It is April 5th, and I’m nowhere near home. My company is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the CEO has generously paid for Trimark employees to come to Vegas to celebrate. This was planned months in advance. Certainly before Trump was sworn in. I’ve been with Trimark over 13 years, and I couldn’t say no to this.

At the same time, this is April 5th, and there are protests happening across the country. My biggest regret with coming on this Vegas trip is that, once again, I’m just some asshole posting shit on the Internet, and not actually putting my ass on the line. I’m letting other people protest and do the work, while I just bitch and moan safely, from afar.

It couldn’t be helped. This is another moment for our country, and it was going to come and go without me. Again.

Unless…

While Melissa and I ate our greasy sandwiches from Eggslut, I looked up what protests were happening today in Las Vegas. Sure enough, #HandsOff was starting in less than an hour, only a couple of blocks away.

So, Melissa and I walked. We joined the procession heading along the street. Many people carried signs. There were lots of chants, the most popular being “Hey hey! Ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!”

Melissa and I walked with them, for at least 30 minutes. We chanted with them. We were actually there for a change.

Will this make a difference? Since the major medias do not seem to be covering it very much, I doubt it. The protests have been peaceful and respectful. The one in Vegas was along the street, not on it. We marched and didn’t even disturb traffic.

The will is there. Protests are happening. I’m happy I got to walk in one. Maybe with the next one in Sacramento, I’ll show up carrying a sign.

• Is it prudent of me to publicly post about participating in a protest? (Edited to improve alliteration)
• Isn’t this blog supposed to be about my writing journey?

There’s no point in me writing my fiction if the books can’t be published. And I’m having trouble writing while I watch my country burn to the ground. Doing something about it, talking about it, will help me get back to writing. Eventually, some of these experiences will show up in my stories.

As for the wisdom of posting this publicly… for about 10 years, I’ve made it obvious that I am anti-Trump. I’m not a Democrat, though my goals align with what theirs should be at this point. I’m anti-Trump. I’m not going to hide that fact.

I wish for him to die in obscurity. The greatest justice would be for him to live out the rest of his life as no one. Some doddering old fool that wanders his golf course, cheating at something that does not matter. A laughable old man that no one takes seriously. That would be a greater justice than killing him.

There were thousands of people on the streets in Vegas. There are many, many thousand across the country, all doing the same thing. At some point, something will change. Either the representatives elected to serve their constituents will start listening to the protestors, or the protestors will get more direct, until they cannot be ignored.

Trump does not not follow the will of the people. We will see how long before the people’s will is made manifest.