Savage Mom Was Afraid Her Neighbors Would See Her Protesting

Then she told me what happened next

I admit, my lighting setup for these interviews is a little weird. When I first logged on with Angie, the window behind me was washing everything out. I joked that I looked like I was in the witness protection program.

But as we started talking, I realized that the “witness protection,” the desire to remain hidden, was exactly what we needed to talk about.

Angie isn’t who the media tells you is standing on these street corners. She isn’t a radical. She’s a mom from Savage. She works as a Administrative Assistant at a middle school. She’s a political indpendent who paints watercolors of birds and flowers in her spare time.

And when she told me she was an English Literature major, I actually threw my arms up and shouted, “Yes!” (I was an English major, too).

She is, by all accounts, the kind of neighbor we all have. And that is exactly why she was hesitant to join us.

The Fear of Being Seen

“I work in a school,” she told me. “A lot of people know me. And I don’t want to be out there... where people would see me”.

This is the barrier I hear about most often.

It isn’t apathy.

It’s fear.

It’s the fear of social friction in our own driveways.

So, Angie made a compromise. She wouldn’t protest in Savage. She would come to Chaska. She told me she showed up that first day in March with no plan. She didn’t even have a sign.

But this is where the story changes. She didn’t need to be prepared. “I met somebody who said, ‘Hey, I made two signs for today. Do you want one?’” she said.

In that moment, the fear of being seen was replaced by something far more powerful: The joy of being known.

She found a “group of friends” immediately. She found a place where the “boundary of politics” disappeared, replaced by simple human connection.

The Cure for Helplessness

I asked her why she keeps coming back. Her answer hit home because I know many of you feel the same way.

“I feel like I’m one person in this world of so many people that are so mad,” she said. “And what else can I do?”.

She’s written the letters to Senators. She gets the form-letter replies. It feels empty. But standing on that corner? “It acts as a cure for that helplessness,” she explained. “It’s the most tangible thing I can think of to do”.

The Question of Winter

Towards the end of our call, Angie asked me the question that has been on all our minds.

“I’m not sure how to think about this winter,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I’m willing to stand there in the cold for an hour.”

She’s right. The cold is upon us. We are at a crossroads where we need to expand our options.

Angie and I discussed a concept that’s been stuck in my head since a meeting last week, something called “Communities of Shared Fate.”

From Individuals to A Shared Fate

The idea is simple but powerful. Right now, we often feel like individuals shouting into the wind. But as we’ve demonstrated through our weekly rallies, we aren’t alone.

There are entire groups of us—business owners, parents, educators like Angie—who all have a specific stake in what happens next. And we are connected to communities who share that fate.

As I asked Angie, “Do business owners really want to be in the business of corruption?”, because that is the direction the trump regime is taking us. Probably not. That is a shared fate.

It’s about organizing not just around anger, but around the specific topics and interests that bind us together.

It’s about realizing that whether you are a school admin in Savage or a PR professional in Chaska, our futures are tied together. It’s about identifying our allies and engaging them to work toward a shared, better future.

What We Do Next

Angie overcame her fear of being seen because the pain of doing nothing was worse. Now, we have to overcome the obstacle of winter by finding our “Shared Fate.”

Please think about what fate you share with those around you and how we can build community and common purpose out of that shared fate.

If you’re like Angie, tired of feeling like “one person in a world of so many people that are so mad,” join us.

Angie’s Recommendations

Book

She just finished reading George Orwell’s 1984.

Music

Gunpowder & Lead by Miranda Lambert.