Walking from Maria’s Taqueria to Boylston Street, I hoped to have a nice and relaxing day at the Boston Common. This dream was cut short, much to my dismay. As I approached the south part of the park, I noticed, yet again, another rally in opposition of one of President Donald Trump’s decisions. This time, it was the march for climate change. Those protesters were upset at the fact that the president is cutting much of the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency.
I completely understand and support people who want the EPA because they regulate everything from pollution in the local ponds to each factory’s pollution emission. What they do makes the world a more enjoyable one to live in, and I am extremely upset to see a program like this being essentially wiped away by the federal government.
What I don’t understand is why people keep protesting Trump in this way. At this point, it seems as though he could not care what anyone else in the world thinks about him. The decisions that he makes, may they be good or bad, are all but final. I’m not saying that I am against protesting because that would be ridiculous. The ability to peacefully assemble is a cornerstone of the United States of America.
However, I think people who have been protesting the president have been going about it all wrong. They need to do more than just assemble in a park where no one else can see it. I didn’t even know the rally was taking place until I saw that it was going to briefly inconvenience my day. These protesters need to do more than just get together to pat themselves on the back for having the same opinion.
Walking by, many people had funny signs. This might seem like a light and airy way to approach a situation, but I saw it as people not taking what they are doing seriously. I observed the immigration protest and saw the same thing. People were trying to one-up each other as to who could make the funniest, wittiest sign. I feel like this takes away from the meaning of the protest and this line should be straddled with care. Soon enough all of the signs are going to be painted with really bad humor.
At this point in the administration, it seems like most of the people who go to rallies only do it so they can share the fact that they were there with their friends on social media. What seems to be lost are the days where people did not do things for the internet and to say that they did it just to do it. I cannot think of a single friend that has been to a protest and not shared it online. While this may be an important step in spreading the word, a text is more meaningful and personal than a Snapchat story. People don’t care as much as they need to in order to actually change what is going on in the administration, and Trump knows this.
My advice is simple — exit out of social media and start calling your state representatives if you really care. Protesters nowadays have a negative reputation for a reason. A lot of people think that they do it just to say they do it. I was never one of those people, but after experiencing a few, I now am. Prove people like me that we were wrong and show that what you are doing matters. Make a change, do something big. If you don’t, Trump will get his way for all four years.
