However, the protesters wanted to fight the virus in ways that were more familiar to them and, perhaps, more empowering: In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a giant green truck had “ Jesus is my vaccine” scrawled on its side. In Boise, Idaho, one sign read “ Freedom over Fear.” In Denver, one said “ Don’t let your mask be your muzzle.” When they did express concern, protest signs coupled it with a desire to fight the contagion. I saw none of the demonstrators calling for more widespread testing, for instance. People want to fight the virus in familiar waysĮven when protesters acknowledged the threat of the virus, few of them were calling for medical experts to provide the solution. Idahoans rally to fight the outbreak’s effects in ways they have dealt with more familiar problems. “ The models were wrong” was on more than one sign, suggesting protesters had paid attention to the scientific models at first but had come to believe the disease’s seriousness had been exaggerated. Rather than seeing that as evidence of the success of social distancing, they seemed to interpret this as saying the science was no longer valid. That was also the rally where right-wing radio host Alex Jones, who runs a conspiracy-theory website, drove around in a truck egging on attendees’ chants through a megaphone.Īt the other events, it appeared protesters had been expecting higher numbers of infections than actually happened. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has been a frequent public face of the federal government’s efforts to fight the virus. At that one, on April 18 in Austin, Texas, hundreds of attendees chanted “ Fire Fauci!” referring to Dr.

There were protesters at several rallies who wore anti-vaccination T-shirts and held signs suggesting they don’t trust public health experts and scientists.īut only one protest was dominated by that theme. Protesters in cars are, in general, observing social distancing guidelines.

Protest signs in Denver, Colorado, included the plaintive “I want my career back” and the entrepreneurial “Dogs Need Groomers.” In one video from an “Operation Gridlock” protest in Lansing, Michigan, where activists planned to block traffic, a protester filmed out the window of his car when he drove past a sign saying “Give me work not money.” The protester himself called out in approval, “ Give me work not money, I hear that!”Ī young man at an Olympia, Washington, event described work as a source not only of money but identity: “ I wanna go back to work! That pride that you feel every day when you go home from work? That’s like nothing that can … be taken.” Protesters across many states asserted their work – or even all work – was “essential.” Their messages made clear that they didn’t want to ask for a handout or charity – but they were asking to be allowed to work. Instead, they held signs with more general language, like “ Poverty Kills,” or expressed concerns like the restaurateur in Phoenix, Arizona, who told a passing videographer he was worried about his 121 “ suffering, devastated” employees.

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