LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ‘Why are we out there?’

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written and submitted by a verified resident. It represents the opinion of the author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of South King Media or its staff.]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ‘Why are we out there?’

If you live in Des Moines or drive through Marine View Drive, you can’t escape seeing us on a Saturday or Wednesday at Big Catch Plaza, holding signs and waving to passing motorists.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” someone asked one of us condescendingly. Well, of course we do. But we choose to be out in the cold and rain time after time. Why?

I am a member of Seniors for the Constitution, one of the sponsors of these regular peaceful demonstrations. We are in our 70s, 80s and yes, 90s. We’ve seen a lot: the civil rights era, the Viet Nam war, Kent State, the women’s marches, and more recently, Black Lives Matter. But what our democracy has devolved into now is the worst. It’s the worst because there are, apparently, no guardrails in place anymore. Half of our Congress is complacent and the other half can’t do anything about it because they are in the minority. The Supreme Court has given our president the right to do whatever he wants with impunity.

He is not totally responsible for why we are out there. He’s just given everyone permission to do and say whatever they want because that’s what he does. The vitriol he spews is no longer even shocking. He has normalized hatred and vulgarity. But that hatred has been brewing under the surface for many years, saved only by the rule of law that we were entitled to here in America. Now, if you are black, brown, LGBTQ, Jewish, disabled, a veteran – a woman – you are LESS THAN, and you can be pulled off the street, whether you are a citizen or not, without recrimination. You can even be murdered, as Renee Good was on Wednesday, which brought us out on Sunday, January 11. And we were heartened that it wasn’t just us seniors who felt compelled to join in the outrage: there were younger people at Big Catch Plaza, too. The group was more than the two dozen or so of us regulars. Oh, and they were generous, too: the Des Moines Area Food Bank received $289 in donations (thank you all!). 

There will be another No Kings protest in the spring as all the national groups coordinate plans. But meanwhile, Seniors for the Constitution and our partners, Des Moines Indivisible, will be out there, first and third Saturdays from 12-2 p.m. and second and fourth Wednesdays from 3-4:30 p.m. Why? There are probably as many reasons as there are signs. But the three most critical motivations for us are:

1. To support those who are afraid for themselves or their family members
2. To let motorists know that they are impacted by what is happening to our country whether they choose to believe it or not and
3. That we will continue to do this until we can vote again and hope that we can replace our current representatives with those who have a moral compass.

– Victoria Andrews

Photos

Click arrows or swipe images to view slideshow:

Do you have an opinion you’d like to share with our highly engaged local Readers? If so, please email your Letter to the Editor to scott@southkingmedia.com and, pending review and verification that you’re a real human being, we may publish it. Letter writers must use their full name, as well as provide an address and phone number (NOT for publication but for verification purposes). Read our full Letter to the Editor policy here.