About 50 Durango residents lined the sidewalks on the 1700 block of Main Avenue on Saturday for “Rage Against the Regime,” Indivisible Durango’s latest protest against the Trump administration.
The name of the event was a spin on the name of the American rock band and longtime critic of the U.S. government, Rage Against the Machine.
Drivers passing by on north Main Avenue provided a steady stream of supportive honks and attendees waived flags and signs with phrases such as “Hate Doesn’t Make U.S. Great,” “Hands Off Democracy” and “Melt ICE.”
The gathering was notably smaller than other rallies held at Buckley Park this summer, but those who showed up were as discontent as ever for President Donald Trump and his administration.
Resident Paul Plvan said he used to be a Republican, but he “burned his Republican card” and left the party, becoming an independent, years ago.
He said he couldn’t stomach the “greed” and the “non-caring attitude and behavior for people in need.”
“It’s absolutely terrible in how they’re not supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza,” he said. “You have people starving to death and we have food on our plates every day.”
He was also critical of the Democratic Party, and said “milquetoast” Democratic politicians “are not going in the right direction.”
He said the U.S. Congress isn’t serving the needs of the people and encouraged people to visit 5calls.org, an online resource for contact information for elected officials.
“This administration is hurting our country very badly. If we ever get it back, it’s going to take a long time,” resident Martha Mason said.
She said it’s hard to identify her top concerns because something new is constantly occurring.
“He does something absolutely horrible three times a day,” she said about the president. “... Today we heard about cutting funding for public radio and public TV, and that’s appalling in rural areas. Sometimes that’s all there is.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit corporation responsible for stewarding federal money earmarked for public broadcasting such as National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service and their local affiliates, announced on Friday it will begin closing operations after the passage of a federal rescissions package.
It’s the first time Congress has excluded funding for CPB in over five decades, according to CPB.
Mason said public broadcasting is the only radio programming she listens to and she enjoys public broadcasting television because it keeps her informed about global events and in touch with arts and culture.
Her husband, Tim Mason, said Trump is abusing his presidential powers and “killing democracy.”
“He’s taken so many things back that people worked so hard to achieve,” he said. “I’m staggered by everything that he’s doing, from the Rose Garden at the White House to how he’s trying to crush our health choices.”
As far as action, protesters on Saturday said they’d like to see Trump and his affiliates removed from office. Some said they want them arrested.
cburney@durangoherald.com
