Adam Nelson joined hundreds of others in protesting President Donald Trump and his supporters while urging fellow-minded residents to join together to fight against the actions and policies of the president.
“The earth is getting hotter. Tensions have never been higher. Political violence is on the rise. Wealth inequality is increasing, and we have a president who wants to make that all worse,” Nelson told a crowd gathered in front of the Shawano County Courthouse the morning of Oct. 18.
Similar No Kings rallies were held across the country, in communities large and small.
“Today, Trump and his voters want to see chaos,” Nelson said. “They want to see a photo opportunity that justifies more violence towards us or his enemies. They’re convinced cruelty will fix all of their problems.”
He accused the president of rigging future elections through voter suppression and having his friends buy voting machines.
“He knows he can’t win in a fair fight,” Nelson said.
Jack Young, who asked those assembled to consider running for local public office, also said violence was not the way to protest.
“Hate isn’t going to get us anywhere,” he said. “Violence isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
Jan Koch, chair of the Shawano Menominee Counties Democratic Party, introduced all of the speakers at the rally.
“Critics want to say we’re having this rally because we hate America,” she said. “That’s the opposite of why we’re here. We’re here because we love America. We love our democracy, and we want to keep it.”
Kathleen Marsh, of Mountain, said the nation’s democracy is under attack. The nation’s institutions, guardrails and rule of law have been so badly damaged that democracy is on life support.
“We foolishly took it all for granted, assuming what we had would always be here,” she said. “Now we face the truth. Unless we resist, it is gone forever. Today, we say enough.”
Gracie Waukechon said the Native Americans know what it’s like to have their rights taken away, fight to win them back and persevere when the odds are stacked against them. Her Indigenous ancestors suffered though termination, environmental degradation and the Allotment Act.
“We have persisted. We are still here. And I ask you to look at our resistance, because we will continue to fight,” she said. “Patriotism is to love each other even when it’s hard. It is to love each other even when we disagree. It is to debate, and it is to assemble, and it is to love one another.”
Nelson said the fight must continue.
“This is not the end of the world. It’s not the end of America, either,” Nelson said. “This is the beginning of what comes next. We are going to keep fighting.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
