I had planned to go with a friend to the rally in Lisboa. Something came up last minute and we could not go. Thank you for attending this rally. I appreciate those that did show up, including Lamb Chop! The rallies in the US were huge. I am so thankful for this, but until the Republicans in the House and Senate start to rebel against Trump and his fascist group of thugs, nothing will really change until the midterms, that is if there will actually be midterms. I guess I have to remain optimistic that things at some point will get better.
Hi Nancy. Love your posters. May I steal your ideas for my next protest?
I was at the Washington DC protest. I have no idea of how many of us there were, but as far as I could see in every direction were masses of people. Unlike other reports there were many young people. I saw some truly amazing hair colors and tattoo art. I am 81 and was there with 40 others from a retirement community, but we were surrounded by people of all ages. It was a wonderful experience and the first glimmer of hope I have had since this debacle began.
I was at the one on Maui and it was a glimmer of hope to see so many people in my community show up and so many horns honking in support. It felt good being around so many people that feel the way I do. I am hoping to move with my family to Portugal by the end of the year. This administration does not share my values and morals and I do not want to raise my daughter in a country that is destroying our democracy. While I try to stay hopeful, it is very hard to watch what is happening literally every day, we are losing the trust and support from our allies. I pray that the GOP wakes up and stands up because right now, they are the only ones that can do anything. Mahalo for your wonderful newsletters, hope I get to meet you someday. Aloha!
I am sorry the media hasn't seemed keen to report on the demos in the USA. I guess the younger people are really nervous about being seen doing anything controversial (plus persons of colour may really be concerned about ICE.) Very sad for all my friends and family in the States.
From the DC metro area, with daughters whose anxieties are over the top.... the signs, the community, the networking all made for tears of gratitude instead of tears of frustration. I found and saw photos of many younger people who do care about their future. It's just that the wealthy older white men who will never have enough are whining so loudly, it's difficult to be heard. As an emerging vegetarian, I won't "eat the rich" but I do have some recipes.
I have been reading your posts for quite a while now, as I have an interest in moving to Europe (tied between Portugal and France currently). I'm still likely several years out, sadly. I appreciate your writing, especially that you do not shy away from things like this. Life is political, and politics do affect us even when we move abroad... especially as retirees who depend on income that is tied to the stock market. I would very much like to follow you on substack, but am not sure how to find you.
Oops. That's what I get for multitasking while typing. <facepalm> I do subscribe. Have since early on. I meant tried to find you on Bluesky. Sometimes I ain't too bright. :P
My husband and I attended here in RI - there looked to be about 3K people out with us in the cold and rain. I think if the sun had been out- there may have been more people. We had a good mix of ages...but yes the older folks - those of us 50+ were the larger of the groups. It fed my soul to see people willing to stand up and show up. We need to be uncomfortable and maybe scared - that is ok, because it needs to be done. I was also made much more positive by watching/listening to Senator Booker- he was amazing. While we won't give up yet, we are accelerating our plans for our move in '27. Putting the house up on the market now, we will rent until it's time to make our move. We want to be a agile as possible when the time comes, and ready to go if it comes earlier. Hang in there everyone, get into some good trouble if you can.
I hoped to meet you Nancy so maybe next time. Yes they did announce 700 attended, although it looked like a much smaller turnout. The passion was certainly there.
I am from Vermont like your friends. I wore my bright red Bernie tee-shirt, and then felt nervous and conspicuous. But after spending last year in Florida while my husband had medical issues, I couldn’t get the nerve to take Bernie out of my suitcase. Certainly not in Florida.
I believe the world wide solidarity gave me a semblance of hope…maybe. If the Republicans don’t get on board, we’re screwed. It’s scary exposing oneself, but perhaps we take the risk and contact red state congressional members.
I am sorry to say we did not attend. Too bad, we could have worn our pussy hats from 2017 March on Washington.... yes we brought them to Portugal, but of course.
I too was at the Lisbon rally and was confused when the organizers announced that the rally was 700… it definitely looked more like 150-200.
It was however a good rally, and the organizers did a good job at getting some passionate local speakers as well as Shari Lewis daughter and Lambchop, that brought me to tears.
