VR: I would not call us activists. I would call us socially engaged. There are a disproportionate number of retirees and a lot of artists and self-employed (like myself) and we tend to identify with the life of the island and pitch in to make things better. We have a lot of non-profits! And many home grown programs to help people in need. But political activism - less so. I'm involved in several groups actively challenging the expansion of operations at the Naval Air Station up north and it's been hard-to date-to get my community to engage in opposition to the powers that be. I think this will change with the shock and dismay about Trump's agenda and his policies and picks of for his cabinet. Friends now want to speak up, call congress people, sign petitions, form action groups. It's an exciting moment. Very positive.
JB: Trump did say that he was going to bring us together. I don't think this is what he had in mind, though. Did you find the march to be more positive and affirming, more anti-Trump, a combination of the two or something else altogether?
VR: It felt a bit like a Pride Parade. Everyone thought that 50 or 100 people would show up and straggle around. The numbers were thrilling. Signs were homegrown and creative. I think we all felt encouraged that so many of our neighbors care as much as we do. Sometimes you can feel alone or, as one friend says of protests, the STP - same ten people. While I doubt the core idea was HOPE, that was the effect. While many positive signs were there, the background was our determination to not let the Trump presidency take away our rights, freedoms, dignity, love, care for one another. It seemed mostly affirming our solidarity in the face of a threat to all the progress we've made and the roads we've traveled.
JB: Is it surprising that such a small place like Whidbey Island would hold a march altogether, as opposed to folding itself into the Seattle march? You couldn't know that so many people would show up. How did this one come about? Did it just evolve?
VR: Someone fairly last minute made arrangements with the police and put up a few notices. Some people in our march weren't inclined to go to Seattle. We are really stick in the muds! We dread ferry lines. And with a median age of 55+ there are plenty in my boat who didn't want to commit to 3-4 hours on their feet. Also, there were people who'd intended to go to Seattle and last minute decided to stay home.
JB: It's so funny. The ones who headed to Seattle probably figured nothing much would be going on on the homefront. And here quite a substantial percentage of the locals showed up! Talk about a pleasant surprise.
VR: Certainly the numbers were a surprise. And towards the end, we had a bald eagle fly over us which felt like a positive omen. I'd considered wearing black just to reflect my mood, but decided to dress up in lots of colors - and I saw a lot of that in others, too. It was the festive feeling on the day after the Donald became president and started immediately shutting down parts of the White House website about climate change and LGBTQ rights. Even eliminated the Spanish translation. So it was like a door slammed shut - but here we were in so much joy.
Vicki at march. Sign says: Hands Off our rights, bodies, waters, climate, people Or Else!!
(Image by courtesy of Vicki Robin) Details DMCA
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