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Steve Adams's avatar

Self reporting from yesterday's protest in Arlington TX. Had a very interesting encounter.

Went to the Arlington Texas (DFW) protest, which is in a very red part of the state, though there is large-ish university there with a lot of international students. I was pleasantly surprised that 400-500 people were there. Most of the protesters were on the older side, with quite a few seniors. I’d just been at a coffeeshop a few blocks away where a bunch of hip and pretty young people were hanging out, but I didn’t see anybody like that protesting. This area, on top of being heavily Republican, can also be politically apathetic, so maybe this doesn’t reflect elsewhere, but I’d like to see younger folks at these protests.

I carried my traditional American flag again (there were two upside down flags, but no other traditional flag), and something interesting happened. When I was packing it up at the end, a big white guy came out of a non-upscale tattoo parlor across the street and crossed to meet me. I was unsure what was going on, but he shook my hand and thanked me for carrying the American flag. Then he turned and crossed back to his shop where a little old lady (his mother?) was watching, then they went inside.

This goes to some of the stuff I’ve been thinking about. I mean, this guy was not a normal leftist protester type. He could have had a police record. He could have been a vet. Who knows? But the fact that somebody decided to carry a traditional flag in the protest moved him to leave his place of business to thank me, and no one else. It obviously made a big difference to him, and possibly made him more open to the message we’re trying to deliver. That flag somehow made him feel represented among all the much more lefty messages (which are needed too, of course). And the thing is, I don’t think he needed more than one American flag in that crowd, but he damn sure needed one.

So I’m going to carry my traditional flag and possibly be a bridge to some of these more centrist or even off-the-grid people. The rest of y’all keep doing what feels right for you. If I’m being honest, one reason I’m carrying that flag is I *suck* big time at making signs. But I also think about my mom who was very emotional about the flag, and if she saw a group of protesters and there was a flag in the crowd she’d feel completely different about them than had there not been one.

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Simon Rosenberg's avatar

Friends, suggestions for how I can collect photos from the rallies and protests?

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