Rally in Indianapolis

Junior Rachel Pickett reflects on attending her first Peace Rally

Rally+in+Indianapolis

Last weekend I was in Indianapolis with five other BV West students for the National High School Journalism Convention. When Saturday rolled around, word got out that there was going to be a  peace rally on the steps of the Indiana state capitol building.

After very little debate, myself along with Lanie Render, Leah Zimmerli, Olivia Wortman, Katie Pratt and Ryan Barrett decided to attend the rally.

I decided to go not because I think that Donald Trump isn’t our president. I understand that he will be our president for the next four years regardless of protests. I went to the rally because of the hateful rhetoric that came out of Trump’s campaign. Trump’s previous statements contained an astounding amount of racism, sexism and xenophobia.

It is my opinion that the American citizens shouldn’t have to fear for their safety because the future president might grab them inappropriately, separate them from their family, or prohibit them from practicing their religion.

When we were walking to the rally I was nervous about no one else being there, but I could feel the energy surging through my body and I couldn’t wait to finally be around like-minded people.  At the rally, there were hundreds of people. Many carried signs with phrases like “love trumps hate,” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”  

We stayed at the rally for about an hour and a half and heard a variety of speakers. We heard a woman from the Black Lives Matter movement speak about police brutality; a transgender woman spoke about North Carolina’s law regarding transgender people using the restroom; an immigrant discussed the kind of hatred he has experienced during this election cycle.      

After a while we decided that we were going to head back to the hotel. On our way back we saw a massive militaristic vehicle that was sporting a large Donald Trump sign. It was making circles around the capitol building and using a air-horn in order to disturb the rally. At one point, the vehicle was at a stoplight, and many people came forward and stood in the crosswalk, preventing the vehicle from passing.

Although there were police present at this moment, they originally decided not to intervene. After some brief moments of honking and anger, the standoff ended and the rally continued.  

Later that night, in the hotel, we could still see the rally going on into the wee hours of the evening. We saw later on the news that after we left, some of the protests became violent. Apparently some threw rocks at cops, and seven people ended up being arrested.

I’m incredibly grateful for the experience I had in Indiana. I am hopeful that our country will be able to heal after such a divisive election, and I am hopeful that we can focus on our similarities rather than our differences.