LEBANON — About 70 people gathered along Route 120 by Heater Road on Tuesday, the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s second inauguration, to express outrage over his executive actions since then.
Joy Blongewicz, a Lebanon resident, organized the protest as a way to express discontent in the Upper Valley for Trump, whom she described as a “loose cannon.” The majority of participants were over the age of 65, with some exceptions.
Blongewicz held a sign for passing motorists to read that said: “After Trump’s first year, billionaires thrive, America’s workers struggle.”
Blongewicz said that there are no reasonable people surrounding Trump, as there were in his 2016 administration. She called on Republicans to start legislating against what she described as his harmful actions.
A similar protest at Lyman Park in White River Junction was planned Tuesday evening to “say no (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), no kings, no kidnappers,” as written on an event website.
The Free America Walkout is a national movement, which encouraged those opposed to Trump to walk out of school or work Tuesday at 2 p.m. as a form of protest. The refusal to cooperate was intended to show the Trump Administration that citizens are ungovernable “in the face of fascism,” according to the website. There were nearly 48,000 participants registered, with more than 1,000 individual events planned across the country, including in White River Junction.
Though unconnected to the nationwide protest, those gathered in Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon were there for similar reasons.
Threats Trump has posed to Greenland and NATO, and fears related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement brought Hartford protester Janet Abbott out to stand in the cold. She sees these issues as a setback for America’s 250-year-old democracy.
“I’ve run into people who don’t even have a clue that there’s a problem. We need people to be woke, we need people to be antifa, we need people to be aware of what’s happening to our country,” said Abbott.
Some attendees said this moment in history feels especially fraught.
“I lived through eras with the Vietnam War, riots in the cities, multiple wars since then, economic crashes, the threat of nuclear power,” Lebanon resident Sherry Boschert said. “Nothing comes close to this maniac in the White House.”
But some expressed concerns that extend beyond Trump himself.
“It’s like an infection that goes down to the root, and I don’t know how we are going to solve it without killing the whole system,” said Lisa Johnson, of Norwich. “That is what really keeps me up at night.”
Winter Adams, a 29-year-old Lebanon resident, also sought to bring awareness to issues he feels aren’t getting enough attention. He held a sign reading: “Refuse to look away.”
Despite feeling like people in power are not standing up as much as they should, Adams said he was pleased to see the responses of drivers passing by, mainly in the form of honks and waves. He said that gathering with those who share the same thoughts can make the situation feel less hopeless.
“A lot of our problems would be solved if we just kind of accepted each other a little more and didn’t spread as much hate,” said Adams.
Concerns for the political climate, the planet and her loved ones were on the mind of Alejandra Zamora, who also lives in Lebanon.
“There’s a lot at stake for me personally, for my family, people I care about. It’s scary. It’s horrible,” said Zamora, who is Mexican-American. “I also care a lot about the environment and creating a good planet for the next generation, and that’s going terribly now too.”
Zamora wants to see civil liberties restored to people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, she hopes for less apathy toward these issues, adding that Tuesday’s protest was encouraging.
Bill Black, of Hanover, said he believes strongly in the success of peaceful protests, based on Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth’s study, which found that it takes 3.5% of a population to bring about change through nonviolent demonstrations.
“Until the legislators are more afraid of the people than (of) Trump, nothing is going to change,” Black said.
At the last No Kings Day protest in Grafton County on Oct. 18, Black — who tallies protest participants for Indivisible New Hampshire Upper Valley, an activist group — said 5% of the county attended. While this percentage may seem small, Black said it represents a larger number of folks who could not attend, while also bringing attention to issues and putting pressure on legislators.
“It’s a long-term process. It’s not something that happens immediately,” said Lebanon resident Don Collins. “Every time I go to a protest, it grows. More and more people are coming out all the time, and that gives me hope that this can change.”