It is painful to witness the betrayal of the Constitution, our rights as American citizens, the cruel treatment of other human beings, and the abandonment of the rule of law by the current administration. I also feel badly for the people who voted for men who deliberately lied to them. Those voters are starting to feel the pain of betrayal, the loss of their jobs and livelihoods, the rise of injustice, and threats to Social Security and Medicare as a result. But no matter who you voted for, the chaos affects us all.

But there is another equally important reason for me to stand up in protest.

When I posted my experience as a first-time protester in Showing Up for Democracy, one of my Facebook followers surprised me by saying, “Opps you just lost a follower, bye.”

My reply: “Then you have not been following me for the right reasons. My purpose as a medicine person and Reiki healer is the protection of the Earth and All Our Relations. This current administration’s intention is to turn our forest, public lands, and all the animals that share this land with us into profit, and I will not be silent and allow that to happen.”

And that brings me to sharing that today I attended my second protest in West Seattle, Wash. I am tired, but in less pain than the first time, thanks to the immense kindness of an organizer for West Seattle Indivisible.

My last protest was more grassroots, loosely organized by the “Old Tyme Adults for Democracy.” This second one had an online sign-up sheet for intersections along California Avenue, and there were two options: Corner Captain and Supporters. I did not want the responsibility of being in charge, so I registered as a supporter for the street corner closest to my home.

Each corner had a theme to help with creating signage. The one I chose happened to have the theme “Kakistocracy.” I thought it ironic that once again, my being a word nerd as a child had come in handy. Never in a million years would I have thought that committing that word to memory just because I loved vocabulary would manifest in a real-life moment. Kakistocracy is a word that NO ONE should ever have to use in a sentence to describe everyday life.

For those who are not word nerds, here’s the definition of Kakistocracy: “…the Greek root -cracy refers to ‘government’ or ‘rule’ because of the -cracies you’ve heard of: democracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy. But kakistocracy? The first part of the word comes from the Greek kákisto(s), meaning ‘worst.’ So kakistocracy means “government by the worst.”—Dictionary.com

Wiki says: “A kakistocracy is a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.”

After signing up as supporter for a corner that had Captains, I was surprised to be informed that the Corner Captains that had been listed had moved on, and I was being promoted to Corner Captain. What!?

I contacted the organizer and told her that I was concerned by my promotion since a full hour of standing at the last protest had crippled me for days (neck/back issues) and I did not see how I could manage 2+ hours. My plan had been to attend for as long as I could physically handle and then depart. However, as Corner Captain I would not be able to leave until everyone else had gone and I needed to be there earlier to get everyone set up. My organizer did not seem to think my physical issues were an impediment, so I figured the title was just a name. She was also really excited that I knew what kakistocracy meant. I can honestly say that none of my classmates in grammar school celebrated my being a word nerd, so being praised was a unique feeling.

When asked if I wanted to change the corner theme, I shared that I already had a sign that said RESIST with an image of the Statue of Liberty, and asked if that was a problem. Nope. She used my sign to create our new theme: RESIST Kakistocracy. That worked for me.

The night before the protest, I finally received instructions on the responsibilities of being a Corner Captain and totally panicked. I was expected to be there early, greet each protester and tally them up, distribute them equally to each of the four corners of the intersection and make sure to keep an eye on that, as well as mediate if there was a confrontation in order to keep the protest non-violent. On top of the week I had as a teacher/energy practitioner (oh, and my personal life), it was just too much. I wrote back to my organizer that I could not do what was expected not only from a physical standpoint (and I hated admitting that at 66 I have limitations), but also from a personality standpoint. I am a quiet introvert who is used to working with animals (and people) one-on-one. I am completely unequipped to de-escalate human clashes. I might be the person who steps in when my guides give me a shove, but I do not think I will ever be the person who leads in that capacity.

Thankfully, my organizer was okay with my desire for a demotion. She took it in stride and asked me to text her so that she could stop by and meet me to say hello. I heaved a sigh of relief, and a weight fell off my shoulders.

After hurriedly using duct tape and scotch tape to affix my yard flag to a piece of cardboard scavenged from a box to make it easier to hold up, I arrived at the corner of Lander and California right on time. I was the only one there at first, but not for long.

It was empowering to meet neighbors from adjacent blocks and chat about our concerns while waving our signs at passing cars. It really brought home the meaning of “We, the People.”

