Protests in Salem and full editions of our papers!
We’re outside the town’s grey McDonald’s on a grey Ash Wednesday that may redeem itself by being unseasonably warm, perhaps in the low 50s.
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Considering the unofficial presidential “state of the union” was last night, it may be a good time to post Jan Baxter’s Salem Press cover story on some local Trump protests taking place weekly.
Signs of the Times
By Jan Baxter
Salem Press Editor
If you’ve been in Salem, NY, on Main Street the last few Saturday mornings between 10am to 11am you are sure to have noticed the gathering on the four corners of like-minded people demonstrating the current President, his actions since taking office, and those people he has appointed.
The first peaceful protest in early February was a gathering of only a handful of people, organized by Hannie Varosy, a well-known artist in Washington County. Hannie explained to me that she felt she needed to ‘do something visible’ and peaceful to express her discontent and concern for what she sees happening in Washington. “I’m going to go there (to the Bancroft Library in Salem) and sit there on the bench for one hour and hope that others join me”, Hannie told me of her initial organizing efforts. People did join her.
From that first Saturday morning’s initially small, unpublicized response, a friend of Hannie’s, Mary Lou Stern of Greenwich, then reached out to a few dozen more people by email, spreading Hannie’s words that the gathering was open to “anyone to join who wants to show visible protest against what’s going on in our country. We come from a diverse walk of life. In our 10 to 11 hourly coming together every Saturday, we can talk and vent and make plans with each other”. People who received the message were clearly receptive.
The second Saturday of the protests saw close to 25 people show up, signs raised in the air for passerbys to read. Car horns honking of support and thumbs-up from drivers are the normal occurrence on these mornings. Hannie has had people stop by the quiet protests who are not of the same mindset, and she welcomes “civil dialogue between different thinking people” and believes that dialogue can happen “without being abrasive, but peaceful always”.
The last Saturday of February was bitterly cold and yet the protesters grew in number to nearly 50 people from neighboring towns as well as from Salem. They stood in the wintery chill together for one hour, exercising their rights under the First Amendment to peacefully assemble.
The March 1 group of peaceful protesters expanded again in numbers and to all four corners of Salem’s Main Street. The protestors were of all ages and all walks of life on this sunny, milder morning. The day prior to the 10am March 1 gathering, President Trump and Vice President Vance had met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office and the addition of many signs proclaiming “We Stand with Ukraine” bore the protestors’ frustration with the outcome of that meeting.
As an organizer of the Saturday morning gatherings, Hannie Varosy heeded what she’d been told of Facebook comments regarding the large group on the sidewalks in front of the library. The March 1 hour-long gathering saw white dots on the sidewalk visibly guiding the group to stay close together on one side of the sidewalk and in no way blocking any pedestrian from passing by. She has also spoken with law enforcement who agreed that their peaceful assembly for an hour each Saturday morning was well within the law.
An important part of our rights as US citizens is our right to voice our opinions and connect with our elected officials. One of the signs at the March 1 gathering bore the online web address of www.5calls.org which leads people through how to call your Congressperson and connect by phone with Representatives. The information is free. You are asked to fill in your zip code and are then given the congressional office telephone numbers to call. Additionally, the 5 Calls website leads you through what you may want to say when you call (for instance, always let them know you are a registered voter and vote in their district and are from “your zip code” and then explain to them the reason for your call and the issues that concern you). You will not speak directly with your Congressperson or Representative, but a member of their staff who will be taking down the information and adding it to daily reports of what they were contacted about and in what numbers. Additionally, you can call every weekday to voice your concerns. The staffers may become familiar with you and that is a small win in making your singular voice and opinions heard.
The next peaceful protest gathering is planned for Saturday, March 8 from 10am to 11am in Salem on Main Street.
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