It seems protests have become part of Obama’s legacy.
Wednesday night was the perfect example, when tens of thousands of angry citizens in cities across the nation took to the streets to voice their disapproval of Trump’s victory. Chants of “impeach Trump” and “not my president” rang from coast to coast, and more than a few protestors ended up in handcuffs as they disrupted traffic and lit bonfires in the street.
Police in Oakland, CA were forced to use tear gas as thousands of protestors clogged on-ramps and intersections. Protestors responded by throwing rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at the police. Three officers were injured and an estimated 40 fires were started.
At least 60 civilians were arrested in Manhattan, where demonstrators crowded around Trump Tower. “America is not voting for Donald Trump’s policies, which don’t exist,” said one protestor. “They voted for sexism, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism…”
“I came out here to let go of a lot of fear that was sparked as soon as I saw the results,” said NY protestor Nick Powers. He said that he feared Trump’s election would embolden sexist views and support harsh stop-and-frisk polies that would put more people in jail.
Raucous demonstrations took place in Chicago, Philadelphia, Omaha, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Dallas, New York, and Washington, DC.
Protestors in Portland, Oregon burned American flags and crowds in Los Angeles lit a giant papier-mâché Trump head on fire.
Not all demonstrations were peaceful. In Portland, a lone Trump supporter was physically attacked with a skateboard. In Seattle, five people were shot in an area near the protests.
Author’s Note: I find it curious that the parties preaching “against hate” are the very same parties now sowing hate and violence throughout America’s cities. This issue was addressed by CNN’s Marc Preston, who said finding the middle ground is going to be the hardest part of moving forward:
“All that anger that has been contained outside of Washington, DC, and New York that we don’t see in Middle America…everyone’s starting to see it. There is a lot of healing that has got to happen.”
Editor’s note: They all believed Bernie was their saviour, then Bernie tried to convince them Hillary would take care of them. I hope they eventually grow up to appreciate that Trump will be a better president than either of them could be.