YAH-HUH! #7 The Noise of It
Be Quiet
— March for Our Lives, Washington DC, 2018
First published in Vox Populi, 2021
Where we went today, we went
with the world. It was beautifully sad
and the food was bad. The secret police
wore shirts that said “secret police,”
which makes one wonder.
Even if Emma is a liberal puppet,
her tears galvanized hundreds
of thousands. Hundreds of thousands
listened to her cry in silence
and how can’t that change
the face of the earth? I’m pretty
sure it has, like I am sure
whatever gods were looking
down felt themselves age a bit,
reach for a tissue and think
about what they’ve done.
I am not one for rallies — not because I don’t think they are important and in some ways, effective, but because I always feel like a fraud. There is nothing in me that gets motivated or rejuvenated by yelling “This is what democracy looks like” with thousands of other people.
Still, I do it.
On April 5, 2025 we didn’t go downtown where more than 6,000 Pittsburghers gathered for the National Hands-Off Rally at noon, but we DID go to the smaller/closer 1K protest in Shadyside (a satellite protest, so to speak) at 5 pm.
By the time we arrived, the corner of Shady and Fifth was packed with citizens and signs of every ilk (OK, the signs were mostly anti-T&E) with dogs, babies and toddlers in tow. A family event. The best? The way those driving past on Fifth Avenue honked their horns in support.
I love that.
We milled around shouting and applauding, and just feeling generally good to be surrounded by people who, in our minds, still care about humanity. It was even festive in a weird sort of way — the grey skies and drizzle be damned.
•
Throw back eight years — eight. On January 21, 2017, the day after the first inauguration of T as the president of the United States, I attended the largest single-day protest at the time — the Women’s March on Washington. It was prompted by T’s policy positions and rhetoric, which were and are seen as misogynistic and a threat to the rights of women (and every other minority).
The Washington March was streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter and drew more than 470,000 people. It was packed with the insightful and educated voices of Gloria Steinem, Michael Moore, Ashley Judd, Scarlett Johansson and more. Women (and men) were everywhere and strong.
“Our constitution does not begin with ‘I, the President’. It begins with ‘We, the People’. I am proud to be one of thousands who have come to Washington to make clear that we will keep working for a democracy in which we are linked as human beings, not ranked by race or gender or class or any other label.” — Gloria Steinem
I still wear my sweatshirt with pride.
•
On March 24, 2018 I also attended the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC. The event followed the Parkland high school shooting a month earlier. Since, my son’s school had begun practicing active shooter raids and holding rallies outside school doors. My son had begun writing essays about gun violence.
So, with Silas and other activist friends in tow, I was once again struck by the passion of march participants and community built around speeches, music and a like-valued mission. It was impactful and memorable.
It was survivors Emma Gonzalez, now a prominent gun control activist, co-founding Never Again MSD and David Hogg, now an American gun control activist and politician, serving as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee since 2025, whose speeches remain and reverberate in my mind. It was worth going to hear these words with this community and to feel some sense of safety in numbers. It could have been another massacre.
•
All this to say that I no longer feel I have a choice in showing up and using my voice, even if it is frustrating to know it affects next to nothing in this current hate-filled, greedy, anti-constitutional climate.
Maybe what I am trying to say is go with me — go to the party. Bring your intellect, your culture, your care and your compassion for humanity.
You will be heard — or at least contribute to the noise of it.
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