By adamg on Sat., 3/15/2025 - 10:37 pm

Ron Newman attended the Show Your Pride for Democracy rally and protest on Boston Common today. WCVB has more on the rally, organized by protest group 50501.
Topics:
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
from the WCVB video, protest seems to have been organized
By deselby
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 2:42am
to make the 80% "normies" cringe and avoid. Trans issues preeminent. Not a way to build a mass movement.
As a matter of politeness the Passport Agency should allow people to put their "expressed gender identity" or X on their passports, but I can see the contrary point of view in which the government needs to positively identify people and accurately and credibly identify them to other countries - by the category provided for, sex.
Other than that, no rights of trans adults are being violated. There's no right to serve in the military with a condition requiring extensive medical treatment. There's no right for children to be led into puberty blockers and mastectomies. There's no right of biological males to compete in women's sports.
I understand why trans activists dominate such protests. Of course they can't be excluded and have a right to protest, but if they had sense they would chill out and take a back seat in pursuit of the goal of getting rid of Trump. Unfortunately, their need for others to "affirm" their own view of themselves is such a part of who they are that they would throw the First Amendment, women's sports, and the lives of children out the window. They already threw the 2024 election out the window. I sympathize with them, but it's a delusion.
Something Freudian going on here
By Pete X
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 12:30pm
Based on the reporting I see a range of legitimate reasons for protest, but because you don't want to be reminded of the existence of trans people and your feelings about them, you think trans issues "dominate" the proceedings. In the immortal words of David Lynch, "fix your heart or die."
I suggest you look to your own phobias before lecturing others on the "right" way to protest.
Bye
By adamg
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 12:38pm
What the hell are you talking about? There's enough transphobia out there without it percolating here, so I'm disabling your account for now.
Thank you
By Starluna
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 1:00pm
I appreciate you modeling what intolerance of intolerance needs to look like.
Rights huh? You like yours, don't you?
By brianjdamico
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 1:30pm
Factually correct, I suppose. Oddly specific angle to take, singling out those who want to volunteer their own safety and potentially their lives to protect your rights against those who are definitely enjoying watching our infighting right now.
your description is really inaccurate
By Jeff F
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 5:26am
Went back and re-viewed the segment. The demonstrators expressed a wide variety of issues wrt the actions of our chief executive - but in a segment over two and a half minutes long, there was less than ten seconds of an Iraq War vet speaking about trans rights. The piece had similar-length sound bites from several other speakers and members of the crowd with completely different themes.
I also went back through and looked at all the signs etc and about the only clear thing I saw wrt trans rights were a few seconds of two people waving a traditional pride flag and a trans flag.
The broadcast piece certainly did not portray a demonstration “dominated” by trans rights activists. The outrage seemed fairly heterogeneous.
these demonstrations need to be stripped down to the basics
By deselby
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 9:04am
No Palestine flags, no trans flags. Speakers should talk about the threat to American workers, federal benefits and services, and due process rights and freedom.
Of course I'm not in control and whoever shows up can do what they like. But they're alienating the masses.
Reminds me of the "Free Mumia" people at every anti-war demonstration back in the 00's.
The ghost of Mlot-Mroz is haunting the Common.
Free Mumia
By John Costello
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 9:39am
The Great Dissolution of the Message.
I half expected to see a Free Mumia banner at the Pats parade in 2002.
No better way to distract from the main message of the protest than rolling out that well-worn banner.
As I am finally watching The Americans, I am thinking the Free Mumia people were either KGB and / or CIA.
Why Facebook?
By Boston_res
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 7:50am
Why isn't Facebook facing the same level of hate, and being shunned just as much as companies like Tesla?
Because Mark Zuckerberg isn't actively destroying the fed govt?
By Ron Newman
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 7:57am
Promoting other movements has always been part of the picture
By Robert Winters
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 11:15am
I remember well going to anti-Vietnam War marches in Washington DC over 50 years ago and having to sit through speeches by dozens of other interest groups that weren't really relevant to those of us who were just there to protest the war.
Rallies are often opportunities for other groups to build their brand. It's not something I particularly like, but it has always been part of the picture.
Constitution
By SouthiesIrishHero
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 12:03pm
This organization claims this is to "protect the constitution". I hope that includes the 2nd amendment. I find that there are many organizations that pick and choose what freedom outlined in our constitution to protect.
Just so long as you remember ...
By adamg
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 12:41pm
The Second Amendment, like every other amendment, is not absolute and that even the current Supreme Court has ruled that a) states can still regulate guns and b) Massachusetts is a state, at least for now.
The protesters are outnumbered
By BostonDog
Sun, 03/16/2025 - 12:52pm
There's an illuminating study at Media Matters regarding the just how right leaning a majority of the non-mainstream media outlets have turned. This includes a vast majority of the popular podcasts and "news" websites, even ones which are nominally non-political. In a nutshell, the right leaning media is reaching an enormous audience. From the study:
Unless those who are anti-Trump figure out how to greatly enlarge their audience, nothing is going to change. The in-person protests are great (keep going!) but they don't reach people the way they once did. Something about the messaging needs to radically change.
Add comment