Monday, 1:00pm. I got a notification on Facebook to an event, titled, “Classroom Walkout Protest.” Oh boy. I already know what this is about. I’ve already seen plenty of news articles and videos of college students protesting our new president elect. Now, my school is in on it, too. Looks like we’re all gonna complain about something we can’t change.
Great, but not interested.
Later that night, I ran into the event organizer. He asked me if I was going to the protest, since I never responded to the invite.
“Nah, I’ve got class, and it’s a lame core health class, but we’re presenting projects that day, and it’s the one time I have to be there.”
That was my valid, true response. Then, I asked the fateful question: “What is it about, anyway?”
I expected the organizer to say something like, “We’re protesting against Trump.” Instead, his response was: “We’re protesting discrimination shown in our government and on campus here.”
Whoa. Okay, that’s something I care about. I’ve never been discriminated against myself, but I have heard plenty of stories from friends and on the news. So, this protest thing is going to be for something I actually care about. Hm.
Tuesday, all day. I spent the whole day going back and forth, contemplating my options. If I didn’t go to the protest, I’d sit in my 2-credit core health class, listening to other people give presentations. I wasn’t scheduled to present on Wednesday, but I still felt like I should be there, especially since this is technically our final exam. Still, the professor never takes attendance.
However, if I did go to the protest, what would it mean? What good is walking to legislative hall and standing out there with signs going to do? Who is going to care? It’s not going to change anything.
True, walking to legislative hall and standing out front with signs wasn’t going to stop discrimination all across the country. Not immediately, anyway. However, it would make people turn their heads. It would give our opinions a voice. It’s supposed to be a peaceful protest, anyway. Campus security knows about it and is backing us up. We’re getting a police escort straight to legislative hall. What could go wrong?
Tuesday, 11:00pm. I send the event organizer a text that reads:
Alright f*ck it, I’ll be there tomorrow.
Wednesday. The day. I find out some of the people in my Odyssey community will also be there. Awesome. We all meet up, hand out the signs, and we’re off down State Street. People are carrying signs with slogans like “Wolverines against discrimination,” “Love Trumps Hate,” “United against hate,” all positive. All words that mean something. Everything goes well on the way to the hall, but then, someone starts playing the “F*ck Donald Trump” song on a speaker.
Great. Not what we’re here for, guys. At least, that's not what I was told we were here for.
Some children were visiting legislative hall that day on a field trip, so we convinced the DJ to switch to a more family-friendly song. He chose, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” We sang it. We chanted, “Wolverines Against Hate!” And “What Are We? United!” A few residents of the town joined us. We stood outside the hall, chanting our chants, waving our signs, staying where the police said we could stand. We weren't quiet, but we were definitely peaceful. We ended with a group shot and a mannequin challenge, then exited to the chorus of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” again. All was well, until we were almost back to school.
Then, the chants changed to “F*ck Donald Trump.”
Great. This again.
Here’s the thing. All those positive chants, that great playlist, the encouraging words we called to the children to stay in school and go to college, was good. We may not have ended discrimination, but we made am impact on those people’s lives. We said thank you to our police escort. We thanked the locals who joined us. But, things had to end on a sour note. All of our signs saying “Love Trumps Hate” should have been turned upside down, because the exact opposite happened. We started with love. We ended with hate. That wasn’t the goal. If you want people to care, don’t annoy them. Inspire them, like we did those kids.
So, Wolverines, let’s do it again, but this time, let’s really be against hate.
