Those who are sitting out these protests are the same people who tried to warn the country that all of project 2025 was very much real and ready to be executed on day 1.
Civil rights, human rights, women’s rights, human decency, democracy are also on the chopping block, all things the youth care about… I think a lot of people are just burnt out. So the people that showed up are the people that are not usually protesting or fighting, this is all new to them so they have the energy.. but as tired as we are, we all need to fight because we cannot go back to the 1950s, we can’t become a white nationalist oligarchy. If we don’t fight against it now, in six months or a year from now, we won’t be able to fight anymore. It’ll be too far gone, protesting will be illegal, etc. But, I think we need real leadership to step in and energize people for the fight ahead, leadership that actually knows what the hell they’re doing and it’s not sticking with the status quo. .
MLK was bringing together all the poor and disenfranchised of 🇺🇸 to gather in Washington DC. He was killed, Malcolm X was about to bring the 🇺🇸 to the world court for crimes against humanity bc of the treatment blacks endured after the wars, out of conditions from slavery Malcolm was killed. JFK was favorable to change and forward thinking for the u.s. and he was killed.
ONE person leading the battle is just a martyr "we the people" on all fronts and in mass are what will save humanity, save the u.s. and the world but the privileged or entitled don't see themselves as part of the "we" they stand for and represent the "me,myself & I" greed/comfortable/selfish. Beautifully this u.s. can be redeemed if it looks in the mirror and tells itself the ugly truth and moves to change.
Oh, I definitely agree when I say leadership I’m not talking about just one person leading all of the sheep. I mean more like organizers, senators, House of Representatives, like democratic leadership needs to step up.
Well, 5 million people showing up to protest has shown that we are warming up to the idea of fighting back and having power. I've heard from others that they feel energized and less alone after marching along with others in protest. This is only the beginning... There are more protests planned, and more fighting has to be done. Have you or anyone heard what happened in South Korea? When I saw that, I realized that, we can do that too. THAT, could be us! For some reason not enough people are talking about that though...
I think you're wrong honestly... Youth is a bit widespread. There's many of us who are surviving on these services too. Of course they care. Like the other person said, we're burnt out from coming into a world starting at 0. Most of us weren't given a company, business, land, or even inherited money that could jumpstart us to having strength and faith in this harsh world. We're already tired at such a young age. Even before becoming adults, schools expect so much for us, and it's becoming more difficult to meet these standards with many other underlying issues to our development. Kids these days are growing up into a much harsher reality. I'm 21, and every dream I've had in wanting to live a functioning, substantial, and happier life has dimished one by one. Yet, I'm still expected to keep going in life, to find a way, where there aren't that many paths anymore. There isn't even a certainty that we can live a decent life. My will to live goes up and down everyday... I just realized that I'd be okay to not exist with no trance if it meant I won't have to suffer anymore. That's how bad it is. This era has already sucked the life out of most of us. We want to live, and fight of course...but the strength is almost nonexistent.
Hi Simone, please don't give up on life . We all will endure storms and struggles but remember to embrace joy wherever you can find it. Please don't diminish or erase yourself because that is exactly what they want you to do. You are a precious and valuable member of society and we need you to continue to fight , to dream , to live and stay the course.
Praying you stay strong and live to realize your dreams.
Hi. I apologize for that somewhat dark comment I made, I was really down that night...but thank you so much for your encouraging words! I think we all need a more kindness and understanding towards each other now and days... Today, I have regained my strength! So I shall keep living and keep fighting through this. I want my dreams to come true one day, and so, I hope that I'll still have that chance. I know being happy despite all this is a form of protest as well! I appreciate you. 🥹
This story is about the black community being betrayed by pro democracy voters. Not about other groups. I found it edifying and moving. Facts can be feelings. Thanks, Don Lemon.
WOW!!!. They are depending on their parents to always carry them through. Not making the sacrifice for themselves. What happens when their parents are gone? SMH
No argument from me. The youngers are so focused on now they do NOT think of these things unless their parents instill it in them. They do not think far enough ahead.
I agree with Nan. This is a story about Black America being left behind…every time. Not young America. That said, the GOP has been screaming that SSA & Medicare won’t be there for the young. Why ask them to fight (& pay) for something they will never have?
I, personally, think we will have to change A LOT about our institutions & structure if we are to believe in it and build something better.
I literally just had this conversation with my 28 year old daughter. She said that they are afraid. Afraid of being identified and arrested. Afraid of being disappeared to an El Salvadoran prison. They don’t have the financial means to support themselves, let alone bail themselves out of jail. And, to Don’s larger point, they don’t see the value in protesting because nothing changes. And, for the record, this middle-aged white woman voted for Kamala.
Wish I could say the same ..... I am 87 and not exactly SPRY any longer. I am vertical, but not too danged steady as she goes any more.
My mind is clear as a bell though, and I can sling word hash with the best of y'all, and that has always been my forte. Yet, as an old boat captain, the sound of the rising tide around me keeps urging me to launch once again, like Ulysses, to "seek to find and not to yield." I do recommend the reading of Tennyson's ULYSSES to everyone. It speaks to those of us who have passed the prime, but still yearn to enter the fray.
