2 weeks Ago By Alex Portal [email protected]
“We felt like it was important for us to get out today and to say, ‘we need to protect our democracy,’” said Rene Rountree, steering committee member of Indivisible ADK/Saratoga which hosted the event. “Two-hundred-and-fifty-years ago, the patriots were against the king and taxes without representation. At this time, we don’t want our Republic to turn into a dictatorship.
” Saturday’s “No Kings” protest was another national initiative instituted by the 50501 organization , which facilitates large-scale movements and encouraged smaller groups to host local events throughout the country. Much of the ire being aired at these national protests centers around a perceived disregard for due process and an out-right defiance of constitutional norms on display by President Donald Trump and his administration. Like the massive protests early in the month , Saturday’s event brought hundreds of people to downtown Glens Falls to join a united cause.
“Personally, I hope it gets people kind of invigorated and motivated to reach out to their political figures and just make their voices heard so we can correct things before it gets too far,” said Cheryl Hahn, of Hartford. “I think it also helps us feel like we’re not alone in this really miserable desperate time,” her sister Beth Purdy, of Queensbury, added. “It feels good to be around people who feel the same way and there’s some positive energy in that.
” As these events have grown, so has the showing of local support for Trump and his team. Saturday, amid the honks and waves of support by passing motorists, some revved their engines in an attempt to drown out the cheers and chants of the crowd. A single white van decked out in Trump regalia made several passes along Glen Street, but did not go so far as to engage with anyone in the crowd.
One man was taken into police custody after brandishing a chainsaw; an iconic symbol of the Elon Musk run Department of Government Efficiency’s infamous approach to reducing the federal workforce. Still, the vibe of unity and peaceful assemblage was unbroken by the attempted agitation. “It’s nice to know that you’re not the only person that’s scared,” asserted Ella Harris, who was joined by her friends Ana Frankenfeld and Evan Levesque who all attend Glens Falls High School.
Although the students felt emboldened by taking part in the gathering on Saturday, they all expressed deep concern for the country as a whole, as well as their uncertain futures. “It’s to the point where, I’m having to actually start looking at colleges in [Canada] to get away,” Levesque shared. “It’s really hard being a teenage girl right now with everything going on, so I want to spread awareness that it’s not easy for anyone right now,” Frankenfeld said.
At school the teens said they’ve noticed a decisive and divisive change in their peers. “Over the past year our high school has become so much less inclusive. There’s been a lot more bullying towards kids that are in the minority of anything,” Frankenfeld said.
“It’s gotten to the point where if you don’t politically agree with someone you can’t be their friend.” “I think it’s also been much more accepted to just not have an opinion, and I think that’s a big issue.” Levesque added.
As the three activists talked with The Post-Star, they were joined by a fellow highschooler, Brooklyn Cornell from Lake George, who said there was less divisiveness at her high school but shared her friends’ dismay over the current moment in history. “[It’s] insane that this is what it’s come to,” Cornell said. “We started with a fight and now we’re here, 250 years later with another fight.
This is not what America was made for. We should not be fighting for our own rights within our own country. It kind of feels like a Civil War 2.
0.” But the crowd on Saturday was not a straight shot down the political line. Jack Terwilliger, 74, of Chestertown said he’s a life-long Republican, but what he sees happening right now has him seeing red at more than just the ballot box.
“I voted for Republicans. Stand up and fight for what’s right,” he said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a political thing anymore, it’s just wrong.
” Originally from New Jersey, Terwilliger said he hadn’t voted for Trump in any of his three runs for president. But when his wife, a Democrat, expressed worry during Trump’s first term, he still had faith in the system. “I tried to tell her that everything would be just fine because one person couldn’t do anything, because our political system — that’s just the way it worked,” he recalled.
“And it seems to me that, that’s just folded down and not just the Republicans, but the Democrats themselves have let it come too far.” This was a sentiment he was not shy about extending towards Rep. Elis Stefanik, for whom he also said he couldn’t bring himself to tow the party line.
“I think she’s a two-faced person, she changes her mind on things; back-and-forth, back-and-forth. I don’t think she represents us,” he said. “I’m hoping midterms we’ll send a really strong message to the whole country to say, ‘wake up America.
’” Terwilliger said he could trace his family roots all the way back to the American Revolution. So, showing up to stand against a government he feels has lost its way in representing its people, especially on the anniversary of our nation’s ideological birth, marked a profound moment for him. “[My family has] fought in every war this county’s ever had for freedom, so that’s the way I’m feeling,” he said.
“This is my revolution.” Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge contributed to this article..
