On Saturday mornings in Bar Harbor, a group of residents stands with signs; they talk with strangers and try to make their voices heard.

Carrie Jones

just now

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society.

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BAR HARBOR—On Saturday morning, Donna Gaines stands on the Village Green in Bar Harbor holding a sign.

She comes for an hour.

She comes, she says, because she has children and grandchildren, because she worries about the country they will inherit, and because she said she does not want them someday asking why people did not try to change what was happening around them.

So she stands at the corner of Mount Desert Street and Main Street with a handful of other people.

They hold signs about immigration and ICE, or signs about democracy, health care, war, and money involved in politics. They smile at people walking past. Friends are hugged. They talk with some strangers. They ignore the occasional negative comment.

Sometimes a tourist stops. Sometimes the tourist takes a sign. Then, for a few minutes, there is one more person standing there.

Protesting and rallies occur often (in some cases like this—weekly) on Mount Desert Island and have been happening for years for various things. In the last few years, many of the rallies and stand-ins have been about the Trump Administration. Some have been about the closure of the Mount Desert Health’s maternity department, Palestinian rights, LGBTQ pride, and supporting Acadia National Park’s staff. Back in 1911, the Bangor Daily Commercial wrote of demonstrations throughout the island against the automobile.

Gaines isn’t alone standing out in Bar Harbor on Saturday mornings. Mary Galperin, Dixie Hathaway, Dr. Michael Pancoe, Peg Emple, Gaines, and others stand behind the cars on Main Street. Sometimes they sit behind the foot traffic, sometimes sitting on the concrete edge of the Village Green, where tourists pass carrying coffee, cameras, and shopping bags. Some look over. Some stop. Some pick up an extra sign.

“I don’t like to see what’s happening to our country under the present leadership. I believe in truth, in democracy, in freedom, in justice, in science and in the beautiful diversity of our people. I resist because I must,” Gaines said.

The group has been standing there since August. Usually there are nine to twelve people. They are not a club, a political organization or a chapter of anything, they say. They have no formal membership.

They are, in their own description, concerned citizens.

And they have things they want to say.

“We are simply concerned citizens who feel the need to ‘stand up’ and be heard,” Galperin said.

The signs, she explained, are mostly about the issues.

“Others who feel inclined to join us should feel free to bring their own signs about their particular concerns or to make statements that they feel strongly about,” she said.

Some of the signs are about immigration. One reads: “Let Workers Stay — No ICE — ICE Out.”

Others reach well beyond that single issue.

“Truth Matters.”

“Stop the Grift.”

“No More Forever Wars.”

“More Healthcare — Less Warfare.”

“Take Money Out of Politics.”

“Country Over Party.”

“No More No Bid Contracts.”

The people holding the signs say they come to the corner on Saturday mornings because they disagree with what the current administration is doing, and because they believe remaining silent is its own kind of choice.

For one participant, the decision to stand there is personal.

“I feel a strong need to express my disagreement with actions being taken by the current administration,” Galperin said.

Standing in a place where people are walking rather than driving has made the experience different from the political demonstrations many Americans encounter from a distance — a photograph, a television clip, a line of police.

Here, there is time to talk.

“Because people are on foot, we get lots of opportunity for conversation,” Galperin said.

Most of those encounters, she explained, have been supportive. Some people make negative comments. The group does not answer back.

And sometimes someone who disagrees stops anyway.

“Most people are grateful for our activism. A few have made negative comments, but we do not respond or otherwise engage in argumentative conversation. Several times we have had thoughtful conversations with people who are not on our page, but want to respectfully discuss an issue. Most people engage with supportive comments,” Galperin explained.

That, too, is part of why they keep coming.

The signs may announce disagreement. The conversations are something else.

They are slower.

They are face to face.

The immigration issue has particular resonance in a place where the summer economy depends heavily on people who come to work in it.

The sign calling for workers to stay is only one of messages, Galperin said, but supporting immigrants who work in the community is important.

“One of our signs says, ‘Let Workers Stay-No Ice-Ice Out.’ Ice is just one of the many issues, as far as I am concerned. However, I feel it is very important to support the hardworking immigrants in our community who partner with our local businesses allowing them (and all of us) to prosper,” Galperin explained.

