Third No Kings Rally Adds War in Iran to List of Grievances
State Sen. Paul Mark was at four rallies on Saturday. He and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, both seen here in Pittsfield, said what they heard today will inspire them on Beacon Hill. .
In Pittsfield, more than 1,000 people were at the Common, wearing custom T-shirts, and costumes ranging from the Statue of Liberty to inflatable animals, or just holding signs condemning the President Donald Trump and his administration.
This third "No Kings" rally, following on the protests last June and October, saw hundreds of thousands of Americans and others across the world take to the streets and the parks to oppose a growing list of actions made by the administration.
This time, signs protesting the war against Iran joined others focusing on constitutional rights like voting and free speech, democracy, and protecting marginalized groups.
Activists, musicians, and some public officials attended the protest, including state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier in Pittsfield; state Rep. John Barrett III was in North Adams. None of the legislators spoke at the rallies.
Farley-Bouvier said the people of Pittsfield were at the rally in resistance and joy — standing up together to say, "enough is enough."
Some days the role of a state representative is hard and days like this inspire and rejuvenate the drive to go back out there and fight another day, she said.
Some assume that everyone in Massachusetts shares the same views. While we are lucky to live here, people across the country and around the world are witnessing Americans standing up and speaking out, Farley-Bouvier said.
Mark said the Pittsfield rally was the fourth he had been to on Saturday, a continuation of the state's long history of resisting government overreach, such as the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and the Revolution.
Seeing the masses come out, even in the cold weather, motivates and encourages public officials and demonstrates to them that their constituents are passionate and want to be involved, Mark said.
"It puts the wind, literally today, the wind at our backs when we're down there fighting for us in Boston," he said.
The air hovered around freezing with a chill wind but protestors' indignation seemed to keep them warm as speakers and performers emphasized the importance of raising their voices and standing up for their rights.
Organizers welcomed four speakers, Rose Fiscella of the grassroots group Frogs for Freedom, the Rev. Margo Page, president of Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, and Tara Jacobs, Governor's Councilor for District 8, in addition to several performance rebelling in song.
The younger generation needs to step up and Fiscella is doing just that, emcee Sonya Bykofsky said.
The 19 year-old history student at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts outlined several grievances with the current administration, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of prosecutions related to the Jeffrey Epstein files, the nation's actions in Iran — specifically citing the U.S.-Israeli air strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, which killed more than 100 children — and the incident in which Marine veteran and anti-war protester Brian McGinnis suffered a broken arm during his forcible removal from a Senate hearing by Capitol Police and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana.
She referenced the tension between political sides — which even Pittsfield could not avoid with some combative language from onlookers and a vocal altercation requiring police intervention.
About 150 people were at Stockbridge Town Hall. Theresa Cipollari had come over from Lebanon, N.Y., because, she said, it was about "trying to stop the injustice that's being done in our country right now, it's really hard to even watch the news without getting upset."
The administration's actions are having an impact, she said, with the rallies as an example.
"People are coming out and people are beeping because people are upset," she said. "I think a lot of people who did originally vote for Trump have second thoughts now, I mean that they won't all admit it, but yeah, how could you not when you sit and watch what's going on in the world."
Around 700 people filled the parking lot and lawn at North Adams City Hall, and the sidewalks leading to the crown of the Hadley Overpass, and the four corners at Main and Marshall. Bundled up in the brisk air, some stayed for the entire event or just the chance to stand out for a time, while others raced to or from other rallies.
Young and old and four-legged, participants expressed their anger and opposition to the actions of the Trump administration with signs reading "No Kings, No Wars, No ICE," and "Make Nazis Afraid Again" and "Resist Like It's 1776."
Holding signs and waving, they were greeted by a cacophony of horns by passing motorists, with an occasional driver who indicated their disapproval with the rally verbally or with gestures. One driver who flipped the bird was greeted with cries of "we love you."
"I'm angry. I'm afraid. Afraid because we built a world that relies on a single person to make choices for millions, to execute fascist regimes, to keep the oppressed in their lane — red or blue," said speaker Matt Lewellyn, a civil activist and MCLA student, who added that loving others in a willingness to work together should encompass all, even the "MAGA" followers.
"I love you enough to rebuild this world with you, one based in compassion, in diversity, in freedom, actual freedom, not the freedom to be violent, but the freedom to create, to commune, to celebrate viciously, this life that we have been given, not just for the few, not even for the many, but for all persons."
Berkshire immigrant justice advocate Fernando León recalled how some of the first immigrant enforcement occurred in Great Barrington last year, when 10 community members were taken in act that has continued to ripple through the immigrant community.
"What began in places like the Berkshires has become a blueprint. It is now unfolding across the country. We are seeing federal forces in our streets. We are seeing communities turn into targets, and this is how authoritarianism works — through normalization," he said. "Today, we have ICE in our airports. Tomorrow, what, intimidation at the polls during the midterm elections?
Standing tall on the Hadley Overpass.
"We are being asked to accept violence at home and abroad, violence at the door, when ICE comes for a family, violence from the sky, when bombs fall on a girls' school in Iran and they tell us there is no more money for food, no more money for health care, but always more money for war."
A gathering of local religious leaders called for greater understanding that America does not belong to anyone race or faith.
"The ideal of America belongs to all of us and our commitment to loving the stranger and seeking and pursuing justice and peace, for those of us up here on this platform, it comes from our religious traditions, but we don't own those principles," said Rabbi Rachel Barenblatt of Congregation Beth Israel. "All of us, religious and secular, theists and atheists can share a commitment to justice, to peace, to protecting the vulnerable and to the glorious beauty of human empathy and care."
The Rev. Margot Page, deacon of the Cathedral of the Beloved in Pittsfield, noted that the scriptures "remind God's people over 70 times to love their neighbor and to care for the sojourner in your land.
"There are no conditions to these words, not love your neighbor if they look like you, love your neighbor if they're male. Love your neighbor if they speak like you. No conditions. Love your neighbor. That's it. Simply love and care for your neighbor."
Staff Writers Tammy Daniels and Brittany Polito contributed to this report.
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