About 350 stalwart protestors came out yesterday in 20-degree weather to rally outside Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Township. The variety and humor in our signage, and the good spirit among the protestors, contrasted sharply against the few tRump supporters who showed up. (It is true that the speech itself was held in a part of the airport far removed from where we gathered, so the participation numbers of his supporters could be skewed).
I’m not going to link to news coverage of this pathetic event, beyond the story that Mark Sumner put up yesterday. But I will review some local bloggers’ take on it, with photos and videos galore. Have some photos from me, too!
It was a noisy gathering, partly because we were all motivated to be loud in order to drown out the loudspeaker playing music from this odd set-up on a car carrier festooned with pro-Trump signs and banners. Most of my shots of that are within videos, but here’s a still I caught as an afterthought on my way out.
(The photos I’m interspersing don’t necessarily have much direct relationship to the text nearby.) Please join me after the jump for more.
First, there’s this post by Eclectablog, in which he reviews the packing of the audience inside the venue thanks to transportation and payment of UAW workers by their employers, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, to attend this event:
At least one union local, UAW Local 372, is having none of it and circulated flyers around their workplace saying “TRUMP RALLY NOT ENDORSED BY THE UAW”. “I have been at Chrysler for 23 years, and I have never seen this kind of approach. We have never seen them go out of their way to pay people to go to a rally,” Local 373 President Gabe Solano told the Detroit Free Press. “I find it amusing that Trump’s camp always likes to say Democrats are paying people to attend rallies. It’s kind of ironic now that companies are paying people to attend Trump rallies.” Local 372 represents workers at Fiat Chrysler engine plant in southeastern Michigan. A full third of UAW members voted for Trump in the general election and their support is largely credited for his tiny margin of victory.
Then, Mark Maynard weighs in with some more excellent photos, revealing Ypsi humor in fine form. Here’s one that took some care and effort:
Two of my friends and colleagues in the struggle!
I’m going to add a link to Steve Neavling’s post at the Motor City Muckraker too, because that’s a good site to know about if you don’t already.
And also a link to the coverage in the Detroit Metro Times, mostly for the out-of-towners who might not already be aware of it. There was some disruption at the very end of the event, but it appears to have been modest and contained — and certainly not endorsed by the organizers of the event.
Who got this together with under 48 hours notice? Michigan to Believe In; Indivisible; Forward Action Michigan; EMU and U-M Progressives were the groups named on the spot, and they deserve credit for pulling off a mass rally under difficult circumstances.
They even managed to work in a short speech by a newly-declared candidate for MI Governor, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. Dr. El-Sayed recently resigned from his position as director of the Health Department of the City of Detroit to campaign full time. He has many good points to make and merits careful consideration for the 2018 Democratic nomination. Check out his Facebook page!
I understand a few Michigan Kossacks were at this event, but sadly we did not have the chance to connect. Let’s see if we can pull off a meet-up for early April, shall we? Please offer your suggestions for general location and day in the comments. Plus, as usual, the thread is open for discussion of all things Michigan.
Please help us build this weekly Michigan thread so that it includes any information relevant to turning MI Blue again that you would like me to highlight. MI contributors are always welcome! You can reach me through kosmail at peregrine kate. Or say hi through email here: peregrinekate@gmail.com And please follow me on Twitter @peregrinekate
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