crowd
The protesters massed in Layfayette Square behind the White House, all ready to be an active part in the cause. Simple signs advocated for women’s rights while other demonized Trump as being nothing more than Putin’s crony. The Democratic supporters spent the time leading up to the demonstration mingling amongst the crowd, typically greeting other protestors by saying the phrase “f***k Trump”. After the initial gawking at each other’s signs, all attention was then drawn towards the stage.
The first group of community organizers took to the stage with fire in their hearts and rage in their eyes. Their criticism of Trump and slanderous remarks pumped up the crowd. With each jab, the protestors would echo with claps or even responses such as “lock him up!”, not at all that much different from Republicans yelling “lock her up!” in reference to Hillary Clinton. In the end, there is not much difference in the energy or characters which participate in a political rally. Although on extreme opposites of the political spectrum, the rhetoric remains the same, all that is different is the names and logos.
You can read more about attending a Trump rally here!
The keynote speakers at the “Free Mueller” protest in Washington DC ranged from the level-headed politicians to the hot-headed loud-mouthed young activist. The majority of protestors in the crowd chanted when they were cued to chant, laughed when cued to laugh, and booed when indicated by the speaker to do so. At the outskirts of this demonstration there were still a fair amount of supporters, yet skeptical of the tactics utilized by the organizers. Although holding signs for change, democracy, and justice, they were off-put by the aggressive stance some of the speakers and protestors had adopted. When all is said and done, hate cannot be used to combat hate.
You can see a timeline of how the protests were organized here!
The Right To Protest
According to the constitution of the United States, no matter what your political affiliation is or your creed, you have the right to assemble and make your voice heard. While protesting and demonstrating is an integral part of American politics, in recent days it can be interpreted that many activists are merely protesting for the sake of protesting.
In general, people feel a need to find purpose in their lives and dedicate themselves to a cause bigger than any one person. This crusade to find ones place in the world has spurred the rise of many nationalist and terrorist groups. With this misplaced devotion people have been known to commit unspeakable atrocities, all in the name of making the world a better place.
The political parties in the United States are far from resorting to car bombings and terrorism to get their point across. It is still important, however, to acknowledge the similarities of the tactics used in organizations to create unity and herd flocks of chanting sheep under there banner. When pointing the finger across political lines, more times often than not, they are pointing at a mirror of one’s own aggression and hatred.
