Dreams Are Made Of

Text and images by Sage West.

With the weather getting nicer and the state of our nation getting progressively not –as ICE fills airports and the president threatens the execution of entire nations with a single tweet, it’s likely we’ll see more and more protests across New York City (and beyond).

How can you stand out in a crowd and make sure your message gets attention without appearing performative? What says “I want to make a difference” without saying “I’m just here for a photo-op” these days?

We attended the recent No Kings march to see how protestors are presenting themselves.

Marching against the state of America under Donald Trump’s oligarchical rule, it was a sea of mostly white and elderly New Yorkers – the perfect candidates to take to the streets considering how historically Black and brown people have been tear-gassed and hosed down for protesting in numbers smaller than this.

Some took the more traditional route, wearing long coats to fare the city’s unpredictable weather, with others holding signs reading “Ice Out” that appropriately denounced the heinous crimes of the American government.

They brought out flags and pins to symbolize their distaste for injustice, and megaphones to match their passion.

One woman posed to display a necklace that read “abortion,” an emblem of support for women’s reproductive rights. Subtle.

Another stood quietly with a keffiyeh draped across her shoulders.

Yet, despite what you’d assume was learned in their book club reading of “White Fragility” back in 2020, for some, it appeared nearly impossible to leave their privilege at home, somehow still finding a way to center themselves at a protest intended to condemn attacks on predominantly Black and brown bodies.

Many wore character and animal costumes, as if it were the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, drawing more attention to their attire than to the issues they assembled to fight against.

Maybe attention was the point.

And in an astounding display of white privilege at work, one woman held a sign reading “Make America Goth Again,” whatever that means.

To no one’s surprise, despite gathering in the thousands, there was not a drop of tear gas in sight.

I guess any gesture – even if riddled with self-importance, is better than sitting complacent as the world crumbles, families are continually separated and genocide steals thousands of innocent lives. Let’s hope it helps

Regardless, I hope Black and brown folks enjoyed their day off.