A regular feature to the Chagrin Gateway Democrats from Lyn Newman

What happened?:  I spent most of Saturday morning standing in the drizzle with my husband and 1,200 of my neighbors at the STAND! While We Can! rally, waving our soggy protest signs at the drivers around Lander Circle. The signs ranged in subject from general concern about the state of our democracy to specific concerns about the Ohio budget, cuts to social services, the tanking economy, job losses and some very amusing takes on Elon Musk’s overreach and our president’s subservience to Vladimir Putin. Many of the drivers honked and waved or gave a thumbs up. A few gave a “one-fingered salute”, but more mouthed “thank you.”. Why “thank you?” Probably for doing something, amid what feels like overwhelming chaos.

Why it matters? : Because we need to do something and this is as good a place to start as any. The hard right played a long game. While we were not paying attention, they were getting hard right judges and the Ohio assembly elected so that we now have an election map so gerrymandered that it is nearly impossible for progressive ideas and candidates to succeed. So now we must play a long game. We must concentrate on local elections and start flipping council seats, school boards and Judgeships. And now is the time, because discontent is strong. No matter what their politics, people in Ohio are not going to be happy with the coming economic changes. These protests are a step in reminding people that this is not what anybody voted for. 

What can we do about it?: We need to talk to people about what is happening and why.  People are upset and frustrated, we need to encourage them to harness that into doing something. Participate in protests. Call and e-mail congresspeople. Speak up at town halls and school board meetings, join local Democratic clubs and most of all VOTE (and take 5 friends with you—we did not lose by all that much).

Lyn Newman can be found on Bluesky