We’re often told, when you see something, say something, especially in recent years. A comedian I admire paraphrased that into when you see bullshit, call it that. There is a lot of that floating around these days.

I read a lot, especially when things are as awful as they are currently. I go and do my thing at as many protests as possible, making space for those to be heard. With the Friday General Strike in place (I couldn’t strike, so I’m doing the other things), I was reading a bit of the comments on news sites and there were a slew of predictable comments like: So they are getting paid? Who pays for the signs and a handful of other witticisms like how the frozen water faux cops are “doing their job,” when I doubt any of those “Rhode Scholars” know what that job is. But one question stood out, a commentor asked why, why protest?

Since there wasn’t any additional comment, I evaluated that question on a surface level. I go to register that I’m not okay with what is happening here. By heading out, I’m registering my complaint that the frozen water cops have killed people without recourse, wrecked countless others, that kids can’t go to school, mothers are giving birth at home and people are shopping for those afraid to leave the house. None of that is okay. None of that is making “America Great again.”

I don’t get to all that I wish, but this old white guy realizes we got issues, the bulk of which has been implemented by old white guys. The patriarchy has been needing replaced for a long time, but the criminals in charge now are doing a disservice. This isn’t okay, so I join kindred spirits as often as I can to represent that it isn’t okay, despite what the bots on news stations Facebook pages say.

The end game was the second part of the why protest question. For me, it is this. The administration needs to see how well this isn’t sitting, that a corrupt, in for itself and nobody else government doesn’t have a mass acceptance or mandate. That disguising political retribution as some twisted sort of immigration enforcement tactic is reeking of intelligence insulting bull shit. The dolling out of mcnuggets like video of Alex Pretti kicking an SUV a week before his death doesn’t improve the administration’s optics. It actually makes me admire him more.

The lies offered in the aftermath of just that incident are intelligence insulting and even the bots who post about how he interfered with agents by checking on a woman who was shoved to the ground, and took a faceful of pepper spray by way of protecting her from further harm just make him look good and noble and his aggressors and their boss and the Yosemite Sam hat wearing co-playing Homeland Security look even more ridiculous than before and that is saying something. This is an undeclared siege for the sake of voter records and other rolls in a state that didn’t roll over to the President like a drugged labra-doodle.

I’m not concerned like Susan Collins (C’mon, Maine, fix that). The end game is to take a stand, to say no, to say it loud enough that the crime family in charge can’t ignore.

In a bastardization of the Margaret Mead quote, never doubt the will of a small group of determined folks to affect great change, as it is the only one that ever has. Given that much of the press, most of Congress and the Supreme Court have all effectively sold off their collective spines, it (protesting) is one of the few ways of getting heard, or saying that’s enough. There was too much footage of young mothers getting dragged from their cars because the frozen water storm troopers felt like it. That could be my kids and grandkids. So, I stand up. As a taxpayer, I’m not a happy customer. This and a tsunami of other aspects from tariffs, to government funding of social programs to these occupations to border issues get me out, because none of it has been right, okay or even a good idea. The current administration cites open border policy is at the gist of the action in Minneapolis, but nobody ever specifies what policy they mean. We need to question, question more, we need congress to keep their responsibilities and not ceed them to stay in power, we need the supreme court to actually be an independent equal branch of government not the black dress yes men that they have morphed into. The thin-skinned nature of the administration has them trying to convince us a phone is a weapon (a weapon of mass illumination maybe), that six guys are afraid for their lives having pummeled one man to the pavement, arresting journalists for telling what they see. I mean when you see Bullshit, you got to call it out.

So, that’s why I head out. That’s why I use 5calls.org. There are many ways to stand up and unfortunately so many things that need questioned, despite an adminstration determined to not actually answer those.

Decisions get made by those who show up. So, my going to protests means I want to help those decisions get made, for my kids, grandkids, friends, neighbors and people I care about. I want the best of everything for all and this ain’t it, but it’s not going to be for the lack of trying.

As the man himself once said, “In the end, nobody wins, unless everybody wins.”