Fear keeps us stagnant. Fear doesn't help the people who need it the most. Fear doesn't make history. Things do change! When I was out there fighting for women's rights and for equal rights, change did happen!! It's because of our fight that they have rights we didn't have. Before that, women were property, we had no money of our own. We couldn't go on birth control without a husband's consent. We couldn't get a store or credit card... it had to be in his name with written permission for us to use it, and in some cases, they got to set the limit we could spend. We were discouraged from going to college, discouraged from getting jobs other than minimum wage because "You wouldn't want to take a job away from a man with a family to support, would you?" We were not taken seriously and taught to cook, clean, take care of a family, and to let the man make the decisions. I was even signed up for lessons on how to be "ladylike" (how to walk gracefully, how to cross our legs at the ankle and not at the knee, how to speak to your man and never tax him too much, etc), and to learn etiquette. We had to dress for them, support them 100%, keep the kids quite around them, and on and on. So, we fought... hard! And we made enough of a wave that it caught the attention of lawmakers, politicians, and it opened up a whole new world. So please tell them... things do change if we don't give up!
Exactly, people act like nothing changes, because the change doesn’t happen overnight in two seconds or exactly the way they want it to happen… but we have made so much progress in the last 60 years. And in one administration that could all be undone if people just give up and say “what’s the point.”
And at the end of the day it’s still more y’all than their is of us. So get out there and make some noise. We been making noise since we were born on the forsaken soil.
You are absolutely correct, Sharzi. I told her that I’m not afraid and I will protest. For her future. It’s all about her future to me. But, to see things from her perspective, she doesn’t see any of that because the fact that she’s almost 29 and lives with her mom in an apartment because we can’t afford to buy a house, things look super bleak. And her dad paid for her college education so she doesn’t even have student loans. But her friends do. She drives a 15 year old Prius because she can’t afford a new car. She works full time as a music teacher and assistant music director at a music school. She’s lead singer in a band that is starting to catch on. She’s wildly talented. She’s extremely hard working but she feels like she’s stagnant and even moving in retrograde. I’m struggling too. It’s not supposed to be this way. It’s depressing. The one thing she has shown interest in (and I sadly concur) is that we need to learn how to shoot a gun and buy a couple. So this is where we are. But I will never give up the fight. I’m a New Yorker dammit.
Who said anything about giving up? Also as a Black woman, I can speak for myself. I’m choosing to sit these out until folks get it through their thick heads that we matter. Our lives matter. Our voices matter. Our communities matter.
Until White folks and “others” get their shit together, I will be sitting at home doing my boycotts, spreading the word on social media, and talking to those who are willing to listen. Other than that I’m good.
I’m not putting myself in harms way for folks who would sell me up the river in a heartbeat, especially folks who are now all of a sudden on the “right side” of things now and the only reason for that is because they didn’t think this man would affect their lives, but the lives of others.
I can tell you that there are a whole lot of us who respect you and have always had your back. I thought we'd made some headway in the 60's and 70's, but hatred lingers in some people, who generation after generation, have kept their families ignorant. I've never given up the fight and I'm sure as hell not giving up now. Us white folks need to step up in a much bigger way. I'm afraid we will never change the hearts and minds of some people, but that doesn't mean we stop trying. I understand your frustration or anger, or that you've just had enough. I wish I could fix it all...
When you talk about how “we” fought hard - if you’re a white woman, you need to HEAR THIS - We Black Women were beaten, had police dogs tear our flesh & were blasted with fire hoses marching for our rights as CITIZENS (much less women) in the 1960’s so that Pres. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This benefitted YOU as well!! White women, YOU tend to forget that! And YOU benefitted off OUR PAIN & ACTIVISM in order to push the Women’s Liberation Movement into the forefront! Don’t get it twisted!! https://youtu.be/XST4lV7HnO8?si=tgy4sbYvCi47r_1O.
In Sacramento Capitol there was everyone, we had every ethnicity, we had disabled individuals in wheel chairs some with Foley bags.we had about 7 thousand people and I felt proud.
Yes, was there as well in Sacramento. We had a huge variety of people of all ages and abilities. However, I did notice the largest portion of the group was white and women.
Lots of luck with that, Bob. I'm 92, retired at 88, and support my self and cat and help my adult grandchildren as best I can. (All 4 of my children predeceased me - 3 to cancer, 1 to mental health)
FAY, you are officially MY HERO.....my hat is off to you, as I am almost 88 (in 2 months), live alone with my four small dogs......and thousands of books. My husband and son predeceased me as well.
Fay Reid, you are one strong person. I am sorry for your losses. I can't imagine working as long as you have! I know having a purpose keeps us going. I hope you are able to enjoy your life in whatever way you can at this point.💖
What about the college encampments? Columbia? There have also been walkouts by highschoolers. Young people have been very present in a lot of protests, and it's wrong to disregard their efforts. Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk showed up and are now being punished for it. But college students are still showing up if they can
They keep having them during the week when the younger folks are most likely working or going to college. These should be on weekends when everyone is available.
