A Day of Action

CELINA - As many as 70 protesters lined State Route 127 near the lighthouse on Saturday afternoon to express their opposition to and outrage at President Donald Trump's administration.

Organized by the Mercer County Democratic Party, the "Hands Off" protest was an offshoot of the nationwide "Day of Action" that saw thousands of demonstrators descend on public places to amplify their voice of dissent.

The local protesters, many waving homemade signs bearing such slogans as "Hands Off Our Democracy" and "When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty," established their beachhead along a stretch of highway that turns into South Main Street, not far from West Bank Road.

The throng of dissidents spanning several generations were intermittently greeted by motorists with either rapid bursts of honks in solidarity or jeers and other gestures denouncing their efforts.

They let loose rousing cheers in the face of support and shrugged off the vituperations hurled their way.

Some of the protesters who turned out Saturday were driven by particular grievances while others took a stand against the Trump's administration in its totality.

"I just can't stand by and let the administration keep doing what they're doing. Everybody's rights matter. Everybody's lives matter, and we all deserve an equal chance at happy lives," said Kelly Bartlett of Celina, the Mercer County Democratic Party's communications director.

She lamented "everything they're doing right now," citing "their attacks on LGBTQ rights, their attacks on immigrants, their attacks on women's voting rights - all of it is important."

Speaking to the large group that assembled on Saturday morning, Bartlett called attention to the youth on hand.

"We have had an influx of younger members lately, which is really positive to see," she said about the local Democratic Party. "When I first joined in 2017 I was one of the youngest ones here."

Nancy and Robert Shaffer of Rockford, too, marveled at the range of ages represented by the demonstrators.

"Love seeing the younger people out here," Nancy Shaffer said, noting it evoked memories of her college days protesting the Vietnam War.

She took issue with numerous aspects of Trump's administration.

"We're here for our grandkids, worried about their future, and I'm also here because our dads were in World War II, and they didn't fight for this, for what's going with Trump," she said.

Pressed further about specific Trump policies or stances anathema to her, she pointed to public education, seemingly alluding to the president's intentions to dismantle the Department of Education.

"I'm a former teacher, so that really bothers me -and cutting off funding for like Head Start and libraries, for gosh shakes," she said.

"Everything, he's just shooting at everything, taking away our Social Security," her husband quickly added. "He lies about it. It's just terrible."

Kathy Deitsch of Celina was also tickled to see so many fresh-faced protesters on the front lines of the defense of democracy.

"The thing that's wonderful is younger people standing forward to who they are," she said. "I'm here because certainly it's important to meet all these new people, see what the reaction is and to know that now we need to make a difference. We need to talk to people about who we are and then make a difference. … This is America, democracy, you know what I mean?"

Not framing the protest in strictly partisan terms, St. Marys Councilwoman Arienne Childrey said the national pushback to the Trump administration "should be the most bipartisan moment in America's history."

"I'm pretty pleased with this. I'm glad we've got people turning out, keeping people engaged. You've got people here that actually care about our democracy and want to make sure that America as a democracy continues going. And that's the whole point," she said. "People may have voted Donald Trump in - and we support their vote and their ability to vote that way - but no president gets veto power over the U.S. Constitution. So I don't care, Republican, Democrat, it doesn't matter: Our Constitution is fundamental, and that's what we're fighting for."

Yet as a Democrat, Childrey believes there's never been a better moment than now to be involved politically, at least during her lifetime.

"I truly believe there has never been a better moment to be a Democrat because we have the opportunity to show the difference," she said. "It's going to be crystal clear that this is a party that stands with you, whether you vote for us or vote against us, this is a party that stands with you. Whether you're queer, whether you're straight, whether you're a woman, whether you're a man, none of that matters. We stand up for the rule of law, we stand up for the Constitution and, frankly, you can't say that for what's sitting in the White House."