1/6: Flags, Guns & Horses at Pro Trump Rally Today in Phoenix!

Steven and I arrived in Phoenix several days ago for two weeks of R&R in the winter sun near the end of our Christmas road trip to the national and state parks in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. After not venturing more than a mile or so from our condo and its hot tub since we arrived, we decided to head downtown today to see some sights. After visiting the superb Heard Museum celebrating Native American art and culture for three hours, we drove toward the state capitol as we've been touring as many state capital cities as possible on our recent road trips. Never in our wildest imagination did we think that such a foray would bring us into direct contact with a rally of radical pro-Trumpers.

As we walked toward the capitol, we saw a parade of people decked out in MAGA hats and wearing US flags around their shoulders coming from what was obviously a Trump rally or demonstration - not sure what may have been the difference.

This was our first indication we'd entered a world new to us with many men carrying large rifles and assault weapons. Hundreds of unmasked people, not a one practicing social distancing, had gathered in the plaza around the capitol to listen to speeches where we heard people say we will never see Biden as our president; we (i.e. Arizona) will separate; the election had been rigged; the voting machines had been tampered with; Arizonans should never endorse supporters of McCain and Flake; and how they 'had' information on Arizona's Secretary of State. 

Obviously being of a different political persuasion, listening to this rhetoric made me feel like we had entered an alternative universe where I what knew to be true was not what anyone here felt to be also the truth. What made it all so very sad was thinking that there was nothing Biden can likely do to persuade any of these people the election hadn't been stolen.

This was not the best of days to visit Arizona's state capitol unless you wanted a very different take on history! Though the capitol was locked up tight, I could see heavily armed guards patrolling the hallway, presumably in case the situation got violent. 

Where a crowd gathers is also an opportunity for vendors and this rally/demonstration was no exception with hundreds of Trump items available for purchase. 

Atop the capitol's copper dome since 1901 was a 17-foot zinc sculpture variously called Goddess of Victory, Winged Victory and the Statue of Justice. Placed to serve not only as a symbol but also as a weather vane, cowboys visiting Phoenix often used to amuse themselves by riding to the Capitol and firing their six-guns at the winged icon to make it spin. The wounded goddess thereby received the added name Bullseye!

Walking behind the stage, we had a perfect view of the speaker exhorting the hundreds of people in attendance. What was perhaps the worst in our minds was the introduction of religion into the political speeches and the reference that God could only be for Trump.

Other signs I remember seeing at the protest said Black Guns Matter, Pray, Think, Vote and Latinos for Trump.

We next wandered over to the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, a city park and gathering place in front of the capitol to see and listen to what was going on. The plaza was normally the site of various memorials honoring prominent figures, wars, and events in the state's history. Today however, it was used for a darker purpose, to cast aspersions on the state's history and leadership. Republican Governor Doug Ducey had recently come into extreme disfavor with the radical pro-Trump faction of his party as you can see by the Stop Ducey sign in the middle of the photo.

If you click on the photo to make it larger, you'll see the I am not Racist sign placed by the time capsule at the base of the sculpture honoring Eusebio Francisco Kino (1645 –1711). Often referred to as Father Kino, he was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer, and astronomer. This past July, Pope Francis advanced the cause of Kino's sainthood by recognizing his life of "heroic virtue, and declaring him Venerable."

It was sad seeing the Stop the Steal sign in front of the memorial honoring the Navajo Code Talkers. When they distinguished themselves by developing a Navajo language code during WW II for the US Marine Corps, it became the only unbreakable code in modern military service. 

Never before had Steven and I seen a memorial to American Jewish War Veterans.

The Armenian Martyrs' Memorial was dedicated to the 1,500,000 Armenian victims of the genocide in Turkey from 1915-1921 and to people of all nations who have fallen victim to crimes against humanity. The memorial specifically caught my attention because Steven and I had toured much of Armenia a couple of years ago where it was impossible not to feel empathy for the terrific loss of lives.

These were but a handful of the memorials we noticed at the plaza. We didn't feel safe to enter among the throng of people gathered in very close quarters, all of whom were unmasked, to listen to more speakers positioned in the center of more memorials.

As Steven and I were about to leave the memorial plaza, he happened to look back and saw several heavily armed militia enter the same area. Growing up largely in the gun-free nation of Canada, never will I feel safe seeing such a display of guns.

Steven and I couldn't help but wonder whether we were in the safest spot in downtown Phoenix or conversely sitting on a possible powder keg should a 'nutcase' go haywire? Our concern was it would only take one crazy person at the event with some of the massive firepower available for everything to erupt into bedlam in just a blink of an eye. 

We were entirely ignorant until the very end of our visit to the capitol about the events going on simultaneously in our nation's capital when rioters breeched the US Capitol. The horrors of what transpired there today will forever be a stain on our country. 

Another display of the state's open carry laws by the capitol that made me feel distinctly uncomfortable:

What place are we living in where it's OK and apparently 'normal' for civilians to access what surely should only be available to a nation's military and police force? I am aghast.

A sign on the porta potty proclaimed it had been provided Courtesy of Patriots for Trump.

In our travels around the world, Steven and I have come across a lot of gun-toting men on horseback but they have always been police. 

These police officers on the periphery were the only ones we observed in the entire capitol area today where so many people had gathered to protest the election of President-Elect Joe Biden. 

Being there we were inadvertent witnesses to history in the making. It's critical to add that at no point did either of us feel any antagonism from the crowds or unsafe even though it had to be absolutely clear to everyone that we were not 'with' them. Apart from only one man who was taking photos, we were the only ones wearing masks, and the only ones not wearing or carrying Trump regalia.

Next post: As originally planned, start with the first post of our fall road trip to the Midwest and Southeast.

Posted very late on January 6th, 2020, from Phoenix where we came for peace and quiet - ha ha! I hope you are having a peaceful time, and you and your loved ones stay safe and connected.