“Genocidal Man” vs. “Fascist Man”: RNC Protesters Decry 2024 Choices, Call for Justice

AMY GOODMAN: We move now to the streets of Milwaukee. This is “Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency.” I’m Amy Goodman, broadcasting from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Protesters marched outside the Republican National Convention Monday, the march endorsed by more than a hundred activist groups, including many that also plan to march in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. These are some of the voices from the protest.

PROTESTERS: RNC, here we come! RNC, here we come! Donald Trump, here we come! Donald Trump, here we come!

REEMA AHMAD: Yeah. So, we know that right now the RNC, Republican National Convention, has descended in Milwaukee, bringing with it hate and perpetuating violence against communities of color, and a right-wing agenda that they plan to implement in 2025. We’re calling for many demands. We’re the contingency here with USPCN Milwaukee. And our demands are very clear. We need an end to genocide. Under Trump’s first administration, he targeted — you know, he made his name on targeting Muslim communities, African communities, communities of color. And we know that, you know, that same hate is actually, like, resulting in the type of political violence that we’re seeing nowadays that’s not only targeting folks of color, but targeting students on campuses.

LAILA: My name is Laila, and I’m here because I am not happy with the Republican or Democrat parties. I’m still in high school, but I think that it’s important that the world hear our voices. And this is not OK. Free Palestine, and free abortion rights and trans rights.

MARÍA TARACENA: And you have a sticker that says, “No human being is illegal,” “Free Palestine.” Why do all of these struggles connect for you?

LAILA: Well, it’s the same struggle, just under a different name. Whether it’s Native American rights, whether it’s Palestinian rights, whether it’s the South African — apartheid in South Africa, it’s all the same. And as people, we need to, like, realize our humanity and stand together in our times of crisis. So, that’s why I think it’s so important that we all stand together.

MARÍA TARACENA: Are you two sisters?

LAILA: Yeah, yeah.

RAYA: Yeah, we’re sisters. My name is Raya, and I’m here because I don’t believe our country is going in the right direction. It’s really, really sad. And honestly, I’m not someone who can vote. But if I was someone who could vote, I would be appalled by the options that we’re given. We’re given a genocidal man and a fascist man, and that is a terrible decision to pick from.

JASMINE SMITH: I’m with Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, an executive member and the co-chair of our campaign formed through our organization, Campaign to Free Incarcerated Innocent Torture Survivors.

MESSIAH RHODES: And how do you feel that the Republican nominee, potential nominee for president, is a 34 felony count convicted felon?

JASMINE SMITH: It’s a damn shame, when I got loved ones, like these men that’s on my shirt, that’s been in prison for over a decade fighting for wrongful convictions, but we can have a president with 34 felonies still being able to run to be our president. It’s a shame. It’s a shame on America for even allowing it. And now the Supreme Court ruled to give presidents immunity. It’s a shame. That just goes to show.

REN ENCINAS: My name is Ren Encinas, and I am a member and representing BAYAN USA. We’re an alliance of anti-imperialist, national democratic Filipino organizations across the world. And when Trump was elected, we saw increasing U.S. military presence in the Philippines, right? He was really vying for our homeland to be used for a launching pad for U.S. wars. He funded a violent regime under Rodrigo Duterte to the tune of $2 billion in weapons from war profiteers like Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

And we see how connected the struggle here of working-class people in the United States is to the working people of the Philippines, where, you know, billions of our taxpayer dollars are being used for weapons used for war and counterinsurgency against our people in our homeland, and at the same time depriving our communities here of public healthcare, housing, education, food and wages, right? So we’re here to oppose another Trump presidency.

PROTESTERS: Donald Trump, here we come! Donald Trump, here we come!

Viva, viva, Palestina! Viva, viva, Palestina!

MESSIAH RHODES: So, I’m going to go over the barricade, too. There’s been a security perimeter set all around the convention center, so we have right now protesters going over the barricade. We have press going over the barricade.

SUSAN BIETILA: My name is Susan Bietila, and I’m part of the No Line 5 coalition against the Enbridge pipelines in northern Wisconsin and across the Upper Midwest near Lake Superior. So, I work with a Native/non-Native coalition. … We’re standing next to the Milwaukee River, which is closed down for the convention here. And there’s a robotic submersible in our river. They’ve got a giant tear gas and chemical dispersal truck. I think of it more — more of this is a — you know, I know about Cop City. This is Cop City on steroids. This is Cop City happening right now.

MARÍA TARACENA: Could you talk about how communities have been impacted by the militarization that has been brought by the RNC? We just went through three security checkpoints. How has that impacted communities here?

OMAR FLORES: You know, it’s kind of funny, because, like, they really advertised this as being, like, good for business, right? But a lot of businesses are actually suffering. You know, we’re in a right-to-work state, so, unfortunately, a lot of folks don’t have access to unions. These people are being told not to come to work for a whole week, which a lot of people cannot afford to do. This brings up a lot of issues — right? — that people need their paid time off — right? — that, you know, working-class people should have been considered for this process, and they were not. And, you know, the city basically rolled out the red carpet for the RNC.

PROTESTERS: Workers in Milwaukee are under attack! What do we do? Stand up! Fight back! When workers are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!

MARÍA TARACENA: What’s your message to Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who is scheduled to speak at the RNC?

DANIEL BARFOTH: Guys, if you want to be part of the union, Trump is a known union buster. He wants to take away our collective bargaining rights. And the problem is that if he takes away those, we are down to not making good wages. We’re down to not having safety at our job sites. We’re down to somebody not caring enough about the American worker that’s putting all this work into everything that we put in this country. My father was an ironworker for 45 years, always voted democratically. He taught me to — “Hey, this is what we believe in: unions. You stay together. We’re strong together. Divided, we’ll fall.”

PROTESTERS: ¡Sí se puede! ¡Sí se puede! ¡Sí se puede! ¡Sí se puede! ¡Sí se puede! ¡Sí se puede!

AMY GOODMAN: Voices from the protesters who marched outside the Republican National Convention Monday, part of a coalition of 100 activist groups. Special thanks to Democracy Now! producers on the streets, Messiah Rhodes, María Taracena, Hana Elias and Hany Massoud. Stay tuned for another hour of our special “Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency” coverage right here or at democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, broadcasting from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.