Ever since Donald Trump was elected President (with the help of Russian interference and voter suppression), I have considered myself to be, if you'll indulge me, "woke." It was time to get a little more active in my politics and to start caring less about who I might offend.
Also, this meant, to me, that I would actually start showing up at protests. I attended the huge Women's March and that already made me feel better because I didn't feel so outnumbered. It was shortly thereafter that I caught wind through Twitter of the Tax March that was going to take place April 15 -- today. I have tracked news of that ever since someone was brave and enterprising enough to stage a rally at the State Capitol (site of the Women's March) for Minnesota. It was only for a few hours, but like I did with the Women's, I would light rail it, take in the scene for an hour, and leave, dipping two toes instead of one into becoming more politically active. It would feel comfortable for me, and it would feel enough.
However, two things have spun that plan into doubt. First is the weather. I had a head's-up earlier in the week that the forecast Saturday afternoon, the three hours that the Tax March MN will be held, is rain, even heavy showers. I feel like a prick for saying this: I do support the cause of demanding that Donald Trump release his tax returns and to demand that the rich pay their fair share, but I don't want to galumph out in the rain to do it. Well, I do have an umbrella, but ... I don't know, maybe other people might not want to stand out in the rain either, even if they should to show up Trump, but if attendance is suppressed due to weather, I just might not show up.
Further complicating things is the fact that, on Thursday, we were told at work that we could come in to work Saturday, for as long as five hours, from 9-2. The Tax Day March goes from 11-2. I don't have to stay all five hours, but if to get any real meaning from driving to the west metro, I should stay for more than two hours. A part of me wants to say it's too late because I already made plans. (Oh, and this totally boots watching the EPL, which was my original plan.) Finally, there is a perverse message I am going to send if I go into work instead of marching. This should be a rally with one of its messages being equal pay and not needing to scrounge for every dollar. But I think I will eschew this hopefully huge event because I need to make money when extra work is offered. I want to rise above this, but I don't think I can, or will.
There is one huge spanner that might make me change my mind yet again. Starting Thursday afternoon, the room we are working in has gotten noticeably hot. It got worse yesterday (Friday) to the point where management was called in and fans were brought in. Those fans finally made a difference and cooled us all off late in the afternoon. But our room supervisor said that if the room remains hot on Monday, they will look into moving us. How about today (Saturday)? Don't know. I presume that we'll have fans, and if they work like they did yesterday (Friday) afternoon I can work for five hours. But I don't know if I can sweat through a half-day, let alone a weekend day, without them. If there are no fans or if thermostat isn't turned down or if the air conditioning isn't fixed, marching outside in St. Paul in a torrential downpour will feel like sweet relief. We'll see.
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