To the editor:
As the crowd of nearly 300 people gathered in Hardwick, Saturday, Oct. 18, I donned my old crossing guard vest and took my aging, somewhat creaky, body out of its cozy downtown nook (where my husband and I are living, as I care for him, and he, in turn, tries to care for me) with the intent to do my part to help change things for the better.
My role at the “No Kings II” rally, for the most part, ended up being that of greeter/crossing guard and info sharer.
While the crosswalk post I found myself tending to was a little removed from the park, where the singers/speakers and presenters were, I was able to catch wisps of those presentations and found them inspiring. Also moving and engaging were the signs, costumes and behaviors of the wide array of passersby with whom I found myself interacting.
More than once I was asked what it was that brought me out to the rally (charmingly nicknamed a ‘protestival’). Only after the fact did I realize how many differing answers I had given, and how many others I hadn’t even had enough time to get to in each moment the question was put to me. I mean, it is difficult to condense more than 50 years of growing concern for our country, and the planet of which it is a part, into a soundbite-sized answer.
Now, in a quiet moment of reflection, I can summarize that I, the daughter of peace/justice- labor- and environmental-activist parents, had learned early on, and had taken very much to heart, their teachings to me and my siblings that it was up to us to “take care of each other” to “never sh*t where you eat” and to try to follow that time-honored Golden Rule; that we could do that through solidarity with strength in numbers and by using nonviolent modes of de-escalation and boycotting: always choosing peaceful and compassionate means when possible, and gratefully celebrating every step forward.
With that as the framework for my life, I stand pretty much in direct opposition to all that this current administration projects out to the world.
Mary C. Gagnon
Hardwick
(802) 535-8974