That is disgraceful! That is history, black history. I think of how much undoing is happening and how much restoration will need to happen going forward when the next administration comes into power. Sit tight and hang in there and we will turn this chaos into some sort of assemblance and peace.
I think it’s just fine for black folks to sit these protests out for their own safety. It’s time for white people to step up and stand up in these protests (and y’know, also in general).
safety yes but Don spelled it out that each election people decide to participate based on their own situations not the gross injustice all around. many were there protesting because they lost jobs or fear for social programs etc as well.
I never told anyone til now but I cry everyday bc I have had a dream and felt myself being pulled out of my home by force I awoke in fright.[I get calls from persons I hadn't heard from in years checking in with me and makes me wonder more if I had a premonition I don't want to think so...
(I'm a black woman) This pain in my heart that I have little faith in white people rising to the occasion to be of help to save this country and the daily storms of tears I cry may take me out before I'm actually grabbed up by the brown shirts. lol 🤣🫣
(I'm old anyway) like MLK I'd like to live a longer life but if these fanatics and zealots that are taking possession of the gov't are not stopped then any personhood in these United States as once known will cease to be.
I laugh at myself for the wishful thinking when I think where's a Luigi when you need one the most. But I hope for better for all the generations to come, and that their futures will be bright in the ignorance of not having known the ugly, awful, hateful otherism of these 🇺🇸 united states past. BUT THE WORLD 🌎 will know and it will be the record keeper although the books are destroyed or web pages erased.
I was at one of the rallies in Florida this weekend. Between 500 and 700 people showed up and yet I only counted 14 of us. However, white voters were coming up to me saying they had to fight this one for us because they knew if we were to come out to protest
Trump would declare Marshall law. I just wanna give a shout out to all Americans who know how much is at stake for everyone and the sacrifices they are making
This is going back in time a bit to the late 1950s, in Mobile Alabama. I worked at the Mobile Public Library before and after my marriage. My spouse, employed by AL State Revenue as an auditor. So, we had a Christmas party of all Library employees, and it was integrated, I guess you'd say. The John Birch Society had a phone recording of such news and my spouse refused to go with me. But I went to the party, regardless. It is such social pressures which seek to control our actions that has always upset me, and raised my ire. Times were really not as bad then as they are now.
I've always had a fondness for the Black community, especially since they treated my Daddy so well when his health was failing and kept working with the help of his Black crew. His lead man was King, and they came to paint my parent's house on their own time.....I always felt that King was a distant relative of MLK, with the same godly humanitarian tendencies. Daddy's bargeline office was quite near Africatown, before it was made a monument, and all the local descendants of the last slave ship would come fishing on the creekbank beside Daddy's barge terminal. We grew up in this environment, my brother and I.
Thanks for this! Something I am facing/seeing as a white person is the amount of racism in friends and family. I tried to correct misinformation to people I have known for 45 years and looked up to them. However, my eyes are waking up to see how the people I thought I looked up to are just simply racist. I have cut off so many people and family over their support to MAGA. I know now who they are and will fight even harder now!
facts and racism is actually a made up myth that we pass generation to generation when we find out we are all in the same boat is coming soon when they cut medicare, medicaid, social security or more jobs just for the hell of it. Maybe then they will see they got played.
Yea! I am from the south and moved to Colorado! Stepping away and seeing people for who they are. Will they wake up or wake up bc it affects them. I am struggling with that part.
Revolution is the solution to tyranny and traitors.
When a government of the People, for the People, and by the People turns against the People, it's name is tyranny. We the People have an obligation to exercise our Rights and Liberty abolish tyranny by any means necessary. Revolution is the solution.
We all MUST stand up to Trump, he is the one doing all destruction of the United States of America and Constitution. The people are rising. It’s good to see people all over standing up PEACEFULLY against the tyranny.
I will be wearing this "Don't blame me, I voted for Her" t-shirt the next four years 👇
“One trouble with living beyond your deserved number of years is that there’s always some reason to live another year. And I’d like to live another year so that Nixon won’t be President. If he’s re-elected I’ll have to live another four years.”
I remember Nixon and he was not a bowl of cherries ( I somehow and sometimes do think that djt will be the catalyst ) for people to open their eyes and open their mouths, show up and show out just like black communities have time after time on police brutality, being othered, disenfranchisement, being marginalized, profiled, not having protection under law.
Will non minority persons want to be educated in truth about others, will they embrace and will feel they the sentiment of FannieLou Hamer that they're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I was born 1961 this is 2025 when will it be time, when will it be the right time for otherisms, hatred, injustice and inequalities to end. When will the playing field be level and the rules to the game not be changed once we learned the gist of playing the game.
And I'll be 88 if I make it through. When I look back at the last 4, they seem to have just flown by, but looking forward to the next 4 does seem like a long, hard grind. I have to look for a small bit of joy in each day. Yesterday was easy with all the clever and hilarious signs people made.
