Tons of of sign-waving protesters crammed Esther Brief Park in downtown Vancouver at midday Monday in an illustration of ire on the new Trump administration that appeared to startle even a number of the organizers.
The occasion was organized by grassroots progressive teams Indivisible Higher Vancouver and MoveOn Clark County. It was one in all many Presidents Day protests deliberate across the nation.
“We just decided to do this a week ago,” stated Donna Sinclair, a neighborhood organizer (and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the Washington legislature) from Washougal.
The menu of causes that drew protesters was lengthy. Many protesters stated they confirmed as much as oppose “fascism.” Indicators carried by protesters, and messages delivered through the prolonged open-microphone a part of the occasion, cited points together with billionaire Elon Musk’s mission to radically downsize the federal workforce, the latest lack of ladies’s reproductive freedoms and the administration’s forceful crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Audio system urged attendees to signal petitions but in addition to swamp native authorities conferences with their issues and worries.
“We want to make the kind of ‘good trouble’ that was called for by John Lewis,” Sinclair stated, quoting the late civil rights activist.
She and others decried what she known as the “unabashed dismantling of government … under the guise of efficiency.”
Sinclair and others stated the federal government layoffs aren’t unfolding solely in far-away Washington, D.C., but in addition hitting federal employees in Clark County.
“Trump and Musk are tearing apart government agencies,” stated Alan Unell, an organizer with Indivisible Higher Vancouver. These companies embody the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, the Nationwide Park Service and even the Bonneville Energy Administration, with operations and plenty of staff in Vancouver and Portland.
“All of us are here to say this desecration of our democracy will not stand,” Unell stated. “Let’s show those who value cash so much, we mean business.”
Tim Probst, chairman of the Clark County Democrats, known as for Democrats to close down Congress.
“We oppose this coup,” he stated. “We support Democrats bringing Congress to a screeching halt. Democracy is at stake.”
Speaker Fia Marie urged everybody to look to themselves — not legislation enforcement — for security and safety.
“It’s time to put aside our comfort and privilege,” Marie stated. “It’s time to act.”