1,100 take Trump angst to Waikiki streets

More than 1,000 demonstrators marched through Waikiki on Sunday to express their opposition to a Donald Trump presidency and to advocate for a wide variety of progressive causes they worry will be trampled when the controversial president-elect takes office next year.

The march, organized by the college student organization Young Progressives Demanding Action, started at Kapiolani Park and proceeded down Kalakaua Avenue to the Trump International Hotel Waikiki on Saratoga Road.

“We believe that people need to be able to express their frustrations, and that’s how we can get people together and unify so that we can continue to lead a fight once Trump (takes office) and he tries to erode the rights on individuals,” said 28-year-old Cameron Sato, one of the organizers. “We’re peaceful, we want to be heard and we want to be seen as a legitimate grass-roots movement.”

YPDA is an offshoot of the former Students for Bernie Sanders. On Sunday the group was joined by leaders and members of Local 5, the Sierra Club and the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

The marchers encountered little pushback save for a few taunts from passers-by who accused them of being “crybabies” and “losers.”

An unofficial head count taken by Democratic Party of Hawaii national committeeman Bart Dame estimated the crowd at 1,138, not including a few bewildered tourists who got caught up in the demonstration while trying to make their way back to their hotels.

“There are a lot of desperate people out there who can’t pay their bills and who want good schools for their children,” said HSTA President Corey Rosenlee. “Right now, unfortunately, the answer is Donald Trump. Moving forward, we need people to give a more progressive vision, and that includes increasing the minimum wage, reducing income inequality and, for us, making sure we provide the kind of schools the keiki deserve.”

Hundreds of demonstrators came equipped with homemade signs ranging from the polite (“What do we want? Respectful discourse. When do we want it? Now would be agreeable to me, but I am interested in your opinion”) to the decidedly less so (“[Expletive] your wall!).

Merry Gray, a member of the United Conspiracy of Women, said she was worried about what a Trump presidency will mean for women’s reproductive rights, the environment and the tenor of American discourse.

She had a difficult time imagining what a best-case scenario might look like with Trump in charge.

Kamal Kapadin, 41, of Manoa became a U.S. citizen this past summer.

“I hope he really listens to what everyone has to say and serves humbly,” she said.