I walked in the rain at dusk from Madison Park on West 26th Street, onto Broadway, and up 42nd Street. I had a bounce in my step as my mind's eye pictured the last scene in Saturday Night Fever - the iconic John Travolta strut on the streets of New York City. "Staying Alive" played on the jukebox in my head as I felt an exhilarated calm and hyperawareness that I rarely feel these days. The heavy rain wasn't bothersome to me, and the fact I wasn't using the most direct route back to my hotel room didn't matter. I enjoyed the cool, wet air amongst the purposeful walking of those passing me on the crowded sidewalk. Being a suburbanite visitor on the "mean streets" of New York is always a welcoming culture shock, and never scary. I love The Big Apple. I like how it gives me the simultaneous feeling of insignificance and empowerment.
I strutted unabashed with my huge 2'x3' double-sided poster board sign strapped around my shoulder. On one side read "IGNORING IT IS WHAT THE GERMANS DID" with the faces of Donald Trump, Adolph Hitler, and Elon Musk on it. The flipside read "THE ONLY IMMIGRANT STEALING AMERICAN JOBS IS A NAZI" with Musk flashing his infamous Nazi salute.
"Be careful" are the repeated words I hear from both Mom and Uncle George whenever I tell them I'm off to partake in one of my sign-wielding protests. Usually that warning comes when I embark on one of my solo sidewalk demonstrations. Their concern is valid, and a sad commentary on the hatred and violence of the Donald Trump MAGA movement I feel compelled to stand up against. On this April 5th, there was no need for concern. I was with roughly 100,000 like-minded, peaceful people for the "Hands Off" march, a nationwide protest spanning hundreds of locations across the country. Safety in numbers in New York was its own impenetrable defense. Even as I walked alone for two miles from Madison Park to my hotel afterward as night approached, I felt as fearless as ever. Emboldened by the task completed and the knowledge that my exposed sign in the mostly Trump-hating city, left me with absolutely nothing to worry about. Compared to the hundreds of times I've been cursed at and threatened back home, the city of 8 million people is much safer than a white suburban town of 30,000 when it comes to opposing a white supremacist, racist, dictator.
