These Mom Revolutions

Female protesters in Petrograd (now St Petersburg) on 8 March 1917.ย Photograph: Fototeca Storica Nazionale/Getty Images (courtesy of the Guardian_)

Hungry mothers marched toward the Russian captial in Petrograd. They demanded bread, provisions for their sons fighting on the Eastern Front in WWI. Cossocks and local police attempted to turn them back. Some officer ordered young, inexperienced, and under equipped soldiers to fire into the crowd. But when they looked down their rifles’ gunsights, they saw their own mothers and sisters, aunts and cousins. The oldest may have seen young wives, and young daughters.

The guns stayed silent. Sometime after, the last Tsar fell.

night becomes day

authoritarianism

trades faces

Portland Moms Face Off Against Federal Agents | NowThis

What will our descendents say about these July days in Portland, Oregon? When mothers stood arm in arm, dressed in bright yellow and white? When they say about their chants of “Leave our kids along?” and “Feds go home,” while standing as shields for Black Lives Matter protestors?

What will they say of the camaflaged, multi-purpose uniformed Federal officers that shot them with tear-gas and rubber bullets?

day becomes night

“Mom and apple pie” becomes

a casualty

Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Monday, July 20, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Officers used teargas and projectiles to move the crowd after some protesters tore down a fence fronting the courthouse. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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5 responses to “These Mom Revolutions”

  1. revivedwriter Avatar

    I like how you point out, “authoritarianism / trades faces.” It is extremely important to not replace a bad system with a worse one!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      True. Leninism and Stalinism proved a worse cure than the disease of Tsarist Imperialism.

      That said, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what a worse system than systemic racism would look like!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. areadingwriter Avatar

    you’ve captured the sweet taste of victory, Frank!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. merrildsmith Avatar

    Well said, Frank. I think of the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo, too. We may be looking for our own “disappeared” citizens soon, too, if the current regime has its way.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. memadtwo Avatar

    It’s a sad day when soldiers will shoot at their own mothers. (K)

    Liked by 2 people

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