Saul Alinsky Would Be Proud of the Radicals in Large U.S. Cities: University Administrators and Professors and High School Teachers Postponed Tests and Organized Civil Disobedience; Protestors Set Fires, Obstructed Traffic, and Burned U.S. Flags and an Effigy of Trump (Imagine the Mayhem That Would Have Ensued Had Someone Burned an Effigy of Obama in 2008 or 2012)
November 10, 2016
USA TODAY -
Protesters took to the streets Wednesday in at least 10 cities to march against president-elect Donald Trump -
and numerous college students and faculty leaders took to social media to announce support groups and even postponed exams.
Protests
were underway in
Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston,
Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., St. Paul, Minn. and several other
cities. An estimated
2,000 protesters shouted angrily in downtown
Seattle, expressing their frustration at the Trump victory over Democrat
and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who won 228 electoral votes to Trump's 279.
Police
in riot gear struggled to hold back scores of protesters in some of the
cities as protesters chanted "Not My President" and "No Racist USA."
The protests were mostly peaceful. Seattle police said they were
investigating a report of a shooting near the site of the protest in
that city, but it may not have involved protesters.
In Los Angeles, protesters poured into the streets near City Hall and
torched a giant Trump effigy, the
Los Angeles Times
reported. Later in the night,
hundreds marched onto the busy 101
Freeway which brought the highway to a complete standstill. The
California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department —who
urged protesters to remain lawful and peaceful
—
responded and were seen leading demonstrators away from the busy
highway. At least 13 people were later arrested, LAPD Officer Tony Im
told the
Los Angeles Times.
In Washington, D.C., hundreds
took to the streets carrying signs saying “Nasty Women Fight Back” and
“White Males for Equality for All.”
The unrest culminated when two
separate anti-Trump demonstrations converged in front of the Trump
International Hotel. They chanted and yelled "Impeach Donald Trump” and
toward the end yelled at police officers who stood guard at the hotel
entrance.
In
New York, thousands of demonstrators blocked off streets around Trump
Tower near the busy intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue,
chanting "hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go" and "p---y grabs
back," a reference to taped conversations of Trump making lewd
commentary about women. One woman protester was topless while another
climbed on top of a tree to see the activity.
Taxis, city buses and
passenger vehicles stood at a standstill.
"We're (mad) so we're out here in the streets," said demonstrator Omar Aqeel, a 27-year-old film producer who lives in Brooklyn.
While
he and other demonstrators said they were aware that protests could not
reverse the election, they said they still felt it would have an effect
on the future.
"I hope it rallies everyone together as a wake up call," Aqeel said.
"I think there's a chance for impeachment at the end of the day," said protester Joey Henriquez, a 22-year-old student at the City College of New York, who lives in Manhattan. "We can't let him have eight years."
In
Boston, thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters streamed through
downtown, chanting "Trump's a racist" and carrying signs that said
"Impeach Trump" and "Abolish Electoral College."
In
Chicago, several hundreds of protesters gathered near the Trump
International Hotel and Tower to express their displeasure with the
president-elect.
The protesters held signs with messages such as "Love Trumps Hate," "Not My President " and expletive-laden repudiations.
Chloe
Stratton, 33, a transgendered woman who moved to Chicago earlier this
year, said she fears for what a Trump-Pence White House holds for the
nation's LGBT community.
Pence has opposed same-sex marriage and expressed support for shock therapy for people with same-sex attractions.
"I am terrified for my life," said Stratton,
who added that she has begun exploring options to move away from the U.S.
Police
said five people were arrested in Chicago over the course of the
protest on minor charges—two for obstructing traffic, one for criminal
trespass, one for reckless conduct, and one for criminal trespass and
resisting arrest.
Just
last week, the Democrat-controlled Chicago's city council voted to
remove honorary signage near Trump's building, a rebuke for the
president-elect's blistering criticism of crime in the city while he was
on the stump.
On Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel insisted he did not fear that Trump would exact any payback on the city over the move.
"I'm not worried about Donald Trump trying to somehow penalize Chicago, " said Emanuel, who served as President Obama's first White House chief of staff.
Earlier Wednesday,
protesters at American University burned U.S. flags on campus.
In
Oregon,
dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland, burned
American flags and forced a delay for trains on two light-rail lines.
Trump supporters taunted the demonstrators with signs.
At one point, a
lone Trump supporter was chased across Pioneer Courthouse Square and hit
in the back with a skateboard before others intervened.
An
estimated 6,000 protesters gathered Wednesday night in Oakland, Calif.
Videos on social media
captured fires erupting as the protests rolled
on.
Across the country,
universities and even a few high schools
organized post-election civil disobedience of a different sort. Some
teachers sent notes to students postponing tests and offering support.
Student unions offered sessions of meditation, discussions and tea.
"The
nation in which you currently reside decided last night to elect a
president whose own words have painted him a moral and possibly physical
hazard to many of us,"
University of Maryland professor Alan Peel wrote
to students, postponing all assessments. "I debated whether to press on
today in the spirit of re-establishing normalcy,
but have come to
realize that my position and my background may have afforded me the
privilege to do so. Others may find they do not have that privilege."
"Partisan,
inflammatory statements unfortunately seem to be part of modern
campaign rhetoric, but they cause real wounds,"
Northwestern University
wrote in an email to students Wednesday, reminding them to notify
professors if they need to miss class. The email directed students to
the campus Multicultural Center, the Gender & Sexuality Resource
Center and The Black House, a gathering place for the university's black
community.
Throughout the day the campus hosted a “What’s Your
Reaction” event for students to express themselves by drawing pictures.
They even provided the paper, markers and snacks.
The
University of California, Berkeley created safe spaces for minority
students, and for those who might be illegal immigrants. There are also
special "healing spaces" for women and those who identify as lesbian,
gay, bisexual, or transgender.
"Be gentle with yourselves and take
care of each other," according to an email sent to Berkeley students
from four of the university's vice chancellors and others. "We know that
the results of yesterday's election have sparked fear and concern among
many in our community; in particular our immigrant and undocumented
communities, Muslim, African American, Chicanx/Latinx, LGBTQ+, Asian and
Pacific Islander communities, survivors of sexual assault, people with
disabilities, women, and many others."
At the University of Vermont, administrators voiced a similar sentiment. "This
is a challenging time for many of our colleagues and students, who may
be feeling isolated and concerned for personal welfare," UVM president
Tom Sullivan wrote in an email to the university community, offering
time for tea and reflections, meditations and structured discussion.
The
Boston Latin School, a high school in Boston, offered a support team of
guidance counselors, clinicians, and nurses after school Wednesday
and before school Thursday for students who need support, according to
an email sent to the school community.
Montgomery Blair High
School in Maryland had an election debriefing with counselors during
students' lunch, according to a tweet sent by the school's principal.
2016 Election Results:
Source:
USA TODAY
Trump won the election because:
