Megan Guy, WUSA Education Officer, member of Students for Palestine
Students for Palestine have called protests around the country to fight the normalisation of Trump’s America by the Albanese government. As part of this, there will be a protest in Crown st Mall at 2pm on May 24th.
#1 Fight the rise of the far-right.
Trump has unleashed a wave of authoritarianism in the US. This has emboldened an already aggressive far-right, both in America and across the globe. Immigration agents have kidnapped student activists like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, jailed them, and threatened them with deportation. Their crime? Undermining US foreign policy by advocating for Palestinian rights. Trump has gone after migrants too, including 230 Venezuelan men sent to the Terrorism Confinement Centre, a mega prison in El-Salvador. He has attacked trans rights, mandating that gender be defined strictly by biological characteristics at birth. Trump and second in charge Musk have shattered workers rights and are currently pushing to remove the right of 1 million government workers to collectively bargain. These attacks on workers and the oppressed set a new, shockingly low bar for how governments can treat people.
#2 End Australia’s alliance with America.
None of the attacks above have been a line in the sand for the ALP government. Shortly after the election, Trump said in an interview that he was ‘good friends’ with Albanese. This is true. Australia has forged ties with the US empire for decades. These two countries are in partnership, projecting power, and imperialism in the Pacific region. That’s why Albo has handed $800 million in a down payment towards the $368 billion nuclear submarine deal. If this goes ahead, Port Kembla is likely to be the site of a US naval base, strategically located to project force in the Pacific and South China Sea. The US has proven decade after decade to be the greatest threat to peace on earth. We need to break the US alliance, scrap the submarine deal, and force our government to spend these billions on solving the pressing problems of the housing crisis, the suppression of workers’ wages, and climate change, instead of being a bully in the region.
#3 Stand with the people in America protesting Trump.
It’s heartwarming to see so many people coming out to protest Trump across the US. Hundreds of thousands of people have come out across the States over multiple rallies in April and May. This reflects something that can, at times, be hard to see – most Americans’ hatred towards Donald Trump. We need to stand with these people, disgusted by Trump’s attacks on workers rights, his cuts to social programs, his rounding up of immigrants, and the overall threat to democratic and civil rights. We need to echo these protests across the globe, and stand with those people, in the belly of the beast, fighting for their rights. By attending a rally on Saturday 24th, you can be part of building a movement that is sorely needed to stand up to power and the far-right.