IF it is adversity which calls us to ENDURE, to RESIST, then we must not find fault with adversity itself......but blame that THORN IN THE SIDE which can be dealt with by REMOVAL. We humans are good at problem solving, and know the solution....RESIST, REMOVE, REPLACE.
Thinking about the trump genes in the gene pool, leads me to wonder if forced sterilization might not be such a bad idea...for some people anyway.....after all, might not some one of his progeny yet redeem the bloodline? Any guesses if ONE of them might yet do so?
The only thing that might make me feel sterilization might not always be the wrong thing to force on someone is knowing how many children Musk has and by 4-5 (or how many?) mothers. yikes.
Anyway, I've seen too many total opposites within the same family. As far as the present Thorn In The Side - yes, REMOVAL!
I have felt this way for decades and as i, a former diversity instructor was told now that’s a bad thing, i was perplexed because white women were the biggest benefactors. This correction needs to be done by the population that overwhelmingly is only moved by a financial loss or personal experience . I vote for everyone , i marched in DC for every child , i mentored regardless of race. just tired and waiting to see everyone find a reason to be a outraged not only for your own personal situations but because we come to far to let democracy go. The 92 percent are not gone just letting the 55 and 75 do the work and feel it the way they need to. we will vote and we will be there but this one is not ours to carry . @donlemon we needed this and thank you . You are more alive now than you have ever been. This is your moment .
Don, I noticed it right away. No excuses. You make valuable points. but I was out there on behalf of anyone who could not be there for whatever their reasons were. I saw a black man take a picture of us from across the street. He wasn't participating but I yelled to him " this is for you" while I was showing him my sign! I kept saying it and then he showed me the heart sign. We need to be better,but we need to push forward.
You can’t be tired!! You need to continue to fight. Did our ancestors say they were tired when they were fighting and dying for democracy. I have noticed that there have not been many black Americans out at the protests. I just thought they might be afraid because frump and his cronies are so racist. I hope they reconsider and join the fight we need everyone to help save our democracy!!
Yes, at 77, I am tired of protesting. I have marched, called, written letters and protested my whole life. I am shocked and deeply disturbed that we are going backwards!
this time it was better to stay on message no tanks, no cops dragging people, no helicopters this was not black lives matter ish where the full military was on display we needed to sit this one out for not only us but for the cause .
White people never fail to disappoint me - a white person. I understand and support making white people do the damn work - I was out there doing my part as was my kiddo - we have depended on people of color to save democracy so much, and they deserve a rest. When a majority of white people pick Trump, they get what they deserve. Unfortunately it's taking everyone else with them, but sometimes the hard way is the only way to learn. Regardless of how this goes, change needs to happen on a large scale. I'm here to help, wherever you need me to stand.
No, shade on you personally. Thanks for not being one of the majority of WW who voted against their own interests. I need you to educate your fellow WW, you know your neighbors and /or relatives who voted for this current administration to run the country into the ground. They didn’t listen to the 92% of Black women who tried to warn everyone about what is happening now.
Don, well said. However, as a 70-year-old Latino I have always had a deep respect for the ability, energy, and influence the black community has had in shaping the social justice we had achieved in the country. My community has historically been more silent, more willing to go with the flow, and ridden on the back of the black community's visibility and demands for change. However, they are now coming for all of us. I hope, I sincerely hope we can build a coalition that stands for all people and is strong enough to change the current trajectory.
Those who are sitting out these protests are the same people who tried to warn the country that all of project 2025 was very much real and ready to be executed on day 1.
Thank you for articulating my exact feelings Don.
Well said!!!!
Another missing segment at the protests: Youth! Very few showed up. And we need them to.
Totally agree. I noticed at the rally I attended in Charlottesville.
What is one of the big issues? Social Security and Medicare. Young people do NOT give a crap about it and view it as something is the long distance.
Civil rights, human rights, women’s rights, human decency, democracy are also on the chopping block, all things the youth care about… I think a lot of people are just burnt out. So the people that showed up are the people that are not usually protesting or fighting, this is all new to them so they have the energy.. but as tired as we are, we all need to fight because we cannot go back to the 1950s, we can’t become a white nationalist oligarchy. If we don’t fight against it now, in six months or a year from now, we won’t be able to fight anymore. It’ll be too far gone, protesting will be illegal, etc. But, I think we need real leadership to step in and energize people for the fight ahead, leadership that actually knows what the hell they’re doing and it’s not sticking with the status quo. .
MLK was bringing together all the poor and disenfranchised of 🇺🇸 to gather in Washington DC. He was killed, Malcolm X was about to bring the 🇺🇸 to the world court for crimes against humanity bc of the treatment blacks endured after the wars, out of conditions from slavery Malcolm was killed. JFK was favorable to change and forward thinking for the u.s. and he was killed.
