ESSEX, MD — All was calm at an anti-Trump rally Saturday morning in Baltimore County until a counter-protester arrived.
"Donald Trump, baby!" a fan of the president shouted during a "No Kings Day" protest on an Essex street corner. About 150 people were challenging Trump's immigration, fiscal, and education policies when the interruption ensued.
The counter-protester and a protester started yelling at each other and had to be separated before tensions rose too far. That's when the Trump supporter, a 17-year-old boy on his work lunch break, found an unlikely ally.
A No Kings Day protester stepped in the middle of the argument and said the teen could stay.
"He doesn't have to leave," Middle River resident Dwayne Sumpter, a retired corrections officer who worked in drug counseling, said as he inserted himself between the two.
"Thank you, sir. I actually respect you a lot. I appreciate you," the teenager replied.
Sumpter said the teen had a right to be there and express his free speech, even though they disagreed.
The young fellow was agitating some of the people in the crowd by howling, 'I love a king,' when we're out here saying, 'No kings,'" Sumpter told Sastra News. "This man has a right to his opinion. Leave him alone. We [are] not out here to fight each other. He can say that.
Sumpter said the quarrel stemmed from what he called "the divide" in the country.
"My skills in working as a counselor and all [are] why I was able to quell that situation before it got out of hand," Sumpter said.
Sumpter and the teen went on to discuss common ground in the importance of peaceful protesting and democracy. The two shook hands and went their separate ways.
"We gotta be able to talk to each other, express our differences and give each other a hug at the end," Sumpter said.
Sastra News was unable to interview the teenager because he was a minor and his parents were not present to permit us to interview him. recorded the interaction , however, because it took place on a public sidewalk where videotaping is a protected right.
Military Parade Draws Nationwide Protests
For two hours, protesters carried signs and chanted at the intersection of Old Eastern Avenue and Stemmers Run Road. It was among hundreds of No Kings Day events nationwide.
The protests coincided with Flag Day and Trump's military parade in Washington, which celebrated the U.S. Army's 250th birthday. The Army's anniversary fell on Trump's birthday, but no official birthday celebrations were planned for the president.
Army Veteran Scott Oakley from Essex took part in the protest because "we needed a counterpoint to Trump and his big parade."
"It's the sort of thing that a fascist would do. We haven't had a parade like this in many, many years," Oakley said.
Oakley served in the Army for four years during the Vietnam era. He was stationed in Germany, Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Virginia. Oakley was not drafted, but he took offense to Trump dodging the draft.
"Trump weaseled out of the draft during the Vietnam era by claiming he had bone spurs, a medical condition. This was commonly used at the time, generally by well-to-do people who wanted to avoid the draft," Oakley said.
Lauren Pietrasko from Glen Burnie, who is married to an Army veteran, carried an upside-down American flag. Pietrasko said her husband supported her decision.
"I know that having an upside-down flag is protected freedom of speech," Pietrasko said. "It's a sign of distress or at least protest, but really, distress is what I'm trying to communicate."
sastra Newssaw three other upside-down flags at the event, but there were far more right-side-up flags.
Police officers monitored the scene from a nearby parking lot and frequently drove past. One stopped their car during the aforementioned argument to make sure everything was alright.
The chants of "USA" frequently rang out in the mostly cordial crowd that was greeted with a cacophony of honking supporters. There were at least two children present, and one person brought their dog.
Mike Bender of Baltimore wore a shirt reading, "Something happening here," which is a line from the 1960s protest song "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield.
Leaders don't behave the way he's behaving," Bender said. "To show brute force is just the way that cowards behave. Dictators and fascists throughout history have acted by trying to bully people rather than leading them.
Although mostly tame, there were spurts of strong negative emotions.
One protester's sign read, "Small dick king energy."
The crowd booed at a passing Cybertruck, an electric vehicle manufactured by Tesla, a company owned by Trump ally Elon Musk.
The opposition made some noise as well.
Two passersby gave the middle finger, a few chanted "Trump," one pointed to a gun sticker on his rear windshield, and another shouted "F--- you."
Stevie Rouse from White Marsh carried a sign that read, "If you support ICE, your mom's a hoe!!" The message was a spinoff of a popular internet clip from the 2010s.
Rouse shouted, "You're mom's a hoe" at multiple drivers who disapproved of the protest.
"This sign brings a little light because everybody's laughing at it," Rouse said. "The people that are upset about it, then they're the ones that the sign is for."
While filming a video, District 4 County Council Member Julian Jones (D-Woodstock) said the sign was one of his favorites. Other Democratic politicians in attendance included County Executive candidate Nick Stewart and County Council candidate Sharonda Dillard-Huffman.
Immigration, DOGE, Education
Immigration enforcement was the top concern for Lydia Dibos of Baltimore. Her mother, born in Colombia, and father, a Peruvian native, immigrated to the U.S. legally in the 1950s.
"I am so embarrassed for our country right now. The way that immigrants are being treated, it breaks my heart," Dibos said. "My parents would be heartbroken right now if they saw what's happening to our country. They would probably be out here protesting alongside us."
Dibos wore a taco hat, alluding to the acronym for "Trump Always Chickens Out."
"He talks big and then backtracks on everything," she said, pointing to Trump's changing tariffs. "What he's causing is a tremendous amount of instability in our country, unrest."
Trump's fiscal policies through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, also frustrated Rodcita Gray.
The Middle River resident is a Sixth District representative on Baltimore County's Democratic Central Committee. She also runs a day care out of her Middle River home.
Gray said Trump's cuts to a Maryland food program caused a nearly month-long delay in funding for meals at her childcare facility.
"You don't stop feeding the children," Gray said. "The kids should come first. They are our future."
The state of education worries Alexa Sciuto, a high school Spanish teacher in Baltimore City and an LGBTQIA+ advocate. She pointed to teachers protesting for a promised raise in Baltimore County.
Sciuto, originally from Perry Hall and now living in Baltimore, taught at Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex until she resigned in May 2024. She alleges that conservative leaders pressured the school to fire her and made defamatory statements about her after she posted a viral TikTok wherein she asked a Moms for Liberty member to define "woke." Sciuto is now suing the Republicans who she said defamed her.
Groups like Moms for Liberty have pushed for school choice. Trump responded with a proposal to close the Department of Education and shift responsibility back to the states. Sciuto acknowledged the need for change at the Education Department, but she thinks closing the agency would be "bad faith."
"It's not going to solve the existing problems. It's either going to worsen them or create new ones," Sciuto said.
The article No Kings Day Protest In Essex Brings Out Best, Worst Of MD Politics appeared first on Perry Hall sastra News .
0 Komentar