New York Times reporter Katie Rogers celebrated anti-Trump protests as “the new brunch” in the big-government stronghold of D.C. in Thursday’s edition: “A City Where Dissent Becomes a Lifestyle.” Rogers’ story occupied two-thirds of the page, with photos down the middle from various D.C. protests and a long and fawning explainer of a photo caption, full of liberal blandishment:
Washington is a Democratic stronghold, and the arrival of President Trump has turned many ordinary people into energetic activists. One professor said protests were ‘getting to be more of a type of social event.’ Clockwise from top, people have stood up for women; for the federal health law; for labor rights; against Attorney General Jeff Sessions; for tribal rights, for immigrants; and for peace in the Middle East.
Some tough journalism there! “Ordinary people?” This is Washington, D.C. home of federal bureaucrats and headquarters for myriad liberal interest groups. And the last photo referenced, supposedly showing a protest for “peace in the Middle East,” featured someone wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, the fiery symbol of Palestinian nationalism and opposition to Israel.
Rogers wrote:
In a city that seems to be perpetually undergoing cultural and political transformation, there are certain parts of life that stay constant: paralysis on Capitol Hill. The occasional appearance of a butter-stick-size panda cub. The predictably unpredictable Washington Metro.
And now there are the steady chants of people who protest.
Only weeks into the administration of President Trump, many residents of this heavily Democratic area who once attended the occasional protest have adopted resistance to the Trump administration as a lifestyle. They go to weekend marches, organize with friends after work or get together to send batches of postcards to the White House.
....
“Protesting is the new brunch” sounds like an inscription on a T-shirt -- and, thanks to the internet, it is. But it’s also a phrase traded among friends at bars, at work or on the walk home from yet another demonstration. “See you next weekend,” people say.
....
Another sign of an uptick is the crowd at All Souls Unitarian, a Washington church where social justice and worship have long gone hand in hand. Each Sunday service has attracted about 200 more people than before the election, said the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies, the church’s senior minister. The 2,400 people who attended the first service after the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington set a record.
Apparently Washingtonians have nothing else to do in their spare time:
There are now so many weekend demonstrations to choose from that people who want to participate are running out of weekend hours. So they are figuring out how to squeeze in a protest during the workday. During the recent A Day Without a Woman protest, Wajiha Rais, a 25-year-old lawyer, used her lunch hour to attend. She grabbed a sign that said “Keep your tiny, tiny, tiny hands off my uterus” and stood in Lafayette Square outside the White House with women who had taken the day off.
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Leah Muskin-Pierret, 22, who described her work as advocacy on Middle East policy, often attends protests. She said she had noticed newcomers who were willing to attend protests, even if the gatherings ended quickly.
(Incidentally, Rogers' source Muskin-Pierret wrote for the anti-Israel site Mondoweiss and accused Israel of mass murder of Palestinians.)
Protesting has always been a way for people to find community and celebrate their cause, according to Rachel L. Einwohner, a professor at Purdue University who studies the sociology of protests. Ms. Einwohner said the recent popularization of the term “the resistance” by liberals might have had a lot to do with how easily it blended with modern pop culture. The prevalence of Princess Leia signs at the Women’s March is one example, she said.
The joy was unconfined:
Others are finding small ways to stay active by mixing social activism with social activities. Megan McPeak Davis, a school psychologist, said she was motivated to start organizing her network of friends and acquaintances hours after she returned home from the Women’s March in Washington. She created a private Facebook group -- Nasty Women Make Plans -- and, following the guidance set by organizers of the march, invited a group of friends over to meet and figure out what to do next. For her, it was a more serious version of a book club.
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It’s also not uncommon for friendship and the occasional romance to blossom. Brendan Orsinger, a 35-year-old activist, said that he met a love interest last year after they had both been booked and put in handcuffs for civil disobedience at the Capitol.
Reality crept it only at the end:
One obstacle is protest fatigue. Ms. Muskin-Pierret, who attended the early-morning protest, called the problem of weariness “so real,” and Ms. Jones, the college professor, said “self care” was becoming an important element of her routine.
“At some point,” Ms. Jones said, “you’re just going to have to say, ‘I can’t protest this weekend, I have other things to do.’”
