This Is What Democracy Looks Like!

MN nice put to the test at recent Donald Trump protest

By Madeleine Ware

“Ah, political unrest,” my friend Anna said as we took in the crowded city street. And it was—cardboard signs were raised to the air, already speckled with rain, and drums and whistles filled the streets with an electric kind of excitement. I, like so many others on October 10, decided to join thousands of Minneapolitans in the Trump rally protest, a response from Trump opposers in Minnesota that “we pay our bills, we govern with integrity, and we love all our neighbors,” as Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey recently stated in a tweet.

I was astounded by the diversity of the crowd, not only in demographics, but also in the wide array of causes that protesters were supporting. I saw everything from black lives matter signs to legalize marijuanna signs, and I was charmed to see old women in iconic hot pink “Pussyhats” and little kids with their own protest signs—tastefully scribbled in crayon, of course. While protestors peacefully chanted, Republicans waiting for the rally to begin looked on from the windows of Target Center; a mass of red-hatted figures leaning on rails. Every once in a while they would wave at the throngs of protestors. One person even had a cardboard sign reading “Peace.” Although the crowd was chanting and yelling, it was far from agitated.

As the night wore on, however, the protest would get increasingly less peaceful as the rally let out and Trump supporters joined protestors in the streets. I left before things got too rowdy, but I later read about police having to put out flaming heaps of Trump merchandise and throwing tear gas into the crowds.

Whether or not you consider yourself a political person, or even if you’re someone who doesn’t like protests, I think there is always value to taking to the streets and voicing your opinions. The right to assemble is a constitutional right. Why not use it?