ONE person leading the battle is just a martyr "we the people" on all fronts and in mass are what will save humanity, save the u.s. and the world but the privileged or entitled don't see themselves as part of the "we" they stand for and represent the "me,myself & I" greed/comfortable/selfish. Beautifully this u.s. can be redeemed if it looks in the mirror and tells itself the ugly truth and moves to change.
Oh, I definitely agree when I say leadership I’m not talking about just one person leading all of the sheep. I mean more like organizers, senators, House of Representatives, like democratic leadership needs to step up.
Well, 5 million people showing up to protest has shown that we are warming up to the idea of fighting back and having power. I've heard from others that they feel energized and less alone after marching along with others in protest. This is only the beginning... There are more protests planned, and more fighting has to be done. Have you or anyone heard what happened in South Korea? When I saw that, I realized that, we can do that too. THAT, could be us! For some reason not enough people are talking about that though...
I think you're wrong honestly... Youth is a bit widespread. There's many of us who are surviving on these services too. Of course they care. Like the other person said, we're burnt out from coming into a world starting at 0. Most of us weren't given a company, business, land, or even inherited money that could jumpstart us to having strength and faith in this harsh world. We're already tired at such a young age. Even before becoming adults, schools expect so much for us, and it's becoming more difficult to meet these standards with many other underlying issues to our development. Kids these days are growing up into a much harsher reality. I'm 21, and every dream I've had in wanting to live a functioning, substantial, and happier life has dimished one by one. Yet, I'm still expected to keep going in life, to find a way, where there aren't that many paths anymore. There isn't even a certainty that we can live a decent life. My will to live goes up and down everyday... I just realized that I'd be okay to not exist with no trance if it meant I won't have to suffer anymore. That's how bad it is. This era has already sucked the life out of most of us. We want to live, and fight of course...but the strength is almost nonexistent.
Hi Simone, please don't give up on life . We all will endure storms and struggles but remember to embrace joy wherever you can find it. Please don't diminish or erase yourself because that is exactly what they want you to do. You are a precious and valuable member of society and we need you to continue to fight , to dream , to live and stay the course.
Praying you stay strong and live to realize your dreams.
Hi. I apologize for that somewhat dark comment I made, I was really down that night...but thank you so much for your encouraging words! I think we all need a more kindness and understanding towards each other now and days... Today, I have regained my strength! So I shall keep living and keep fighting through this. I want my dreams to come true one day, and so, I hope that I'll still have that chance. I know being happy despite all this is a form of protest as well! I appreciate you. 🥹
This story is about the black community being betrayed by pro democracy voters. Not about other groups. I found it edifying and moving. Facts can be feelings. Thanks, Don Lemon.
Very well said and so true! Thank you!
WOW!!!. They are depending on their parents to always carry them through. Not making the sacrifice for themselves. What happens when their parents are gone? SMH
No argument from me. The youngers are so focused on now they do NOT think of these things unless their parents instill it in them. They do not think far enough ahead.
I agree with Nan. This is a story about Black America being left behind…every time. Not young America. That said, the GOP has been screaming that SSA & Medicare won’t be there for the young. Why ask them to fight (& pay) for something they will never have?
I, personally, think we will have to change A LOT about our institutions & structure if we are to believe in it and build something better.
It’s driving me mad. I cannot get anyone my age to come. Idk what’s going on!
I literally just had this conversation with my 28 year old daughter. She said that they are afraid. Afraid of being identified and arrested. Afraid of being disappeared to an El Salvadoran prison. They don’t have the financial means to support themselves, let alone bail themselves out of jail. And, to Don’s larger point, they don’t see the value in protesting because nothing changes. And, for the record, this middle-aged white woman voted for Kamala.
Wish I could say the same ..... I am 87 and not exactly SPRY any longer. I am vertical, but not too danged steady as she goes any more.
My mind is clear as a bell though, and I can sling word hash with the best of y'all, and that has always been my forte. Yet, as an old boat captain, the sound of the rising tide around me keeps urging me to launch once again, like Ulysses, to "seek to find and not to yield." I do recommend the reading of Tennyson's ULYSSES to everyone. It speaks to those of us who have passed the prime, but still yearn to enter the fray.
Fear keeps us stagnant. Fear doesn't help the people who need it the most. Fear doesn't make history. Things do change! When I was out there fighting for women's rights and for equal rights, change did happen!! It's because of our fight that they have rights we didn't have. Before that, women were property, we had no money of our own. We couldn't go on birth control without a husband's consent. We couldn't get a store or credit card... it had to be in his name with written permission for us to use it, and in some cases, they got to set the limit we could spend. We were discouraged from going to college, discouraged from getting jobs other than minimum wage because "You wouldn't want to take a job away from a man with a family to support, would you?" We were not taken seriously and taught to cook, clean, take care of a family, and to let the man make the decisions. I was even signed up for lessons on how to be "ladylike" (how to walk gracefully, how to cross our legs at the ankle and not at the knee, how to speak to your man and never tax him too much, etc), and to learn etiquette. We had to dress for them, support them 100%, keep the kids quite around them, and on and on. So, we fought... hard! And we made enough of a wave that it caught the attention of lawmakers, politicians, and it opened up a whole new world. So please tell them... things do change if we don't give up!
