By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The fourth “No Kings” protest in downtown Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon was a sequel with familiar complaints and characters. A red-robed woman from “Handmaid’s Tale,” the veterans who feel betrayed, the “Raging Grannies” singing against injustice.
But there were a couple differences at this protest. First, it was smaller than typical – with fewer than half of the largest BG “No Kings” protest estimated at 1,000. And second, the protesters showed signs of hope.
Across the nation, more than 2,500 “No Kings” protests were held on Saturday to criticize President Trump and his administration. The rallies were pitched as efforts to encourage people to vote, and to make them aware of early voting opportunities.
As volunteers handed out early voting schedules along Main and Wooster streets in downtown Bowling Green, they primarily encountered people who needed no reminding, and who had already cast their ballots.
But the protesters felt compelled to do more than just vote. They felt the need to stand up for the country they love and fear for.
“Where do I begin,” Erin Daly, of Perrysburg, said as she held a sign saying, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
“I feel like this administration has done so many illegal and corrupt actions that it’s our duty to protest with our votes and on the streets,” Daly said.
Also standing along North Main Streets was Mary Beth Zachary, of Bowling Green, who said she was at the protest to “stand up to the tyranny and the blatant corruption.”
Zachary, who held a sign stating, “Elect a clown, get a circus,” also expressed her frustration over Congress failing to perform its role of providing the checks and balances on the administration.
“I feel fairly powerless because the people who should be stopping the lawlessness aren’t doing it,” she said.
Some protesters circled around the crosswalks, holding signs for motorists stopped at the red lights to see. One carried a sign saying, “Queer veteran, I fought for your right to hate me.”
Down on South Main Street, a Waterville man said he believed it was important to stand on the right side of history.
“I’m here to support the resistance to Trump. I want to be counted as someone who will stop enabling his policies,” he said, expressing hope about the mid-term elections changing the makeup of Congress. “And if they can impeach him, that would be great.”
Bowling Green City Council President Mark Hollenbaugh didn’t carry a sign, but showed up to be counted.
“I want my country back,” he said. “I want intelligent people making rational choices.”
Hollenbaugh criticized Trump for “funneling as many resources as possible to a small group of people at the top,” while the rest of Americans are hurting.
“There’s only so much we can do at the city council level to make life normal for people,” he said.
Hollenbaugh also expressed hope that the Nov. 3 election will bring some integrity back to the federal government.
“The greed, corruption and inside dealing – it’s just shameless the stuff that’s going on,” he said. “I’m old enough to remember when presidents had to submit their tax returns, or divest their stock or their peanut farms,” he said in reference to Jimmy Carter.
A Grand Rapids couple held a sign saying, “Impeach, remove, convict.”
“We’re tired Democrats,” the woman said. “But we’re hopeful, and we’re not going to give up.”
Also on South Main Street, Don Hague carried an American flag and wore a shirt identifying himself as an “unpaid protester.”
Hague said he showed up because of “everything, pretty much,” going on to list the war in Iran, ICE actions, the economy, corruption, and the $202 billion Trump “earned” last year.
Ray Reuter, of Bowling Green, noted the troubling absence of younger protesters at the rally, saying he felt compelled to be there.
“We need to push back against the lunacy. The country’s going in a really bad direction. And the bar keeps getting lower,” he said referencing the administration’s initial plans to televise a public execution.
Reuter said the nation needs to get back on track.
“We need to start the repairing process,” he said.
One of those older protesters, Ricki Rudey, of Perrysburg, was standing on the east side of South Main Street.
“I’m here because I’ve been protesting since the 1960s,” she said. “We certainly need to change things. I hope we can make a difference.”
Debbie Steno, of Bowling Green, said she found the protest hopeful.
“I needed some encouragement,” she said, voicing concerns for the unmet needs of many across the nation and here in Wood County.
“People losing their SNAP didn’t become less hungry,” Steno said. “People losing Medicaid didn’t become less sick.”
(People experiencing voting problems were advised to call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.)
