Dec 6

Dec 6 Anemic

Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Performance, Protest, Public Declarations

Following Kristi Noem’s appearance at Navy Pier this morning, I headed to the Wrigley Building Plaza for a demonstration against Donald J. Trump’s coming war on Venezuela. Sponsored by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the demonstration was nothing less than anemic in terms of turnout. More than one person noted that there were more CPD officers on hand than demonstrators.

While Trump has not yet breached Venezuela’s air space using missiles or bombs, he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered the U.S. military to destroy more than 20 small vessels in the Caribbean, with Trump claiming that the vessels were coming from Venezuela loaded with fentanyl bound for the United States. At an October 15th press conference, he claimed that the strikes are justified because “[e]very boat that we knock out we save 25,000 American lives so every time you see a boat and you feel badly you say, ‘Wow, that’s rough;’ It is rough, but if you lose three people and save 25,000 people.” As usual, Trump manufactures facts. If the boats are carrying drugs, those drugs are cocaine, not fentanyl. In 2024, just under 80,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. So the 500,000 number (25,000 X 20) means Trump has saved somewhere around 420,000 non-existent lives.

Given last week’s revelation that the first strike, which occurred on September 1 or 2, included a second strike killing the two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage, I had assumed several hundred people would attend the 1:00 PM demonstration. Those protesters who did show up were spread out in the Wrigley Building Plaza, making an estimate difficult, but there were more than 40 or 50 people present.

The speeches toed the party line, condemning the Trump Administration’s move toward war and thirst for Venezuela’s oil. I don’t recall whether the boat strikes were mentioned, but the strikes were not a central focus. I was surprised that I didn’t hear any reference to the killing of the two survivors, although I didn’t pay close attention to every word that the speakers uttered. As one bystander put it, “It’s their usual revolutionary rhetoric.”

After grabbing a few images, I ran into a photographer friend. We both agreed that this demonstration was pretty pathetic, so we chatted for a few minutes, and then left.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]