I am a boomer who was radicalized in the late 1960s when we stood up to protest against the war in Vietnam, against institutional racism, and the harassment and oppression of women and girls.
Through the decades, I’ve stood in the streets to demonstrate my outrage and resistance to injustice, bigotry, and oppression both domestic and international. I’m not doing this in the belief that I will change the mind of a bigot. I do it for other important reasons.
First off, courage is contagious. Referring to current events, the like-minded people of Key Peninsula see us out there along the intersection in Key Center, and they know they are not alone in their dismay over the horrors that are occurring in our world. They take heart, and their convictions and values are reinforced.
Secondly, I want the tyrants to see that we are not going to quietly roll over while they run roughshod over human and civil rights. I want them to understand that their corruption and transgressions will never be normalized. I want Elon and Trump to worry about what people are saying about them.
And my last reason for demonstrating is that I do it for myself. Because standing publicly in opposition to injustice is taking action and, in my experience, that is better for the heart than brooding quietly at home.
Changing the minds of bigots is not an endeavor that is worth my time or energy. What I want is to resist them, call out their heinous beliefs and actions, minimize the damage they can do, and eventually take away their power.
Jo Seidl, Longbranch
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