The right to assemble

As I wrote Thursday, protest is the lifeblood of democracy. This is why I want to point out a pair of protests that occurred Saturday — a Fight for 15 rally in Teterboro (corrected) outside a Walmart, and a pro-Trump rally in Middletown.

Here is a video from Northjersey.com of the Teterboro (corrected) rally:

And here is a story from Patch on the pro-Trump rally, which appears to have been much larger and was part of a national day of support for the president.

Forget the particular politics of each protest — I support the Fight for 15 effort and am a critic of Trump. Both rallies demonstrate what makes our democracy healthy. Efforts to shut down protests — whether it is the use of racketeering statutes against anti-abortion protesters, as was done during the Clinton administration, the penning in of anti-war protesters, or the laws being proposed around the country today — are inconsistent with the ideals we profess to hold.

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet