Voters were active yesterday as all eyes are on Georgia, and particularly Atlanta, while votes are being counted from Tuesday’s election.
A series of rallies and demonstrations were planned throughout the day yesterday as part of a #StopTheSteal campaign across key swing states, which also includes Pennsylvania and Nevada. At the peak of the first event yesterday afternoon, I was told there were approximately 150 people present in front of the State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta.
By the time I arrived in Atlanta from Hartwell yesterday late afternoon, there were only a few supporters of President Trump still at the rally, as well as approximately 40 counter-protestors holding signs saying phrases like “Count Every Vote” and “No Count, No Call.”
“This is a big win,” one counter-protester said, referring to the narrowing gap between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. “But our work is not done.”
Another counter-protester told me a story of when she worked in a primarily white office as a Black woman.
“I used to tell them ‘You are no different than me, the only difference is the color to our skin,’” she said. “‘We all want the same for ourselves. You are no different. Only the color of skin. You are no better than me, it just makes us different.’”
This same message was echoed by some of the supporters of President Trump, whom I met outside of a rally in the Buckhead neighborhood, which had wrapped up earlier in the evening.
“Gotta lead with love,” one man said, looking at me seriously. “That’s what it’s all about, love. We need to lead with love.”
His friends nodded in agreement, looking at each other in the semi circle by a parked car. This message of unity, however, was not shared among all of the president’s supporters, some whom I met at a final #StopTheSteal protest at 9pm yesterday. Approximately 50 attendees gathered outside the State Farm Arena to protest the ongoing vote counts and narrowing results between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
One man told me that while he was raised a Democrat, you would have to be “insane” to not see their corruption now.
“They’re stealing votes,” he said, “and they’re doing it right in the open under our noses. And no one is batting an eye. That’s why we’re out here.”
Fellow attendees nearby nodded in agreement, saying they were here because they believed they were defending this country and its election.
“Look, the Democrats, socialism, communism, it all sounds good on paper,” he told me. “They fed me the same lines about equity in college too, and I saw right through it.”
“The reality is,” he continued, “you cannot have equality and freedom in the same country.”
[Editors Note]: It is here that I want to remind you of the premise of this project — we are more alike than different and most people are good. We the Voters is a non-partisan project; coverage of any group or event by We the Voters does not equal endorsement. As with all of my coverage in the past year, I hope it helps you gain a more full picture of the many pieces in the American puzzle.
6pm #StopTheSteal Rally/Counter Protest
9pm #StopTheSteal Rally