A post I saw on Threads summarizes it well: “That small moment of human connection reminded me that what we’re doing really matters. We’re showing others that they matter and that we care enough to do something. We’re here, not just for ourselves, but for all of us.”—@sarahmonticue

My organizer (who had many blocks of protestors to monitor), surprised me by showing up with a chair so that I did not have to stand in pain. I was touched and also a bit embarrassed. There were others present who may have been older and perhaps more in need. I did not want to be special and tried to decline. She insisted, and when I noted that the chair even had a cushion, she told me her husband had suggested adding it. At that point I knew that to refuse would be rude and unfeeling, so I swallowed my pride and accepted. My organizer further surprised me by shaking my hand over my knowing what “kakistocracy” meant and presented me proudly to my fellow protestors. It was like becoming part of the movie Revenge of the Nerds where being different suddenly becomes cool.

Later, resting my feet and back for a bit while actively waving my sign, I heard someone calling my name. Another organizer introduced herself and tried to shove a bag of stuff at me while telling me that as Corner Captain I needed to distribute the contents to the other protestors on each of the four corners (it contained snacks, water, protest instructions, whistles, bubble makers, and other essentials). I told her that I was not the Corner Captain. She said okay, and asked if I would still distribute them, and my inner introvert flatly said “no,” which took her aback. It took me aback as well since I am usually more diplomatic but I guess since we were protesting authoritarianism my inner dissident was not going to do anything she did not want to do. I pointed the organizer to another protester who did not have a sign to juggle and suggested that she might be willing (I suppose delegation is a form of leadership, sigh). Once the goodies were handed off, the organizer said, “Well, I still need to find Rose.” Once again, I said, “I am Rose,” and added, “I told my organizer that I did not want to be Corner Captain, and I thought that had been taken care of.” I have no idea what she thought, but my heels were dug in and I was NOT taking charge and I did not care what anyone thought about it. The organizer said, okay, I guess this corner does not have a Captain, and I could not help telling my nearest protest neighbors that I guess that made us the wild and ungovernable protestors, and that made me laugh internally. Maybe there is a bit more to Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing than even I am aware of.

Highlights of the protest:

• A man on a bicycle stopped, thanked us, and shared that he was cycling up and down the street to see all the signs and the people.

• A woman in her 60s stopped her car to say an emotional “thank you” and told me that seeing us all gave her hope, and that she planned to be at the next protest. I was deeply touched.

• A woman of color who was getting ready to cross the street thanked me for doing this, and then shared that seeing all the people lining the street was incredible and added, “You should see the Junction (a major shopping hub for West Seattle).” Then she pulled a video up on her phone to show me. You could hear many car horns celebrating the protestors and there were masses of people holding signs with so many messages. Seeing it brought tears to my eyes. I thanked her enthusiastically for the inspiration and validation, and drew the attention of my fellow protestors to her video. We all needed to see that our actions made a difference.

• Lots of honking and people in passing cars who also had signs or small cards on their dashboards. There were many more protesters than the last time.

• Dogs hung out car windows smiling and wagging at us, caught up in the joy of the people, causing me to point at them and yell, “Dogs for Democracy!” Yep, my inner dissident was staging her own revolution. Perhaps I was inspired by the man across the street who carried a sign that read: “Felines against Felons.”

• So many different signs—clever, rude, funny, thoughtful, heartfelt—covering so many issues. A friend who attended a protest in Florida told me she saw a sign that said, “So many issues, so little cardboard,” which about summed it up.

More photos on the West Seattle Blog.

As I waved at as many folks as possible, I switched hands to save my neck, but what I felt most deeply was not the pain in my body, but the emotions in my heart. They swung from gratitude and awe, witnessing “We, the People” rising up and demonstrating THIS is what democracy looks like, to grieving that it has come to this and my concern that we are not done yet.

The night before, in Letters from an American, I’d read historian Heather Cox Richardson’s incredibly moving speech given at the 250th anniversary of the lighting of the lanterns at the Old North Church in Boston, MA (Paul Revere’s famous ride to warn the colonists of the approaching British army). It was so well written that I felt like I was there, and it aroused a fierce passion in me for our American ideals of liberty and justice for all.

Today, April 19th, happens to be the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord which ignited the American Revolution.

It is my sincere hope that we will find a way to peacefully unite (as we did in the protest today) and manifest equality, liberty, justice for all. Let’s make the American dream accessible for everyone while also walking gently on the earth in harmony with All Our Relations.

P.S. Thanks to the gift of the chair, I did manage to protest for the entire two hours. And that is how we succeed—by supporting each other.

P.P.S. You can watch the livestream replay of Heather’s speech at the Old North Church.

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Want to learn how to connect more deeply with animals, restore balance to your life, increase intuitive skills, and help heal the Earth? Take a look at my live Reiki and shamanic virtual classes, available worldwide.

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A WILD WAY TO HEAL
Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC is an animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, shamanic energy healer, and author of Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism and Out of the Darkness and Other Animal Tails. Her classes, sessions, and ceremonial work are inspired by wild and domestic animals who have issued a call to action for personal and global healing.