The Danger of COVID Protestors

By: Animesh, Connor, and Ondrea

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capitol hill protests & covid-19 impact on aapi communities

Hi everyone! Hope you all are doing well. This week we’re transitioning away from our personal lives and toward issues regarding COVID-19 in our own communities. Something we’ve started seeing in the news recently are protestors who are demanding to be let back into the workplace. These people want to go back to their jobs and are all over the United States.

​A couple of weeks ago, in Michigan, constituents marched into the state Capitol to protest the governor extending emergency powers. Signs compared the government to Hitler, repeatedly professed the freedom each American deserved, and were supplemented by a healthy array of MAGA apparel. Some of the protestors were even armed--all in an attempt to intimidate lawmakers into re-opening up the state. The people at the Capitol had a variety of motivations: some feared for their job safety and others believed the shutdown, and consequent recession, to be a liberal ploy to dethrone Donald Trump. Regardless of motivation, the storming of the Capitol--militia style--with armed protestors and breaking of social distancing is unacceptable behavior. 

​In an attempt to advance their agenda, these protesters have also been using symbols and languages from other movements to hijack those same movements. Often, the language and symbols used in these protests are in conflict with those who are fighting in other movements such as the right to reproductive freedom.

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