Michigan Rising: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
By Benjamin Ahdoot
May 9, 2020
If you are like me, each
day progressively you find yourself wondering what alternate universe
we just warped into. Imagine if you could go back in time to 2015, back
to the future style, and tell yourself that in the year 2020 reality TV
personality Donald Trump would be President, a global viral pandemic
would have shut down the entire global economy, you could get ticketed
for walking on a beach, and stores wouldn’t sell you food unless you
were wearing a mask. What a time to be alive
[insert sarcastic tone
here.] Perhaps, also like myself, you might find yourself flabbergasted
at how submissive and obedient the members of our society have become.
After months of coerced isolation (quarantine) people around this
country are at last beginning to stand up and to say enough is enough. I
witnessed such a display of civil disobedience on a cold mid April day
in the great state of Michigan.It started when I reached out to my friend Glen Jacobs, the mayor of Knox County Tennessee, informing him of my intent to leave Los Angeles for Knoxville. At the time, the Los Angeles Mayor’s orders to close “non-essential” businesses had turned my city into a depressing ghost town with only the homeless roaming the streets. After spending about a week in Knoxville I got word that a protest against the “lockdown” was being planned in Lansing, Michigan. I knew that the mainstream media would never fairly cover this type of protest, so I decided to drive up to Lansing to see first hand what was going on there.
I was expecting to find only a small gathering, but instead I arrived at the scene of what was turning into an ocean of protesters. The governor’s heavy-handed shut down of society in the state had caused so many people to decide that they had had enough. People drove in from all across Michigan on that cold day to peacefully gather and let their voices be heard. They were causing gridlock in front of the Capitol building, and traffic was going nowhere. I decided to get out of my car and video record what I was seeing. My face hung with an expression of absolute disbelief at the sight of thousands upon thousands of people who had decided to exercise their inalienable right to peacefully assemble.
As the protesters began pouring in, I was amazed at the raw
diversity. People from all walks of life joined together in peaceful
protest; it was quite the spectacle. White collar, blue collar,
dentists, lawyers, banquet hall owners, florists, children,
grandparents, black, brown, white, Trump supporters, and Bernie
supporters all unified with a common message. I estimated an astonishing
20,000 strong gathered around their cars, peacefully protesting with
homemade signs.
I decided to walk around to talk with people in their cars,
read their signs, and see what grievances were being expressed. I
talked to people who were complaining that they were being fined for
traveling from one home to another. Others were holding signs demanding
freedom and the right to go back to their businesses. Still others were
saying that they were responsible for their own lives and were demanding
their independence, saying that the spirit of liberty was still very
much alive in them.
One man I interviewed said he had been out of work and that
he was tired of being coerced to avoid leaving his home. He explained
that he felt compelled to come out and demand that the governor open the
economy. He lamented at the fact that the government has created an
unprecedented wave of unemployment and that he rejects the notion that
handouts would suffice. What he wanted was the opportunity to be
productive again and to pursue his own welfare freely.
I met a couple with 18 grandkids. They said that their home
building and banquet hall business had come to a halt, and they were
out of pocket for about $130,000. They wondered why their employees
could not work on building the homes with adequate distance between each
other. Why must their business come to a complete halt? Why was it that
they could not simply operate their home building business safely by
using social distancing? They said they were protesting so their
grandkids would know that they didn’t just submit to the governor’s
arbitrary rules. They wanted to set an example for their grandchildren.
The Militia had a sizable presence at the protest. I
estimated 100 militia members were in attendance. Contrary to what
mainstream media may portray, their presence provided a sense of
security for the protesters. I talked to a man who was carrying a rifle
while he was there. He said he was with the Michigan Liberty Militia,
and he was there to make sure that the people who had come to protest
were kept safe and that things did not turn violent. He was there to
make sure the state would not abuse its powers. Contrary to the popular
narrative, love was the common motivating factor amongst these
individuals. Love for their fellow neighbors and community. It is
amazing how the walls of misconception crumble when one simply takes it
upon themselves to get out and seek the truth in person.
