Thousands Across the USA Protest Trump Victory
New York, 10 Safar 1438/10 November 2016 (MINA) – 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, usatoday.com reported.
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 but Seattle police said they were investigating a report of a shooting.
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.
Post-election civil obedience
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.
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. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
