Scientists have the best signs. Unions are the most organized. Federal workers are just…sad. Trans folks make accommodations for disabled people. Woman are savage.
We’re the protesters.
We’re the ones saving empty boxes for a clever sign. We’re the ones writing the name of an emergency contact on our leg with a sharpie. We’re the ones turning our phones on airplane mode and yelling “hey hey ho ho” endlessly in plazas and sidewalks, during snow storms and sudden downpours.
As believers in democracy, we have a common enemy. Make that several.
Let’s start out at the top:
Craft stores nationwide must have an orange marker shortage because the ugly mug of Papaya Pol Pot / Mango Mussolini / Pumpkin Pinochet / Marmalade Mugabe is taking center stage on the protest signs (often sharing star billing with his boyfriend Putin).
Oh, but we’ve saved some space for the odious Musk Rat too:
Did I mention that women are pissed? One of the more satisfying experiences of the last few months was marching with thousands of women through the streets of Chicago to show the Cheeto Tower our special middle fingers:
Let me take a moment to thank my fellow protesters, and especially the protest organizers and volunteers. We all have jobs and families and health issues and still, we’re out there.
As an arts professional, I can’t help but look around with an eye for improvement. I mean, we’re just getting started but these protests are starting to get a bit repetitive. What we really need more is spectacle and humor. Let’s say we asked every tuba player in the city to show up and start up a chorus of ooompah ooompah. Invite the unions to bring their inflatable Scabby the Rats. The churches can send their praise dancers. Flag twirlers. Karaoke machines. Cosplay. Puppets. Speeches by performance poets. Speeches sung by gospel singers. Synchronized bubble blowing.
And of course, we’ll all still bring our signs.
The next nationwide protest is on Saturday—see you out there. I’ll bring the tuba.
Picnic at the Cathedral 
Sometimes I think my French family members are right. Over there the nonsense that Trump is pulling through just wouldn’t fly.
That Jacobin DNA is perhaps France’s best asset.
Good luck to you all in the US…
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Well maybe the lady with the dick guillotine has some French ancestry…
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Outstanding post! Thank you.
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Thanks. I bet you know some Mariachi bands…hint hint.
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So many great signs. I think Chicago might have NYC beat! Thanks for the inspo for the NEXT one!
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It was hard to photograph at the Hands Off rally due to the crowds, but there were several signs calling to end the tyranny of tariffs on penguins 😀
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Great signs. Power to the people.
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Thanks! I was at the rally squeezed in next to a lady who was carrying a Cheeto toilet brush instead of a sign. 🤣
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😂😂
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The tune to ’76 trombones’ keps running through my head.
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Yes!
This is the energy I’m looking for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdd6q0pW4DM&t=12s
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I chortled over the creative sign that used a bristle like mop for trump’s hair. Very clever.
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That is a funny one! I recently went to a protest sign-making event at a local art space and folks were making some good ones there too.
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