Unite Against Fascism rally in Madison WI
Serenading the fascists. Next up, the vuvuzuelas!
It was the Good, the Bad, and the Lovely in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend.
The Good was celebrating a long overdue ScottFree Wisconsin with folks who had been out on the frontlines of the struggle since 2011.
The Bad was a rally sponsored by the far right hate group the III% United Patriots which was met with a loud, lively, peaceful counter protest.
The Lovely was an open house at Wisconsin’s Executive Residence, aka the Governor’s Mansion, hosted by Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
The Bad: Far Right Extremists
The hate-mongering, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim militia known as III% United Patriots . had scheduled a rally at the State Capitol.
Bearing witness
There were actually two counter protests. The first was a silent witness organized by several local churches and peace groups from Madison.
A larger and much louder counter demonstration was organized by a broad group of progressive and left groups under the banner of “United Against Fascism.” The goal was to show the far-right extremists that their message of hate had no home in Wisconsin. While peaceful, the crowd chanted, marched, listened to speakers, and generally created a ruckus to drown out the small crowd at the top of the Capitol steps and let them know they were not welcome in Wisconsin.
Veterans for Peace have a regular presence at the Capitol
The Lovely: Cookies with Tony
Our newly elected Governor Tony Evers graciously invited everyone over for hot chocolate and cookies and a tour of his new home for the next four years (and hopefully many years more.) A lovely Saturday afternoon excursion! The line went out the door but we are used to winter in Wisconsin.
The Good: Solidarity Forever!
It’s been a long, hard road since the massive protests against Scott Walker in 2011 & 2012, and we deserved a party! Saturday night we celebrated a ScottFree Wisconsin at the Labor Temple in Madison with speakers, singing, food, and of course some local union-brewed beer.
Norm Stockwell of The Progressive magazine, founded 110 years ago.
The Raging Grannies raged, John Nichols, a stalwart defender of democracy ad writer for The Nation and The Progressive, got the crowd cheering, current and soon-to-be elected officials celebrated Democrat victories in every statewide race last election, and the Solidarity Singers sang out the night with our own versions of This Land of Your Land and a soulful rendition of Solidarity Forever. There’s more work to do but this victory and this celebration was long overdue.
And keep scrolling, there are lots of photos!
The house belongs to the State of Wisconsin but we’re happy to have Tony & Kathy Evers living there!
Celebrating a ScottFree Wisconsin at Madison’s Labor Temple
The Solidarity Singers
Solidarity Forever! For the union makes us strong.