My husband and I had turned off our phones before leaving the house and left our Fitbit trackers at home too. We donned baseball caps and sunglasses to hide our faces ( not totally incognito, but it was something) out of fear of being tracked or facial recognitioned by the States. In the end, we ended up making the cover of a few online reports like CNN portugal as well as Observador… so much for hiding out. 🫣
Media, PA--small town---where we rallied---500. But pix from big cities and more small towns were very gratifying. What is troubling is not many under 30 and very much lacking in people of color. Guess that is how it has always been in protests in the past??? If young people do not step up, I think it is a big problem. What do rallies do? Make the rallying people feel good. Will they stop the orange menace? No. Stocks will further crash today. I continue to sit on my corner intersection with my flag. What does that do? Probably nothing, but I would be sitting in a chair in our apt., so why not sit in public with a sign? Onward, yes with hope. No other way to live.
I’ve looked at photos from demonstrations all over the US. They all looked overwhelmingly grey haired. The younger generations grew up watching their elders attending marches through the decades, saw the end result and said, “well how’s that strategy working for you?”
It’s not that they aren’t with us, it’s that they’re not interested in doing something just to make themselves feel better about a world that looks hopeless. Many have tuned out of the news and are just trying to enjoy their time as the ship slowly sinks.
I was at the Lagos rally and 70 people would be the max. I did a rough count and had 50-60. Still it was more than I thought would be there. And, like Lisboa, it was on the older side. I hope everyone stays engaged, it's a long road ahead.
I had planned to go with a friend to the rally in Lisboa. Something came up last minute and we could not go. Thank you for attending this rally. I appreciate those that did show up, including Lamb Chop! The rallies in the US were huge. I am so thankful for this, but until the Republicans in the House and Senate start to rebel against Trump and his fascist group of thugs, nothing will really change until the midterms, that is if there will actually be midterms. I guess I have to remain optimistic that things at some point will get better.
I don’t think the Republic can survive till the midterms…if the GOP doesn’t stop him now all is lost!
Hi Nancy. Love your posters. May I steal your ideas for my next protest?
I was at the Washington DC protest. I have no idea of how many of us there were, but as far as I could see in every direction were masses of people. Unlike other reports there were many young people. I saw some truly amazing hair colors and tattoo art. I am 81 and was there with 40 others from a retirement community, but we were surrounded by people of all ages. It was a wonderful experience and the first glimmer of hope I have had since this debacle began.
Thanks for your report of younger participants.
I was at the one on Maui and it was a glimmer of hope to see so many people in my community show up and so many horns honking in support. It felt good being around so many people that feel the way I do. I am hoping to move with my family to Portugal by the end of the year. This administration does not share my values and morals and I do not want to raise my daughter in a country that is destroying our democracy. While I try to stay hopeful, it is very hard to watch what is happening literally every day, we are losing the trust and support from our allies. I pray that the GOP wakes up and stands up because right now, they are the only ones that can do anything. Mahalo for your wonderful newsletters, hope I get to meet you someday. Aloha!
You can check out our Maui protest here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIGDiIMusGf/?igsh=cW11NmQxZW5xc2Iw
I am sorry the media hasn't seemed keen to report on the demos in the USA. I guess the younger people are really nervous about being seen doing anything controversial (plus persons of colour may really be concerned about ICE.) Very sad for all my friends and family in the States.
From the DC metro area, with daughters whose anxieties are over the top.... the signs, the community, the networking all made for tears of gratitude instead of tears of frustration. I found and saw photos of many younger people who do care about their future. It's just that the wealthy older white men who will never have enough are whining so loudly, it's difficult to be heard. As an emerging vegetarian, I won't "eat the rich" but I do have some recipes.
I have been reading your posts for quite a while now, as I have an interest in moving to Europe (tied between Portugal and France currently). I'm still likely several years out, sadly. I appreciate your writing, especially that you do not shy away from things like this. Life is political, and politics do affect us even when we move abroad... especially as retirees who depend on income that is tied to the stock market. I would very much like to follow you on substack, but am not sure how to find you.
