Make Some Noise with My Mom
#VeteranNoiseProtest launches nationwide
By Tim Boivin
This is my Mom. My hero. Peg Boivin.
Earlier today, #JollyGoodGinger, one of the leaders on the ground in DC fighting Trump and his SS goons, asked veterans, their family members and allies to go outside and make some noise at 8 pm every night — to let their neighbors know they are going to stand up against the fascists trying to destroy our country as part of a nightly nationwide #veterannoiseprotest.
People often email or text me to say they feel helpless, that there isn’t anything they can do.
Bullshit.
My Mom broke her kneecap a couple of weeks ago jumping out of the way of a speeding car on her street. Hence the brace in this picture. But she’s one tough woman. She has lived through:
The Depression
Living in a group home for children growing up
World War II
The Cold War (including the building and ultimate tearing down of the Wall)
The Forgotten War — the Korean War that her brother fought in and was forever changed by
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK
The Police Riot at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 68 (which she took the train down to in order to confirm for herself firsthand that what she was seeing on TV was true)
Raising six pretty rambunctious kids
The Vietnam War
Watergate
Serving as a legislative aide helping constituents for 30 years+
The Iran Embassy hostage crisis
The Iran-Contra Affair
The Persian Gulf War
9/11 and The Global War on Terror
Being a village trustee
Serving as the President of the Friends of the Library into her 90s
Serving as the President of her local chapter of the League of Women Voters
Serving as a partner in the Deaconate with my Dad at South Suburban parishes and the youth ministry at St. Joseph Carondelet at 31st and Michigan in the 80s before gentrification took hold on the near South Side of Chicago
Volunteering in the local Cancer Society thrift shop into her 90s
Still volunteering making meals for families in the South Suburban Public Access to Deliver Shelter (PADS) program
A few years back, my Mom was visiting us here in Massachusetts with our nephews. A young boy, 5 years old, asked her why she was still alive. He knew I was old so he couldn’t figure out why my Mom was still alive.
My Mom, to her credit, didn’t miss a beat. “I ask myself that question every day when I wake up,” she responded.
My Mom continues to fight for her country. She continues to stand up for what is right (as best she can with a broken kneecap). She continues to make “good trouble,” as John Lewis urged. She continues to make noise in the fight against these fascists.
Jolly Good Ginger and my friends in 50501 Veterans would adore — and more importantly — admire her…for her #integrity…for her #patriotism…for her #courage, and for her unwavering commitment to our country and the principles it has stood for since 1776.
So when people say “Yeah, this is wrong, I am so afraid, but what can I do? I’m just one person…” or “I don’t want to be bothered…” or I’m too busy with work, family, binging Netflix” or whatever…
I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
Ask yourself every morning — as my Mom does — why you are alive.
Remember all the sacrifices our parents, and grandparents, and ancestors throughout this country’s history have made for us to enjoy our freedom.
Remember people like my uncle, sent to a strange foreign land to fight a war he didn’t understand, and came back almost ruined.
Remember those who never did come back.
Then get to work with the rest of us out there fighting against these fascist domestic terrorists. There are plenty of organizations out there. Get involved. Show up. Speak up. Make some noise.
Bang those pots. Figuratively and literally .
Let these domestic terrorists cosplaying as government law enforcement officers know that you will no longer sit idle or paralyzed, cowering in fear.
If Peg Boivin, in her 90s, on one leg and with nothing more than a pot and a wooden spoon, can get up and fight, you can too.
Keep banging away, Mom. I will be right there with you.
I just hope the rest of the folks in our country join us. Before it’s too late.
#RememberYourOath