Exactly, people act like nothing changes, because the change doesn’t happen overnight in two seconds or exactly the way they want it to happen… but we have made so much progress in the last 60 years. And in one administration that could all be undone if people just give up and say “what’s the point.”
And at the end of the day it’s still more y’all than their is of us. So get out there and make some noise. We been making noise since we were born on the forsaken soil.
You are absolutely correct, Sharzi. I told her that I’m not afraid and I will protest. For her future. It’s all about her future to me. But, to see things from her perspective, she doesn’t see any of that because the fact that she’s almost 29 and lives with her mom in an apartment because we can’t afford to buy a house, things look super bleak. And her dad paid for her college education so she doesn’t even have student loans. But her friends do. She drives a 15 year old Prius because she can’t afford a new car. She works full time as a music teacher and assistant music director at a music school. She’s lead singer in a band that is starting to catch on. She’s wildly talented. She’s extremely hard working but she feels like she’s stagnant and even moving in retrograde. I’m struggling too. It’s not supposed to be this way. It’s depressing. The one thing she has shown interest in (and I sadly concur) is that we need to learn how to shoot a gun and buy a couple. So this is where we are. But I will never give up the fight. I’m a New Yorker dammit.
Who said anything about giving up? Also as a Black woman, I can speak for myself. I’m choosing to sit these out until folks get it through their thick heads that we matter. Our lives matter. Our voices matter. Our communities matter.
Until White folks and “others” get their shit together, I will be sitting at home doing my boycotts, spreading the word on social media, and talking to those who are willing to listen. Other than that I’m good.
I’m not putting myself in harms way for folks who would sell me up the river in a heartbeat, especially folks who are now all of a sudden on the “right side” of things now and the only reason for that is because they didn’t think this man would affect their lives, but the lives of others.
I can tell you that there are a whole lot of us who respect you and have always had your back. I thought we'd made some headway in the 60's and 70's, but hatred lingers in some people, who generation after generation, have kept their families ignorant. I've never given up the fight and I'm sure as hell not giving up now. Us white folks need to step up in a much bigger way. I'm afraid we will never change the hearts and minds of some people, but that doesn't mean we stop trying. I understand your frustration or anger, or that you've just had enough. I wish I could fix it all...
When you talk about how “we” fought hard - if you’re a white woman, you need to HEAR THIS - We Black Women were beaten, had police dogs tear our flesh & were blasted with fire hoses marching for our rights as CITIZENS (much less women) in the 1960’s so that Pres. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This benefitted YOU as well!! White women, YOU tend to forget that! And YOU benefitted off OUR PAIN & ACTIVISM in order to push the Women’s Liberation Movement into the forefront! Don’t get it twisted!! https://youtu.be/XST4lV7HnO8?si=tgy4sbYvCi47r_1O.
Was you comment for me?
No. I believe she was talking about the original poster
If your wisdom doesn’t wake up young people I don’t know what will. As Kamala said we are not going back.
Me too. And, I’m still out there protesting even though I could say I told you so.
Me too!
In Sacramento Capitol there was everyone, we had every ethnicity, we had disabled individuals in wheel chairs some with Foley bags.we had about 7 thousand people and I felt proud.
God bless you! You had your eyes wide open and noted the humanity of those around you. It is an humbling experience, and a bonding one as well.
Yes, was there as well in Sacramento. We had a huge variety of people of all ages and abilities. However, I did notice the largest portion of the group was white and women.
That’s nice to hear! Thanks for sharing
That’s awesome!
Wonderful!!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
They fail to realize that they are going to end up supporting their parents.
Lots of luck with that, Bob. I'm 92, retired at 88, and support my self and cat and help my adult grandchildren as best I can. (All 4 of my children predeceased me - 3 to cancer, 1 to mental health)
FAY, you are officially MY HERO.....my hat is off to you, as I am almost 88 (in 2 months), live alone with my four small dogs......and thousands of books. My husband and son predeceased me as well.
Fay Reid, you are one strong person. I am sorry for your losses. I can't imagine working as long as you have! I know having a purpose keeps us going. I hope you are able to enjoy your life in whatever way you can at this point.💖
I'm so sorry for your loss.❤️
Truly sorry for your loss of your children, Fay. ♥️
My son went with me. He’s 32. First time he has ever gone with me and I have gone his whole life
What about the college encampments? Columbia? There have also been walkouts by highschoolers. Young people have been very present in a lot of protests, and it's wrong to disregard their efforts. Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk showed up and are now being punished for it. But college students are still showing up if they can
While there were a lot of gray heads like mine, the only missing were teens, we had lots of children and young parents, in Sacramento CA.
They keep having them during the week when the younger folks are most likely working or going to college. These should be on weekends when everyone is available.
They removed the Harriet Tubman web page, that's not removing DEI, that's removing American history. Disgraceful.