Simply press the Subscribe button on any post.
Oops. That's what I get for multitasking while typing. <facepalm> I do subscribe. Have since early on. I meant tried to find you on Bluesky. Sometimes I ain't too bright. :P
I just signed up today and am still finding my way around...but after downloading the BlueSky app search for ExpatinPortugal
@expatinportugal.bsky.social
My husband and I attended here in RI - there looked to be about 3K people out with us in the cold and rain. I think if the sun had been out- there may have been more people. We had a good mix of ages...but yes the older folks - those of us 50+ were the larger of the groups. It fed my soul to see people willing to stand up and show up. We need to be uncomfortable and maybe scared - that is ok, because it needs to be done. I was also made much more positive by watching/listening to Senator Booker- he was amazing. While we won't give up yet, we are accelerating our plans for our move in '27. Putting the house up on the market now, we will rent until it's time to make our move. We want to be a agile as possible when the time comes, and ready to go if it comes earlier. Hang in there everyone, get into some good trouble if you can.
I hoped to meet you Nancy so maybe next time. Yes they did announce 700 attended, although it looked like a much smaller turnout. The passion was certainly there.
I am from Vermont like your friends. I wore my bright red Bernie tee-shirt, and then felt nervous and conspicuous. But after spending last year in Florida while my husband had medical issues, I couldn’t get the nerve to take Bernie out of my suitcase. Certainly not in Florida.
I believe the world wide solidarity gave me a semblance of hope…maybe. If the Republicans don’t get on board, we’re screwed. It’s scary exposing oneself, but perhaps we take the risk and contact red state congressional members.
Thank you Nancy for keeping us all connected.
I am sorry to say we did not attend. Too bad, we could have worn our pussy hats from 2017 March on Washington.... yes we brought them to Portugal, but of course.
Thank you I’m really enjoying your posts.
I was at the Lagos rally. It was very good and a very diverse age group+ dogs💕
I too was at the Lisbon rally and was confused when the organizers announced that the rally was 700… it definitely looked more like 150-200.
It was however a good rally, and the organizers did a good job at getting some passionate local speakers as well as Shari Lewis daughter and Lambchop, that brought me to tears.
My husband and I had turned off our phones before leaving the house and left our Fitbit trackers at home too. We donned baseball caps and sunglasses to hide our faces ( not totally incognito, but it was something) out of fear of being tracked or facial recognitioned by the States. In the end, we ended up making the cover of a few online reports like CNN portugal as well as Observador… so much for hiding out. 🫣
I'm so sorry I missed you in Lisbon! Don't know how I didn't find you.
Media, PA--small town---where we rallied---500. But pix from big cities and more small towns were very gratifying. What is troubling is not many under 30 and very much lacking in people of color. Guess that is how it has always been in protests in the past??? If young people do not step up, I think it is a big problem. What do rallies do? Make the rallying people feel good. Will they stop the orange menace? No. Stocks will further crash today. I continue to sit on my corner intersection with my flag. What does that do? Probably nothing, but I would be sitting in a chair in our apt., so why not sit in public with a sign? Onward, yes with hope. No other way to live.
I looked for you yo introduce myself but couldn't recognize you. Sorry. I didn't count numbers. I think the official US count total = 5.2 million.
There were young people mixed in, yes. I’m an optimist by nature but a realist when it comes to political organizing, having done it much of my life.
I’ve looked at photos from demonstrations all over the US. They all looked overwhelmingly grey haired. The younger generations grew up watching their elders attending marches through the decades, saw the end result and said, “well how’s that strategy working for you?”
It’s not that they aren’t with us, it’s that they’re not interested in doing something just to make themselves feel better about a world that looks hopeless. Many have tuned out of the news and are just trying to enjoy their time as the ship slowly sinks.
Franklin, I don't share your pessimism ... I am told by many who attended US rallies that there were lots of young people. We need them!
I was at the Lagos rally and 70 people would be the max. I did a rough count and had 50-60. Still it was more than I thought would be there. And, like Lisboa, it was on the older side. I hope everyone stays engaged, it's a long road ahead.
Thanks Greg!