LETTER: Setting record straight on rally
I’d like to thank Richard Kauffman for his April 9 letter, “Who paid for signs?” He stated that our signs were “beautifully crafted.” Signs have become one of my favorite parts of protests and rallies. I enjoy seeing the creativity, wit, and just plain fun on display in people’s signs. Mr. Kaufmann asked who “financed” the signs. It does not take much financing for cardboard, poster board, markers, and stickers. While a vast majority of signs were handmade, there were also premade signs provided by American unions who are concerned about the working class.
As one of the organizers of the Hands Off rally in Washington, PA, I can assure Mr. Kaufmann that the 94-year-old billionaire, George Soros, had nothing to do with our signs or the Hands Off rally. He wondered how “spontaneous” the Hands Off rally was. It was not spontaneous. It was planned, organized, and attended by people who have concerns about this administration and the direction it is taking the country. Agree or disagree with that assessment, it is every citizen’s right to protest.
The fact that there were an estimated five million attendees across the country shows just how important this is. I suppose asking “how local” it was is in reference to the Republican theory that people get bused to protests. I am sure buses are utilized in some areas as they are a mode of mass transportation effective for large groups of people traveling to the same location.
It is one thing to disagree with someone’s politics, but to believe unsubstantiated accusations against five million people is something else. It’s the sort of thing that is broadcast then parroted without much thought. But the fact is, our actions were our own.
Take Jan. 6, 2021, for instance. I don’t think there was a conspiracy. I don’t think their signs and American flags were purchased for them. I don’t think they were paid to be there. I don’t think they were bused in. I believe every minute of their actions was their own. It’s the same for us, but different.
Sharon Laffey
Buffalo Township