SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Student explains her plans to protest Washington Trump rally and ‘shut it down’
May 5, 2016, 1:45 PM | Updated: May 6, 2016, 7:52 am
A Donald Trump effigy was carried during th e El Comité May Day A March for Worker and Immigrant Rights. (Josh Kerns, KIRO Radio)
(Josh Kerns, KIRO Radio)
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is still planning to come to Washington this weekend, and some people are not happy about it.
Miriam Zaragoza, 22, told The Seattle Times during the May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights that she and other students plan to protest the Trump rally and “shut it down.”
Related: Lynden residents surprised by Trump’s unexpected visit
While KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson respects Zaragoza’s right to protest, he asked why she would attempt to shut down Trump’s right to hold a rally.
“Shouldn’t he be allowed to speak just as you should be allowed to speak?” he asked.
Zaragoza explained that the phrase should not be taken literally and that the plan is, more aptly, a protest.
“Our protest — we’re not trying to make it violent — but we’re trying to get our point across,” she said. “Obviously, we can’t change other people’s beliefs but we can possibly influence the way that they express it. What I meant by ‘shutting it down’ … it’s not like we’re going to jump on stage and attack him, or whatnot. It’s a protest. And just as they have a right to express themselves, we have the right to oppose.”
Zaragoza main beef with Trump is his “dehumanizing” comments against women and immigrant communities.
“We are choosing to protest because he conveys no other message than xenophobia, racism and sexism; just a bunch of stuff that makes us feel like we are going back to the ’50s,” she said.
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