By Catherine A. Montgomery, Santa Lucia Chapter Volunteer
Across the USA and Europe, there were 8 million in attendance in 3,300 cities on March 28 for the third No Kings protest. There were 5,000 demonstrating in San Luis Obispo, with an estimated 2,000 in Atascadero and Paso Robles.
The event at the San Luis Obispo Courthouse featured musical guests Erin & The Earthquakes and Central Coast Singing Resistance. Speakers represented education, cultural diversity, LGBTQ+ rights, NAACP, US Army Vets, student athletes and Cal Poly students. There were no paid protestors, just a community passionate about fighting for democracy. Unusually, NOT present at the event were MAGA disruptors carrying TRUMP confederate flags opposing us for exercising our right to fight the Would-be King.
The beauty and diversity of our community was on display to speak out against the actions of the would-be King/Dictator threatening our democracy, and many of the rights and values we hold dear: arts and education, no book bans, voting integrity, civil rights, gay and trans rights, saying NO to ICE raids in SLO County, free speech, peaceful assembly, Epstein files, the unnecessary war in Iran. To use a phrase that I have seen frequently: There are too many issues for one sign. The community united for a common cause: we cannot allow our democracy to be stripped away piece by piece. There are No Kings in America!
Before moving to SLO County in 2023 from Los Angeles, I was involved in environmental activism through Greenpeace and Jane Fonda Climate PAC. If you have attended any protests in San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles, I am the one wearing the red fedora hat and any number of JanePAC t-shirts, always holding a sign relating to saving our planet from the outrageous attacks by Trump against environmental concerns.
My role in our community now is as an active volunteer with the Sierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter, assisting with organizing and promoting the chapter through the bi-monthly Action Hour that addresses important national, California and local environmental issues that affect our or other communities. Our “actions” are writing letters, postcards and making calls to our representatives. I have embraced this cause for several reasons, but the biggest one is that I want my grandchildren and future generations to live on a planet with clean air and water.
While I stand with my community on numerous issues that develop on a daily and weekly basis, the one thing that I do not see represented with impunity at our peaceful assemblies is environmental rights. I believe that our civil rights and ability to thrive are irrelevant if we don’t have a livable, breathable planet to live on – our grandchildren and future generations deserve to have clean air and drinking water, and to experience the beauty and wonder of nature. The lack of representation of environmental issues at protests does not change my resolve – Rome was not built in a day. We must stay vigilant and resist the whims of a would-be King/Dictator to “drill baby drill,” who is threatened by facts, science, and educated individuals who aren’t buying the grift he is selling.
Many are unaware of the term “intersectional” activism – a term that simply means that issues overlap others: income inequality, health issues, housing, and land values. Big Oil believes that the areas where they drill – usually low-income areas - are “sacrifice zones.” It is unacceptable that they can buy their way to more drilling and destruction and not be held accountable.
So -- what can we do? How do we fight this? Jane Fonda has said on numerous occasions that when she feels despair, taking action raises her from it. Having hope and being with a community of like minds makes us stronger. The change we seek will not occur overnight. We must not be complacent. We must be strong. We must be vigilant. Elect climate champions. And when they are elected, we must not relent. We need to remind them to pass legislation that will achieve a cleaner and greener planet. We must not allow Donald Trump to strip away every law and regulation of his predecessors and drill on protected lands and sacred spaces so his rich constituents can burn the planet to line their pockets.
We have the power to be the change we wish to see in the world. Our voice and resistance are our power. Actions include supporting Sierra Club and other environmental organizations with a donation, volunteering, writing letters to the editor, contacting your representative via postcards, letters, email or phone calls, signing and sharing petitions with everyone you know, attending any organized peaceful assembly and if none is available, making signs and standing on a corner speaking about climate issues. No act is too small. It takes a village. So, let’s use our collective voices to change the world for our grandchildren and future generations! Together we have power!