Betty “Boop” a 94-year-old woman to whom I spoke said she
had been there for five hours protesting the shutdown of the state. She
said she was tired of not being able to see her family. I was impressed
that a lady in her nineties showed so much enthusiasm for liberty and
made the effort to come to the protest. Her daughter who was driving her
held a sign out of the car window that said “OPEN THE DAMN STATE”.
Sitting in the passenger seat Betty remarked “I love this! I’m so
excited! I got goosebumps coming out here!”[amazon template=*lrc ad
(right)&asin=1538733307
I then met a young man who said he was tired of the
government not allowing him and his family to have access to their own
property. He said that his family and friends had invested in their
businesses and were on the verge of losing what they had worked so hard
for because they had not been allowed to operate. He also said he had a
friend whose family member passed away over Easter weekend due to a lack
of stimulation and depression. This was devastating for me to hear. The
man was not allowed any visitors in his nursing home, and at his
funeral only 10 people were allowed to attend. As a result, he was not
given any recognition for his 27-year service in the Military.
]There was not only a spirit of defiance running through
the protestors but also a desire to be understood and to make their
grievances known to the outside world. It was frustrating to hear later
that Governor Whittmer had called it a “political demonstration” in an
article from CNN titled “Politics and public health collide in
Michigan.” There were certainly Trump supporters there, but the vast
majority of the signs that I saw were demanding freedom and the opening
up of the economy. Liberty and common sense were the underlying themes
of this protest, not politics. As Malcolm X once eloquently put it, “If
you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who
are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
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I took it upon myself to film and document as much as I could.
Every time I turned I was confronted by another sad personal story of
tragedy and frustration. Some of these signs I observed read:
“Depression kills too, Freedom 4 Life!!”, “We ♥️ flowers & our small
business OPEN NOW!”, “LIFE, LIBERTY AND PROPERTY”, “Epstein thought he
was safe too”, “LET ME WORK”, “ALL jobs are essential Honk For Liberty”,
“FREE MI PEOPLE”, “We The ‘Low Income’ People”, Rights are NOT
optional”, “STOP EXCESSIVE RESTRICTIONS WE CAN WORK SAFE LET US!!”,
“GIVE ME WORK NOT MONEY”, “FINANCIAL SURVIVAL IS ESSENTIAL”, “LET US
MOW, LET US GROW”, “FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY, FREEDOM TO LIVE AND TRAVEL
ANYWHERE IN OUR NATION”, “SHOULDN’T YOU BE FIXING THE DAMN ROADS?”,
“TICKS AREN’T TICKED! (But we are) LAWN CARE FIGHTS LYME DISEASE, 30,000
CASES/YEAR”, “DON’T CANCEL COMMON SENSE”, “SAVE OUR GREENHOUSES +
GARDEN CENTER”, “SAVE OUR LIVELIHOOD. OPEN MI. FOR BUSINESS”, “Hey, GOV:
SEEDS are ESSENTIAL”,
Prior to arriving in Lansing, I was honestly feeling
doubtful whether there would be any significant turnout for liberty.
Instead, what I witnessed that day renewed my optimism. It showed me
that no matter how much the government tries to sell a false sense of
security, there are people out there who value liberty more. These
people were well aware of the dangerous trade-off between liberty and a
false sense of security. They were thinking ideologically and knew that
liberty should never be seen as a trade off. They were choosing property
rights over propaganda. They were choosing self-ownership and personal
responsibility. They were choosing liberty over the false promises of
government granted “safety.” It was at this moment that I became keenly
aware of this self-evident truth. So long as liberty is alive in the
minds of a passionate minority, freedom will not die in this country.
Perhaps the revolution will not be televised, but I no longer have doubt
in my heart. The great state of Michigan rose up that day to proclaim
proudly that liberty will forever persevere.
Benjamin Ahdoot [send him mail]
is a commodities trader and passionate libertarian campaign volunteer
most notably for Ron Paul based in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright © Benjamin Ah
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