When You Can't March

Some Ways to Support A Protest When You Can't Go

Another big day of action is coming up on May 1^st. Each time one of these events is planned, it seems even more important than the last one. So I urge you all, if you possibly can, to get out into the streets and participate in something near you. Here’s a link where you can find an event to join.

But what do you do if you can't? Maybe you have a disability that keeps you from marching, maybe you're in bed with the flu, or COVID, or some energy-sucking chronic disease. Maybe you just have to go to work, or care for children or aging relatives. Maybe you simply live far away from any of the planned events. Whatever the reason, if you can't actually get out to the protest there are nonetheless many things you can do and ways to be a part of it all. Here's a few ideas:

1) Make all those calls to your representatives we all think we should be making, and often don't have time to. If they’re fighting the fascists, cheer them on and urge them to fight even harder. If they’re aiding and abetting Trump and his henchmen, let them know exactly how you feel. Write and call your local newspaper and TV station and urge them to cover the protests. Better yet, get a group of friends together and make it a party. Write some letters, send some postcards, make it a weekly coffee klatch or, if you are all by yourself, a daily spiritual/political practice.

2) Amplify the voices of those who do go to the protest. Connect to a friend who may be going and ask them to send you pictures you can post on your social media, or interview them after the event. Express your own take on the protests, from your own unique perspective. Are you a nurse, firefighter, teacher, business person, retired person living on Social Security? How are the MAGA policies impacting you? Maybe you feel your circle of influence is small, but don't let that stop you. You have friends and acquaintances who will be more likely to listen to the news, coming from you, then they would from a stranger or even a standard media source. We’re all a bit jaded from an overdose of pundits and mass media, but your community will be interested in your perspective, because they know and trust you.

3) Offer to make signs, banners, flags, or other props for those who are going. Can you collect some cardboard and some bamboo sticks? Are you artistic? Can you create a simple stencil or a silk screen? Or host a sign-making party at a time that works for you? Those who are going to the protest may not have the time or skills to equip themselves. Since we've seem inevitably doomed to spend many more of our waking hours in protests throughout the next years, let's make them look good!

4) Create a micro protest. On of my friends did this with a friend of hers who couldn't make it to one of the big demonstrations. They set up a couple of lawn chairs and some signs and a banner on her street corner, where they could sit in comfort, wave at the passing cars, and make known in her little corner of the world that the resistance is alive and well.

5) Host an after-party for those who have gone to the protest. Invite them to regroup back at your house, for coffee and cake, or herb tea and carrot sticks. If it's been cold and rainy, you can provide a nice base to get warm. If it's been hot, you can offer shade and a cool drink. Create a time for them to share the stories of their day, to deepen the sense of community and maybe do some organizing for the next one.

These are just a few ideas. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of your own. However you choose to do it, know that your voice is important, and this is the time to make it heard!

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