After Action Report 21 August 2025

 Yesterday I went to downtown Washington DC to see firsthand the effect, if any, of having the National Guard and federal law enforcement supplement the DC police in the most touristed area of the city: the National Mall. Estimated walking distance from onthegomap.com: 6.61 miles. (Editor’s note: I am too old for this shit. Next time I get such a brilliant idea I’m going to drink a frosty cold glass of Sit the Fuck Down until it passes. Or a piping hot mug, depending on the season.)

 I don’t know that I accomplished much apart from satisfying my own curiosity and showing about a dozen people old white man are not all MAGA assholes. Highlights included, in no particular order:

·       I spoke to 12 National Guard troops on the Mall. Regardless of what we think of 47’s decision to put them there, all of them were polite and friendly young men who were happy to talk to me. They represent us well and we should be proud to have such fine young men in our service.

·       When I ask if their current duty was the kind of thing they signed up for, the majority declined to comment, often citing “operation security.” I get that. I was among the first to be trained in co-ed companies back in 1980. 60 Minutes came on the base to conduct interviews. My company was called into formation, where SSG Willie Green gave us the following pep talk: “Those TV people may ask you your opinion. Your opinion is, you gots no opinion. Dismissed.” There are rights you sign away when joining the military. The Army is very clear about that, and I get it. I respected those Guardsmen’s position and did not push.

·       One commented that this was what he signed up for, “to see the country. I’m loving this.” When I asked about the specific task, he cited operational security.

·       A soldier from West Virginia remarked on what a beautiful city Washington is, and how he’ll be back.

·       My favorite response to “Is this the kind of duty you signed up for when you enlisted” was, “Absolutely……..not.”

·       I saw no federal law enforcement outside of a Capitol Police K-9 officer patrolling the grounds and two DHS police officers talking to a couple of Amtrak cops in Union Station.

·       I saw 46 National Guards I did not speak to, either because of distance or walking in the wrong direction.

·       Six young men who were obviously military were sightseeing on their day off and having a ball.

·       I encountered only two DC cops. One drove by on his motorcycle. The other gave me directions when I asked. She, too, could not have been nicer.

·       I spoke with a handful of Guardsmen at the Union Station Metro and learned they’re being put up in local hotels. I have to wonder how much of this “emergency deployment” is a way to get hoteliers off the Administration’s back by replacing some of their lost tourist revenue with National Guards.

·       I saw quite a few uniformed troops while eating lunch in Union Station’s food court, but all but a handful were either eating or carrying bags of food. Those who were not were being escorted in the direction of the food court by an Amtrak cop.

·       Not a trace of ICE.

·       A major surprise: At least half the people I saw walking around as tourists spoke Spanish to each other.

·       This one’s for you, Charlie Stella: I followed the sounds of sirens, thinking there might be police activity. What I found were half a dozen Palestinian protesters with noise generators, banging on pots and pans to protest events in Gaza. I went round to all of them to give a thumbs up and shake hands.

·       A park ranger at the Vietnam Memorial said he didn’t feel any more, or less, safe with the National Guard in town. He did say the memorial was popular with the uniformed Guards..

The end result is I’m tired and I’m sore and I don’t think I accomplished anything except for spreading goodwill to a dozen or so people and working off some of my own frustrations. On the other hand, I did find three restrooms on the Mall for future reference, which is a big deal for a man with a prostate five months shy of seventy years old and taking medication that encourages – no, demands – frequent urination.

The March of History is Not Pre-Ordained

 Those of us born in the 1950s have seen great improvements in the quality of life across the board, not the least of which are the improvements in the lives of those who have traditionally been marginalized. Women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and non-Christians all saw their status improve through the 60s and into at least the early 80s. It became easy to believe such improvements were the natural order of things.

 

Now we’re faced with the rollback of all that and then some. Authoritarians – the politically correct term for fascists, which has itself become the PC term for Nazis – would have you believe this is the natural order. White men should rule a semi-feudal world in which everyone else either falls into line or disappears. Voluntarily, if they choose, but someone will come for you if you’re slow to get the message.

