The sights and sounds of freedom on our national holiday.
This afternoon around twenty individuals with signs gathered along the right-of-way near the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 in Sedalia, Missouri. On summer holidays and weekends there’s a considerable amount of traffic passing through the city at this location.
“Freedom, Democracy, Justice, Tolerance”
“No Kings…”
“Immigrants Make America Great”
An hour into the demonstration two Sedalia Police vehicles appeared. Apparently a Karen in an establishment next to the empty lot complained that a few protesters’ vehicles were blocking access to a few of the angled parking spots to the side of her building. The police asked that those vehicles be moved – they were. In one conversation one of the officers asked, “Did you get a permit?” [Hint: There was no march, the demonstration was on the right of way on public property. There is no requirement nor need for a “permit”.] The police officer stated that he would be contacting the owner of the empty lot where the demonstrators parked their cars. Like non-existent customers ostensibly blocked from parking in a few spaces in a more substantial parking lot, good luck finding or contacting anyone at 2:00 p.m. on a national holiday.
“The Ballad of Karen”
“Resist!”
A reporter for the Sedalia newspaper interviewing one of the protesters:
Interview.
There were a few shouts and other signs from angry people in pick-up trucks, some who made multiple passes, which by appearances one would assume the owner was underwater on their loan.
ICE and Donald Trump’s (r) DOJ keep telling us that tattoos are a primary indicator of something, something, right?
Detail.
A few upset passersby shouted unintelligible phrases, one individual made multiple passes in an over accessorized pick-up truck using a sound system to call out other unintelligible phrases. One self-righteous individual pulled up in a white pick-up and tried to start an argument with a veteran holding an upside down American flag. He drove off after a minute or so.
“No Kings!”
There was a constant and substantial number of supportive honking horns from passing traffic throughout the demonstration:
“I’ve seen smarter cabinets at IKEA”
“Hate will not make us great”
A Vietnam veteran:
“Due process for all!”
“Never stop insisting on a better world”
It doesn’t get more American than that.
Cops with nothing better to do than harrass Grandma. The police state no one needs.
The Sedalia Police had to respond to the call – assumedly by the individual in the car who wanted the vehicles “blocking” a few parking spots moved.
It’s class treason that’s at issue here – a bunch of mostly Medicare age or approaching Medicare age [mostly] white people refusing to bow down to her cult leader in public Even though the complainant might be somewhat more economically secure – but not by much, this person didn’t appear to be a billionaire – angers the true believers. Sunk costs are a powerful disincentive to moral and intellectual clarity.
The supreme irony is that the complainant might have acquired her economic security from the very community (residents, small businesses, schools, hospital, etc.) that her cult leader is in the process of destroying.
The rallies this year in Oakhurst have all been on the corner in front of the closed down Rite Aid store, and at the last one on the 14th of last month, there was a Madera County Sheriff’s vehicle advising folks that they would be towed if they parked in the lot of the closed down Rite Aid. I don’t know what changed since the earlier rallies, but at least the deputy was warning us to move and nobody got towed.
While it is a nuisance to deal with with this type of establishment obstruction, there are effective counters to this kind of “inconvenience barrier”.
Organizing.
Protest in the public right of way where and when you want. It’s a first amendment thing, of course.
If parking is prohibited in close proximity, park on public streets nearby (or take public transportation – if available) and drop off those with mobility issues at the protest site and then park further away. The establishment can’t ban parking everywhere. They can’t ban protest. They can’t stop everybody. That’s their Achilles heel. The key is to adapt to their “inconvenience barriers”.
When the establishment overreacts, as history tells us they will, they will affect larger numbers of the general population. That is the beginning of the end for the establishment.
I am disabled and walk with a quad-cane. The deputy allowed Briana to drop me off at the foot of the stairs and pick me up after I descended them. He also let Briana put the finishing touches on our sign before telling us about the towing. When 500 people show up to rally against a wannabe king in a town of less than 5K in a +/-70% Republican area, apparently even the local law enforcement take notice, at least around here.