Yesterday I was in center city Philadelphia taking my time to walk to the train on the east side of Market Street, to eventually make my way home to the suburbs. Much of the city in this particular area is under construction, but the heavier than usual traffic and congestion was due to more of that. Unbeknownst to me, I was walking into the end of what was supposed to have been a march by Trump supporters, who had planned to travel from Independence Mall to Benjamin Franklin Parkway. They were, from what I later gathered, asked to cancel it in midstream because anti-Trump protesters had shown up. According to news reports the City’s Police Commissioner called on organizers to cut the route short because the inevitable clashes between the two groups were making it very unsafe for the tourists and the general public. By 3 PM, when I was in the area, most of the activity had died down. I did note an interchange between a police officer directing traffic and a person crossing Market Street. “Protesters, right?” she said. “It’s like this very week,” responded the officer, weary, but focused on moving people along. For the woman and the police officer, who were in the mix, but separate from the two groups, its was a “here we go again” moment. Four months after the presidential election and 67 days into the Trump presidency, protest and resistance are becoming the norm.
The impact, the outcome unknown, it is too soon to know. But, I really wonder and worry that the marching, the disruption of everyday life in cities and communities is contributing to the polarization between the two extremes, obfuscating the issues, one side’s opposition pushing the other group to become more entrenched, angry, unwilling to seek any resolution. I am left-leaning, admittedly. I participated in the Women’s March on the day after the inauguration and was pleased and proud to do so. I felt energized; I felt an affinity and solidarity with everyone who had gathered toward one purpose; I was part of a positive, forward-looking drive. But, I just don’t know now. It seems like every day there’s a new petition to sign, another post to share, a rallying cry to call representatives, a march, a rally, a meeting and I am feeling guilty that I’m not doing this, but I’m not because I just don’t know.
Last month Hillary Clinton made a statement that echoes the phrase that has been uppermost in my thinking lately – resistance through persistence. An NBC News report noted that she took to Twitter, using the Democrats’ handle, @HillaryClinton: “Let resistance plus persistence equal progress for our Party and our country.” #DNCFuture> I’m still with her. I know that much.
I will persist, keep my eyes and ears open, say what I can when the time is right. And now, I’ll go work on a poem.