 

The good news is, they’re wrong. The trend of human history has consistently been toward more independence and cooperation. It has not progressed in a straight line – history never does, no matter how inevitable things seem in retrospect – but the trend is clear.  Taking a step or two back for every two or three forward is frustrating for those who have to live through it, especially if one believes the passages in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that refer to “all people” or “no person may be denied.” I am convinced the pendulum will again swing in our direction.

 

The bad news? Well there are a couple of items on that list:

1.    My generation may not live to see it.

2.    It’s not going to happen at all unless more people get off their asses.

 

We’re in this predicament, in large part, because over a third of registered voters didn’t bother to do so last November. Now that we have concrete evidence of 47’s intent, we’re hamstrung by the LibDem belief that how you say something is more important than what you say and dear God we don’t want to piss anyone off.

 

I follow several groups that showed promise of being Resistance leaders in the early days of 47’s administration; too much of their efforts focus on requesting signatures on online petitions, donations, or small local gatherings. One in particular has damn near sprained its collective shoulder patting itself on the back for delivering a petition to Congress with 75,000 signatures.

 

Why am I so dismissive of this? It only shows that 0.16% of registered Democrats were outraged enough to make two mouse clicks. This is not going to move the needle. Would it not be far more effective for their senators and representatives to have received 75,000 e-mails or phone calls or letters? Even better, for 75,000 people to show up at the Capitol, preferably with pitchforks and torches?

 

“But most people don’t live close enough to Washington to get there.” True, but. There are 6.3 million people in the DC metro area, which is largely blue. Seventy-five thousand is only 1.19% of that.

 

The Beloved Spouse™ and I took part in the Women’s March in January 2017 to protest what was then 45’s inauguration. Crowd estimates ranged from 500,000 to 1.2 million. That crowd gathered to protest the mere threat of what 45 might do.

 

Now we’re faced with the reality of what 47 is doing. I went to the Women’s March in January, and other rallies and protests in March, April, May, and July 4. In my admittedly crude estimation, the 2017 event drew more bodies than everything I’ve seen this year combined. (It is only fair that I point out I was unable to attend the “No Kings” rally on June 14.)

 

The Vietnam War protests worked because they generated sufficient outrage within the general population to convince elected officials to get us out. Not by blowing up buildings; that only pissed people off. I’m talking about the large-scale protests that attracted media attention and showed the nation at large how people who were practicing non-violent civil disobedience were being beaten and gassed. When the powers that be saw people were serious enough to risk arrest or worse, things changed.

 

Today we face a far more existential crisis. Where is everyone? Why hasn’t there been a mass rally in Washington DC since June 14? Is it harder to get permits? Fuck the permits. The 47 administration has no reason to grant such permits, because those are the kinds of events that will generate media attention, much as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights rallies that clogged the Mall in the 60s and 70s did.

 

Or the “rally” at the Capitol January 6, 2021.

 

Where is the outrage? You post memes on Facebook? Stop jacking off to make yourself feel better and take action that might accomplish something.

 

There are several things wrong with the Resistance right now, but among the most troubling is the absence of a leader to coalesce around. Someone who’s not afraid to call for mass civil disobedience. That’s what it took for civil rights, and to end the Vietnam War. That’s what it’s going to take here. Many more people with their hearts in the right place need to put their asses there, too.

 

If someone comes to me with information about a gathering where civil disobedience will take place and I can get there, I’ll go. That’s why I’m so worked up. I am unaware of any such activities.

 

I’ll keep looking, though

(This was drafted a couple of weeks ago. Since then several officials, mostly governors, notably Gavin Newsome, have begun to step up. I applaud their efforts and hope they inspire others who seek our votes and spend our money to do the same.)

 

(PS

You might well wonder what I’m doing aside from blogging and posting to social media. It’s a fair question.  So far I’ve attended half a dozen marches and rallies in Washington, donated several hundred dollars to organizations such as those I’m now disenchanted with, along with the ACLU, which will get the lion’s share of any future giving. I sent e-mail to two or more elected official three times a week, and have written letters to administration officials and the Supreme Court to oppose some of the more egregious transgressions. I’m going into DC August 21 to walk the Mall and ask any uniformed National Guards I see if acting as an army of occupation is what they signed up for.)