Several hundred Salisbury residents rallied and march Saturday for No Kings Day waving signs as cars honked their horns in support along Route 13. Delmarva Public Media's Don Rush was there and has this look at the protest.
RUSH: Several hundred gathered at noon on Saturday in Unity Square with the local No Kings March, not the first such gathering since the Trump administration took office. This is Don Rush. Lana Foley is with crabs on the shore, which helped organized this one in downtown Salisbury. So have they had an impact?
FOLEY: I don't know what's going to have an impact in our government at this point. So I mean, there's things that have happened all year that I expected to have an impact on our government, but it doesn't.
Rush: The crowd braved the cold, but did not seem to be deterred. Many had homemade signs to express their anger at the current administration. Some read, "Are we great yet? Because I just feel embarrassed." Another: "Bombing a country won't make the Epstein files go away." Others simply read "Democracy needs your courage" while another read "It's a difference of morality." In attendance was Salisbury City Council member Michelle Gregory.
GREGORY: There have been so many things that have happened, rapid fire between what's going on with ICE, and it seems to be escalating more and more and more. And now we've gotten in this quagmire of a war and it's, I think people are getting fed up. Even folks who don't typically engage at this level, they're getting fed up and they want to voice their concerns.
RUSH: But it wasn't just the war. Kevin Krugner stands with a large black flag with the words:
KRUGNER: Pretty to the point, "Anti-lies, Anti-hate, Anti-Racism, Anti-fascism, Anti-Trump."
RUSH: And for him, the events of the last year have brought the issue close to home.
KRUGNER: Absolutely sad. What has happened to this country and just how similar things are right now to what happened in post World War I Germany, quite frankly. As someone from Jewish descent, we always grew up wondering how did it happen? And sadly, I now understand that better.
RUSH: For others, there was a sense that the battles they thought they had won years ago have begun all over again. Beverly Plachta stands with her husband, she's [dressed in] the costume of The Handmaid's Tale, which is a novel about the submission of women in a future society.
PLACHTA: It's like, these are things we've been fighting since the seventies. And that's when I was like, I thought it was over then and now I'm doing it again. And we've got wars that we don't need and they're doing nothing for the regular human being... and only the rich are getting richer.
RUSH: But the president's approval ratings have plummeted since taking office. Some polls showing them in the thirties, and that comes on top of the surveys that show a strong disapproval of the military action in Iran. Plachta says, while not talking a lot about politics with her bag of friends, she does get this impression.
PLACHTA: They're being more receptive. They've gone too far and that's it. They've gone too far.
RUSH: It's not what they expected?
PLACHTA: I don't think this is what anybody expected.
RUSH: And then a little after noon, it was time to march.
(Singing) - "One foot in front of the other and lead with love, put one foot in front of the other and lead with love."
(Singing continues) RUSH: And they made their way down Route 13, ending up at the corner of College Avenue where they cheered as the cars honked their horns in support. Among the crowd were Bonnie Porter and Lisa Dericco, who said they were encouraged by the crowd.
PORTER: It's a solemn thing, although I look happy. The truth is it's a very solemn thing.
DERICCO: It is so exciting, and I can tell you how many people I made smile today. Love it.
RUSH: Does it make you more hopeful?
DERICCO: Yes, definitely. Definitely.
RUSH: This is Don Rush for Delmarva Public Media.
