this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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50501 General
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50501 is a nationwide movement of Americans standing for democracy and against the Trump Administration's overreach. We demand the government uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach through ongoing protests across all 50 states.
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I think kids should not be there because bad things could happen, especially if somehow they get lost, and they don't understand what's going on. Bringing teenagers is more understandable.
I'm not worried about them getting lost. I know how to keep track of my kids in a large crowd pretty well. And my wife will be there, too. We'll have child carrying harnesses so the kids can ride strapped onto our back if they don't want to walk anymore. My concern is about the intended atmosphere of the event.
Also, as someone who never saw my parents engage in politics beyond voting, and barely even ever heard them speak about politics, I think it's important for kids to see their parents engaging in politics, even if they don't really understand what's going on. It shows them that it's not only OK, but encouraged to form and act on their own political ideas. It opens them up to discussing political issues when they get old enough to, and shows them that politics isn't just something for the ruling elite.
I'm gonna urge you to reconsider. I think bringing them along to DC is a really bad idea. I'm not so much worried about the protesters, but rather what Trump et al will do. There's real fear about how far they will be willing to go (consider what Trump was willing to do just for a photo op in his first term).
I know you mentioned that you would get out of dodge quick if things turned south, but you won't be the only one with this instinct. The crowd will likely be massive enough to the point that little ol' DC's transportation infrastructure won't be able to handle a sudden mass exodus (Edit: Depending on the time of day I suppose. I understand that DC has a large commuter pop). To the point that just trying to leave could become dangerous (for reasons like crowd crush, auto accidents, that kind of thing). Granted, that's basically the worst case scenario and under the assumption that there will be at least somewhere on the order of thousands of protesters (it might be much smaller, who can say at this point).
I really respect wanting to raise them to be politically conscious, but perhaps doing it from afar would be a better idea this time around.
That's really why I was hoping to hear from someone involved in planning. If this event is permitted, will have infrastructure constructed (ie a stage, gates, etc) and has a public schedule of speakers, etc along the lines of the Women's March in 2017, the March for our Lives in 2018, or the various Marches for Science, then I think it's much less likely to see a violent crackdown by the administration.
On the other hand, if this is more along the lines of the airport protests against the travel ban in 2017, the anti-Iraq War protests in 2003, or the 2020 uprising protests, which were all MUCH less structured and had a much more confrontational vibe to them, then I think there's a greater likelihood of a violent crackdown.