There’s an anti-Trump protest happening in Bristol on Saturday
“Say no to Trump, no to racism”
On Saturday there will be a protest against the election of a ‘racist, sexist bigot’ happening at the fountains in Bristol’s city centre.
A link to the event on Facebook can be found here.
The event organizers, Stand Up to Racism, have said the march is to ‘show solidarity with the millions of Americans’ who Trump has insulted and scapegoated. As of the time of writing, 500 people are interested and 100 are attending.
It is worth thinking at this point what the aim of ‘protest’ actually is. Is it to influence the people we protest against, or is it to air our views and stand up for what we believe in?
Clearly in this case the anti-Trump protest just wants to let people know that we disagree with him and his policies. If that is true, why do we bother at all? Talking about change and tolerance does not necessarily create it.
Why are people demonstrating outside the US Embassy? Do they think it will actually change anything? Probably not. But if people want to turn words into action, they can do more than just oppose someone. They can suggest a way forward.
This unity and purpose is badly needed at a time when Brexit and Trump’s election have made us question what we actually stand for. Trump’s election is part of a wider problem in Western society, one that we need to confront, not just by opposing what we feel is wrong, but by putting forward new, sustainable ideas about how politics functions.
To simply ‘stand up’ to racism is not enough.