Aspen hosts Trump protest on International Women’s Day

Forty eight days after Pres. Donald Trump began his second term in office, hundreds of Roaring Fork Valley community members flocked to Aspen’s Paepcke Park to remind the president of his duty: to serve the people, not himself.

“Elected representatives are our employees,” said Annalise Grueter, Aspen Daily News columnist, to the crowd on Saturday. “We hire them, and it is our responsibility to tell them when they’re failing to represent us, when they’re failing to do their jobs.”

Kicked off by Linda Lafferty, author and former Aspen High School teacher, protest speakers discussed what’s at stake under the president’s policies; from federal workforce cuts, the environment, immigration, reproductive rights, freedom of the press, and more.

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“Have you had enough? Do you wake up every morning and say, ‘What has (Trump) done now?'” Lafferty asked the crowd. 

But she said with discontent comes a passion and a willingness to fight.

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“So I’m going to ask everybody to think big — that we can include people — because we have to fight for our country, and we need everybody,” she said.

Alan Muñoz, regional manager of Voces Unidas de las Montañas, a Latino-led nonprofit advocacy organization based in Glenwood Springs, spoke about the effect the Trump administration has had on immigration.

“And what started was the weaponization of anti-immigrant narratives,” he said, “… based on hate, on racism, on xenophobia, etcetera. That is not the reality of immigrants that live in our valleys, that live in our state, or across the country.”

The reality, he said, is that immigrants have a fundamental impact on the community and are the backbone of local, state, and national economies. 

“However, we also have to change the narrative,” he said. “Because immigrants are not just the workers of the street, here, and job sites. Immigrants are not just the housekeepers down the block at the hotels. Immigrants are our family members. Immigrants are our neighbors. Immigrants are our friends and our coworkers, who directly have great contributions to our communities.”

He said it’s up to those who have the privilege to speak up and have their voice heard to advocate on behalf of immigrants. 

“We need to be their voice,” he said. “And we need to make sure that we’re advocating for them just as much as we’re advocating for anything else.”

Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman discussed the local impact of the federal workforce cuts. Already 15 employees have been lost from the White River National Forest, according to Poschman. One hundred-fifty federal employees have been fired across the state, with 67 of those laid off possessing firefighting certificates. 

He finished his address by quoting the 19th century philosopher, John Stuart Mill.

“‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing,'” Poschman said. 

“‘But action is the antidote to despair,'” he added, adding a quote from singer and activist Joan Baez.

Members of Mountain Action Indivisible, the local chapter of a national movement to resist the Trump administration, advocated that the crowd get involved with the organization. The group focuses on organizing and publishing actions to resist Trump, including making phone calls to elected officials, attending meetings with public representatives, participating in demonstrations, and going to town halls.

“Our main job is to make it easy for everyone here to make a difference,” said Lori Brandon, a committee member in the organization. “And that’s how we will make things change.”

More information about the organization is available at mountainactionindivisible.org.

Andy Stone, former editor of The Aspen Times and former president of the Colorado Press Association, discussed the importance of freedom of the press and an informed society, as Trump relies on news deserts for support.

“And those are places that don’t have a local newspaper,” he said of the deserts. “There’s a lot of those places, and those places don’t get local news, they don’t get honest news, and for some reason, they seem to have voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump.”

He advised the crowd to support local media, as the country, he said, seems to be headed toward a government without a free press.

“And we need to fight that,” he said.

In his closing remarks, he reminded people of the importance of collective action, or “the lifeblood of democracy.”

“Speak out, stand up, find your voice and raise it,” he said. “The time to act is now, and the stakes could not be higher.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.