That is disgraceful! That is history, black history. I think of how much undoing is happening and how much restoration will need to happen going forward when the next administration comes into power. Sit tight and hang in there and we will turn this chaos into some sort of assemblance and peace.
The National Park Service brought it back. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/what-is-the-underground-railroad.htm
I write about it on my Substack. https://mbmatthews.substack.com/p/what-is-the-underground-railroad
I think it’s just fine for black folks to sit these protests out for their own safety. It’s time for white people to step up and stand up in these protests (and y’know, also in general).
safety yes but Don spelled it out that each election people decide to participate based on their own situations not the gross injustice all around. many were there protesting because they lost jobs or fear for social programs etc as well.
Absolutely
The 🇺🇸 mindset is very selfish and isolationist thinking it's so exceptional
I never told anyone til now but I cry everyday bc I have had a dream and felt myself being pulled out of my home by force I awoke in fright.[I get calls from persons I hadn't heard from in years checking in with me and makes me wonder more if I had a premonition I don't want to think so...
(I'm a black woman) This pain in my heart that I have little faith in white people rising to the occasion to be of help to save this country and the daily storms of tears I cry may take me out before I'm actually grabbed up by the brown shirts. lol 🤣🫣
(I'm old anyway) like MLK I'd like to live a longer life but if these fanatics and zealots that are taking possession of the gov't are not stopped then any personhood in these United States as once known will cease to be.
I laugh at myself for the wishful thinking when I think where's a Luigi when you need one the most. But I hope for better for all the generations to come, and that their futures will be bright in the ignorance of not having known the ugly, awful, hateful otherism of these 🇺🇸 united states past. BUT THE WORLD 🌎 will know and it will be the record keeper although the books are destroyed or web pages erased.
I was at one of the rallies in Florida this weekend. Between 500 and 700 people showed up and yet I only counted 14 of us. However, white voters were coming up to me saying they had to fight this one for us because they knew if we were to come out to protest
Trump would declare Marshall law. I just wanna give a shout out to all Americans who know how much is at stake for everyone and the sacrifices they are making
This is going back in time a bit to the late 1950s, in Mobile Alabama. I worked at the Mobile Public Library before and after my marriage. My spouse, employed by AL State Revenue as an auditor. So, we had a Christmas party of all Library employees, and it was integrated, I guess you'd say. The John Birch Society had a phone recording of such news and my spouse refused to go with me. But I went to the party, regardless. It is such social pressures which seek to control our actions that has always upset me, and raised my ire. Times were really not as bad then as they are now.
I've always had a fondness for the Black community, especially since they treated my Daddy so well when his health was failing and kept working with the help of his Black crew. His lead man was King, and they came to paint my parent's house on their own time.....I always felt that King was a distant relative of MLK, with the same godly humanitarian tendencies. Daddy's bargeline office was quite near Africatown, before it was made a monument, and all the local descendants of the last slave ship would come fishing on the creekbank beside Daddy's barge terminal. We grew up in this environment, my brother and I.
Thank you for sharing that Barbara. It is small acts of kindness and fond memories that unite cultures and races.
Thanks for this! Something I am facing/seeing as a white person is the amount of racism in friends and family. I tried to correct misinformation to people I have known for 45 years and looked up to them. However, my eyes are waking up to see how the people I thought I looked up to are just simply racist. I have cut off so many people and family over their support to MAGA. I know now who they are and will fight even harder now!
facts and racism is actually a made up myth that we pass generation to generation when we find out we are all in the same boat is coming soon when they cut medicare, medicaid, social security or more jobs just for the hell of it. Maybe then they will see they got played.
Yea! I am from the south and moved to Colorado! Stepping away and seeing people for who they are. Will they wake up or wake up bc it affects them. I am struggling with that part.
Thank you
Hell we're tired too! All of us are sick of this BS!
Revolution is the solution to tyranny and traitors.
When a government of the People, for the People, and by the People turns against the People, it's name is tyranny. We the People have an obligation to exercise our Rights and Liberty abolish tyranny by any means necessary. Revolution is the solution.
We all MUST stand up to Trump, he is the one doing all destruction of the United States of America and Constitution. The people are rising. It’s good to see people all over standing up PEACEFULLY against the tyranny.
I will be wearing this "Don't blame me, I voted for Her" t-shirt the next four years 👇
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/74030236-dont-blame-me-i-voted-for-harris
I really don't know if I can make 4 years.
🥺
History repeats itself!
“One trouble with living beyond your deserved number of years is that there’s always some reason to live another year. And I’d like to live another year so that Nixon won’t be President. If he’s re-elected I’ll have to live another four years.”
— Rex Stout
That's a beautiful sentiment...
I remember Nixon and he was not a bowl of cherries ( I somehow and sometimes do think that djt will be the catalyst ) for people to open their eyes and open their mouths, show up and show out just like black communities have time after time on police brutality, being othered, disenfranchisement, being marginalized, profiled, not having protection under law.
