I joined a demonstration for the first time ever!

By IM Member Kay Taylor

For the first time ever, I joined a demonstration! As it turns out, it was surprisingly FUN! Plenty of honking! People shouting encouragement from their open windows as they drove by! Pedestrians on the street joining in with music as they strolled by! Even those who were clearly against our demonstration helped make it memorable.

Gloria E. asked me to go with her to St. Augustine this past Saturday afternoon to demonstrate against ICE, our current immigration policies, and against this administration. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wasn’t sure if there would be lots of counter-protesters, if I would be in danger, or if I’d even like it.

Well! I did (like it, that is)! I felt no sense of danger - even for a second. The other demonstrators were very friendly and were quick to share signs and make room for me to stand where my sign could be seen. We stood in a grassy area where we had a permit to demonstrate, held signs, smiled, called out ‘WOOHOO!!”, and chanted “We the People!”, “Love ALL People, Love ALL colors!” as people drove and walked by. We smiled and shouted when people honked. We ignored the ones that flipped us off (there were a few of those) but most people reacted positively by honking, waving and calling out to us. And I’m pretty sure I recognized several cars that drove around again to show their support a second time. When one open-air trolley tour stopped in front of us due to the traffic light at our intersection, we heard the operator tell his passengers that our demonstration for justice was included in the price of their ticket. A freebee!

One woman told us we were “confused” and she’d pray for us. Prayer is always good - it was an interesting encounter. There really weren’t many who passed by who were openly against our message. We did experience one counter-protester, and I actually felt sorry for him. He was carrying a Trump election sign from 2020 and didn’t seem particularly eager to stand up for 47. And he looked lonely. The only good thing? His MAGA hat managed to protect him a bit from the sun…

Overall, people were wonderful! There were over a hundred of us, one of the organizers said.

Over the years, I’ve wanted to go to demonstrations, but there always seemed to be reasons not to. These last couple of years as I’ve gotten older, I think I just lost my nerve. I’m so glad Gloria invited me to this one and that I finally went. Now, I plan to join others in the future!