By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Their chants could be heard blocks away. Their signs spoke of their love of country and anger at President Donald Trump. And their presence, many said, was the least they could do in defense of democracy.
An estimated 400 people squeezed into the four corners of downtown Bowling Green midday Saturday to join the “No Kings Protest” movement going on across the nation.
“Our country is in trouble,” said Mike Zaborniak from Waterville, who carried a sign professing his pro-America and anti-Trump stance. “I think everybody has to do something – even small things.”
The nationwide protests are in response to norms being broken in the U.S. They came days after Trump sent Marines into Los Angeles despite the governor’s insistence that they be removed. They came hours after a politically-motivated shooting in Minnesota killed one Democratic lawmaker and her husband, and injured another lawmaker and his wife. And they came hours before Trump’s military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C.
“The parade that is going on in Washington is just ridiculous. I can’t believe this is going on in our country,” said a protester from Fulton County. “This happened in the late 1930s and 1940s. I can’t believe this is happening here.”
The man, a retired carpenter, asked that his name not be used because his wife has a government job, which has been at risk since Trump became president.
His wife, who has cancer, was in the hospital but insisted that he come to the protest. He stood quietly in the background, wearing a “Resist” button.
“You watch the news and it makes you so sad. It’s unbelievable people can support his actions. I’m appalled,” he said, getting choked up with emotion.
“But this makes me really happy,” he said, looking at the size of the protest in Bowling Green.
Just down the street, 92-year-old Lyn Long, of Bowling Green, protested from her folding lawn chair sitting on the curb. Her sign stated “Grama says ‘No Kings.’”
“I don’t agree with Trump’s way of governing. He does terrible things,” Long said. She objected to the military parade in the nation’s capital – a symbolic event often reserved for dictators. Army officials have estimated the cost of the parade at $45 million, which Long said is a waste of funding. “Think how much good that money could do.”
A few feet away stood Dave Housholder, a farmer who lives just south of Bowling Green.
“I’m here for my grandkids,” he said. “I see Trump selling out the country of Ukraine, when he should be defending their democracy.”
Housholder held a sign saying “Save Ukraine, deport Trump to Russia.”
Though Trump promised to bring peace to the world, the opposite is occurring – which is particularly concerning to Housholder, who has a grandson patrolling on a Navy destroyer between Taiwan and China.
Never believing this to be possible, Housholder said he has gone as far as looking for locations to move his family if they can no longer remain in the U.S.
“I hate the fact I’m even researching that,” he said. “But I won’t be the last Jew to leave Germany.”
Across Main Street stood a young woman, from the Toledo area, holding a sign saying she is the granddaughter of an immigrant. Her grandmother lived in an area of France under Nazi occupation during World War II. At the age of 15, her grandmother joined the resistance and smuggled documents for the Allies.
“She came to America afterwards in hopes of freedom. Now here we go again,” said the young woman, who asked that her name not be used because she fears retaliation against protesters by the current administration.
Down on South Main Street, a Bowling Green woman held up a sign with her uncle’s military photo from WWII, saying “My uncle did not sacrifice his life for your damn $45 million parade.”
“He has to be rolling over in his unmarked grave,” she said of her uncle who was shot down over the South Pacific.
Ellen Anderson, of Bowling Green, took a spot at the four corners downtown.
“I cannot stand the way our country is losing our democracy,” she said.
In response to statements by the administration that anti-Trump demonstrations consist primarily of paid participants, Anderson voiced her objection. “I’m certainly not paid to be here.”
Nearby was Khani Begum, of Bowling Green, who waved a Palestinian flag to show her anger about the genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.
“People are starving to death. It makes my heart sick,” Begum said. “We are funding genocide. Our tax dollars are going to that.”
Begum has become familiar with the four corners downtown over the last few months, with weekly gatherings of a handful of people at Main and Wooster on Sundays to show support for people in Gaza. They stand there most Sundays from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
“I came here because I thought this was a free country,” but now she is filled with doubt, Begum said.
A little way down the street, Marcy St. John, of Bowling Green, shared her own doubts about the ignorance and hatred that seem to permeate the nation.
“I care about my country,” she said.
But Saturday’s protest also renewed her faith in fellow Americans.
“This is amazing. It’s like the 60s and 70s, with people of all ages, races, creeds,” St. John said. When pushed, “Americans put their feet on the street,” she said.
The event in Bowling Green was organized by the Wood County Democratic Party and Bowling Green Persists, in solidarity with the broader “No Kings Protest” effort, according to party chairman Zach Schmidt. The purpose of the protest was “to stand against authoritarianism and reaffirm the commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and constitutional governance.”
This protest was part of a national day of action in response to recent events that have raised serious concerns about democratic norms and institutional checks on power, Schmidt said. That includes the military parade.
“This parade is not patriotic. It is a symbol of power and control. It is not about America. It is about one man who wants to be treated like a king,” he said.
“In America, we don’t believe in fascism. We don’t have kings. We deposed our last king,” Schmidt said as he watched protesters join the event this afternoon.
Schmidt also bristled at the false notion that protesters to such events are bused in and paid for their efforts. The Wood County Democratic Party had a sign-up prior to Saturday’s protest, with approximately 650 local residents noting interest to attend.
“We know these are Wood County, Lucas County and Findlay people,” Schmidt said. “They are not paid.”
