Overcast skies, below-freezing temperatures and an impending snowstorm did not stop a large crowd from gathering on the corner of W. Walnut St. and S. Illinois Ave in front of the Carbondale Civic Center to protest against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on President’s Day.
From noon to 1 pm., several signs created from cardboard and poster board waved through the air and chants such as “Deport Elon! Deport Elon!” were yelled. Cars that passed by honked and few waved in support.
Advertisement
Judy Ashby, member of the Carbondale Positive Action Committee, called people from the committee, sent out notes to friends as well as registered on indivisible.org and got the word out. Within two and a half days, Ashby said the community responded and lined the sidewalk with signs and flags to spread their messages. She estimated that there were around 150 people who showed up over the course of the protest. The CPAC was formed after the election and consists of around a dozen members.
“We think, ‘Oh my God, these big rich people are doing all this stuff in Washington and we’re helpless,’” Ashby said. “No, we’re not. We’ve got to act, and that’s the only thing that has ever changed the world – is when small groups and individuals bound together to take action to do something.”
To Ashby, the intended outcome of bringing people together to protest was to let the local area know that they want to take care of and protect democracy, as well as to motivate people to do more than sit and whine.
Advertisement*
“Rather than sit around and crawl in a hole and hope in four years it’s gonna get better, we got to do something,” Ashby said.
A sign with Musk walking Trump on a leash was displayed in the sea of signs, reading “Doge Style!” Created by Carbondale local Marcy Rosendale and her husband who both stood on the street side protesting.
“We’ve been particularly upset about what Elon Musk is doing. We don’t know what Elon Musk is doing partially,” Rosendale said. “I was wanting to get through graphically the idea that Trump is subservient to Elon Musk.”
But the crowd was not limited to only Carbondale residents who endured the cold to share their messages; visitors from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington made the point to show up in the small college town of Carbondale.
Jim Hooker, a resident of Minneapolis, was in Carbondale visiting when heard of the protest from his sister-in-law. Hooker, an SIU alum, showed up and held a sign up in the air that read “Opinions are not facts.” A driving issue that brought him to protest was Musk being unelected and unauthorized and still taking over agencies, he said.
“I’m fighting for the rights of trans people and immigrants and folks less advantaged than an old white man like me,” Hooker said.
Editor-in-chief Lylee Gibbs can be reached at lgibbs@dailyegyptian.com or @lyleegibbsphoto on instagram. Photo editor Enan Chediak can be reached at echediak@dailyegyptian.com or @enanchediak on instagram.
Advertisement
