With Dismay Comes a New Energy
“My Body My Choice,” “Welcome to Gilead,” “We Won’t Go Back,” “Not Your Body, Not Your Decision,” “Keep Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries,” “Guns have more rights than Women,” were some of the signs we photographed as the Bans off Our Bodies got underway in Reno Friday night. More photos and videos can be seen on the Our Town Reno Facebook, TikTok and BiggestLittleStreets Instagram.
One dog had a sign wondering “Did Scotus learn law in church?”. Another protester had written “Congress must pass a Women’s Health Protection Act”.
As the protest moved into the streets occupying parts of downtown, it started trending younger, louder and more boisterous.
Midterm elections are coming up, speeches by candidates will be made, but will action be taken? Will this theocratic reversal and day of protests across the United States including Reno also impact voting? Could the pendulum swing further back for more affordable health care, including for abortions, which even if still protected in states like Nevada remain difficult to access, a hostile experience and excessively expensive for most?
Our main feature earlier this week was about Susan who has been living in a van since losing her job during the pandemic. There was an outpouring of support on our social media to reach out to her and help. Several readers recognized her as a neighbor.
In our Citizen’s Forum, as part of photo essays with poems by one of our summer contributors we ran his latest titled: life along the highway.
A social media post that got traction concerned a Take Back the Rainbow hate event having a scheduled after party at the Atlantis. The casino tweeted back: “The Atlantis has no affiliation with this group or any “after party” event. We take great pride in having a culturally diverse team and respect all individuals and their beliefs.”