Will non minority persons want to be educated in truth about others, will they embrace and will feel they the sentiment of FannieLou Hamer that they're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I was born 1961 this is 2025 when will it be time, when will it be the right time for otherisms, hatred, injustice and inequalities to end. When will the playing field be level and the rules to the game not be changed once we learned the gist of playing the game.
If I can last, that means I will be 92 when this is over???????
And I'll be 88 if I make it through. When I look back at the last 4, they seem to have just flown by, but looking forward to the next 4 does seem like a long, hard grind. I have to look for a small bit of joy in each day. Yesterday was easy with all the clever and hilarious signs people made.
IF it is adversity which calls us to ENDURE, to RESIST, then we must not find fault with adversity itself......but blame that THORN IN THE SIDE which can be dealt with by REMOVAL. We humans are good at problem solving, and know the solution....RESIST, REMOVE, REPLACE.
Thinking about the trump genes in the gene pool, leads me to wonder if forced sterilization might not be such a bad idea...for some people anyway.....after all, might not some one of his progeny yet redeem the bloodline? Any guesses if ONE of them might yet do so?
The only thing that might make me feel sterilization might not always be the wrong thing to force on someone is knowing how many children Musk has and by 4-5 (or how many?) mothers. yikes.
Anyway, I've seen too many total opposites within the same family. As far as the present Thorn In The Side - yes, REMOVAL!
I have felt this way for decades and as i, a former diversity instructor was told now that’s a bad thing, i was perplexed because white women were the biggest benefactors. This correction needs to be done by the population that overwhelmingly is only moved by a financial loss or personal experience . I vote for everyone , i marched in DC for every child , i mentored regardless of race. just tired and waiting to see everyone find a reason to be a outraged not only for your own personal situations but because we come to far to let democracy go. The 92 percent are not gone just letting the 55 and 75 do the work and feel it the way they need to. we will vote and we will be there but this one is not ours to carry . @donlemon we needed this and thank you . You are more alive now than you have ever been. This is your moment .
Don, I noticed it right away. No excuses. You make valuable points. but I was out there on behalf of anyone who could not be there for whatever their reasons were. I saw a black man take a picture of us from across the street. He wasn't participating but I yelled to him " this is for you" while I was showing him my sign! I kept saying it and then he showed me the heart sign. We need to be better,but we need to push forward.
Thank you! It means everything.
Thank you, Don, well said. #HandsOff #TurnOffTheTV
Amen. Well said! I appreciate the spirit in which this was written.
You can’t be tired!! You need to continue to fight. Did our ancestors say they were tired when they were fighting and dying for democracy. I have noticed that there have not been many black Americans out at the protests. I just thought they might be afraid because frump and his cronies are so racist. I hope they reconsider and join the fight we need everyone to help save our democracy!!
We did in November.Try to save our DEMOCARCY...
Yes, at 77, I am tired of protesting. I have marched, called, written letters and protested my whole life. I am shocked and deeply disturbed that we are going backwards!
this time it was better to stay on message no tanks, no cops dragging people, no helicopters this was not black lives matter ish where the full military was on display we needed to sit this one out for not only us but for the cause .
This white pastor explains why black people are sitting out. https://open.substack.com/pub/fafonewscast/p/the-reason-black-people-are-not-protesting?r=1u98ij&utm_medium=ios
I'm protesting but wary. I know racism and protests also have counter protestors. MAGA are openly racist and dangerous.
Also, trump eventually will tamp down.
We didn't put trump in so we don't feel responsible. It's that simple.
Any movement out of this ditch has to be led by the majority who put him in.
I get that's not a lot of people on this discussion or on substack writ large.
I agree. Stay home if you feel unsafe or if you are unable. Otherwise now is not the time to sit this one out.
White people never fail to disappoint me - a white person. I understand and support making white people do the damn work - I was out there doing my part as was my kiddo - we have depended on people of color to save democracy so much, and they deserve a rest. When a majority of white people pick Trump, they get what they deserve. Unfortunately it's taking everyone else with them, but sometimes the hard way is the only way to learn. Regardless of how this goes, change needs to happen on a large scale. I'm here to help, wherever you need me to stand.
Please don't include this white woman in your cluster of individuals voting for Trump. I voted Clinton, Biden, Harris.
No, shade on you personally. Thanks for not being one of the majority of WW who voted against their own interests. I need you to educate your fellow WW, you know your neighbors and /or relatives who voted for this current administration to run the country into the ground. They didn’t listen to the 92% of Black women who tried to warn everyone about what is happening now.
Thank you for this excellent article. Please keep writing.
Kamala tried to tell people what would happen but too many didn’t listen or didn’t vote. Shame on them!
Don, well said. However, as a 70-year-old Latino I have always had a deep respect for the ability, energy, and influence the black community has had in shaping the social justice we had achieved in the country. My community has historically been more silent, more willing to go with the flow, and ridden on the back of the black community's visibility and demands for change. However, they are now coming for all of us. I hope, I sincerely hope we can build a coalition that stands for all people and is strong enough to change the current trajectory.
A needed coalition that is long, long overdue....