Geronimo Ritcheson ’29 is a freshman eyeing a major for Government or Public Policy. He’s involved in various organizations such as William and Mary Young Democrats, Theodore Roosevelt Society, and Apologetics Club.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
Saturday, after two hours of canvassing for the College of William and Mary’s Young Democrats, my friend dropped me off at the parking lot of the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse near New Town. On hand were a flagpole for a Jolly Roger as depicted on “One Piece” — lately a popular symbol of Gen Z resistance to corrupt governments across the world — as well as a water bottle and a notebook to take notes on the protest I was joining. With this protest, a few thousand (yes, a few thousand) demonstrators were lined up around the intersection of Courthouse Street and Monticello Avenue to protest the policies of Donald Trump’s second presidency
As I made my way through the crowd with my flag unfurled, many held signs that ranged from mundane, such as those giving insults to the president, to creative, with a sign featuring the same skull and crossbones on my flag, but in the same crude manner as was first depicted in “One Piece.” I soon met up with two friends. One had a sign with a monarch butterfly and a caption along the lines of “The only monarch I approve of.” The other had a professional camera to take pictures of all three of us, and we all had good pictures from the event. I briefly left my friends to meet up with other friends from the Young Democrats for photos. After an hour at the protest, I was picked up and brought back to campus.
The protest on Saturday was one of thousands of demonstrations across the country, from small towns in Montana to metropolitan centers like New York City, held in contempt of the actions of Donald Trump. Many of the grievances revolve around the authoritarian drift under Trump, including the increased scope and funding of ICE to levels similar to a Gestapo-style secret police, and the weakening of constitutional checks and balances, such as the presidency expanding budgetary powers at the expense of Congress. Based on some reports, turnout for Saturday’s protests reached about 7 million, or about 2% of the country’s population. With the massive turnout, it is increasingly clear that Americans, whether it be Democrats, Independents or Republicans, are getting fed up with Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, seemingly modeled on the autocracies of Hungary and Russia.
It is not only important, but imperative, that further protests continue, as louder calls for change and reversal of Trump’s disastrous policies can bring about said change. Even in the face of governmental violence, the need for peaceful protest will continue, and, as with the well-known marches held during the Civil Rights Movement, good trouble shall prevail if the people become loud enough to fall on the ears of the powerful. So, if I may give advice for all students at the College who love the democratic order and the rule of law, go out for protests, have your voice heard and work as hard as you can to bring about the necessary change in our government to promote accountability and stop the rising spirit of authoritarianism from consuming our country and destroying the American experiment.