The group is also supportive of Bar Harbor passing an ordinance concerning ICE activities. Galperin said she signed the petition encouraging the Bar Harbor Town Council to do so and did not know of similar action in other Mount Desert Island municipalities.

But immigration is only one piece of what has brought them to the Village Green.

Another sign asks people to take money out of politics. Another invokes country over party. Others speak to war, health care, and government contracting.

Taken together, the signs suggest something broader than a single protest. Instead, they could be seen as a collection of anxieties about government and democracy, held up for strangers to read.

“The feeling of community (both with our fellow ‘standers’ and with sympathetic passers-by) helps to keep our spirits up in this anxiety ridden time,” Hathaway said. “This community solidarity allows us to continue believing that we are not alone in our desire — no, our obligation — to do what we are able to help protect democracy.”

Emple is a seasonal resident who participates.

“I can not vote here as seasonal, but I sure as heck can work for getting a blue vote and making our country somewhat ‘normal’ again,” she said.

Those who share her views talk about civic duty.

“I feel a personal responsibility to speak out against the erosion of our democracy. Because money in politics has eroded the voice of the people and resulted in Congress and the Courts failing us, it is up to us, the people, to speak out,” Galperin said.

So the answer, in this view, is not to retreat.

It is to stand in public.

“If we can do it in large numbers, our power may be restored; and may be we can reclaim our democracy,” Galperin said.

The participants all have different origin stories for why they go, but the origin story of the event stems from the College of Atlantic.

“The decision to begin a weekly protest in downtown Bar Harbor germinated following an afternoon presentation at this year’s College of the Atlantic’s Summer Institute. The Institute’s theme this year was centered on democracy. The Trump administration’s never-ending effort to undermine our democracy and its supporting institutions is the primary unifying factor in the creation of our protest. Everything that the Trump administration does arises from its efforts to create a white, fascist state bolstered by religious fundamentalism. So, we protest against the subjugation of: people, voting rights, science, the arts, freedom of speech, racial equality, sexual equality, health, justice, human dignity, and equality before the law. We protest for the freedom that we all hold dear,” Dr. Pancoe said.

Gaines agreed, “It just started by thinking aloud after the Summer Institute sessions that we need to not be complacent about our democracy and we don’t need to drive to Southwest Harbor each week to join that well established group of likeminded people. Why couldn’t we gather right here in downtown Bar Harbor. We stand peacefully and do not engage in verbal confrontation but we have had several conversations where we don’t agree totally with one another, but listen respectfully to each other. We ignore the occasional negativity. We thrive on the positivity that has been demonstrated by those walking by, the smiles, words of agreement and encouragement, the many ‘thank you for being here’ comments, for the visitors who have stood with us for a few minutes. We encourage the signs we hold to have clear messages that are appropriate for families passing by with young children, signs that invite thinking about the issues that matter.”

Gaines said the site was chosen after another event.

“After a candlelight vigil was held on that same corner following the ICE shooting in Maine, (it) seemed like the best choice for visibility, from both vehicles and walkers,” Gaines said.

“It’s a sad time,” Galperin said.

But standing on Saturdays has helped Gaines.

She does it, she says, for help “maintaining my mental sanity at this time of crisis in our country.”

Gaines continued, “I needed to feel proactive in helping people think about what is important at this time in our history. I don’t want to think later on that I should have at least tried to change even a few people’s minds. I have kids and grandchildren and I want our country to be so much better than it is right now for them. I don’t want them to ask, why didn’t they fight for the good in people, to find the true soul of our country. I resist because I believe we need to be so much better.”

It’s been a good experience she said.

“It gives me strength to say, yes, we can make changes, by resisting and showing who we really want to be as a country,” she said.

The group members are quick to say they don’t speak for Bar Harbor. They also don’t represent a political organization. They represent themselves and their voices and their concerns.

The attendees say that anyone who wants to join is welcome, whether local, seasonal, or passing through, and people are encouraged to bring signs of their own.

A tourist does that occasionally. One or two will pick up an extra sign and stand with the group.

Some of the regulars are summer people, and some will leave within the next month or two.

But on Saturday mornings, for as long as the weather cooperates, there will be people at the corner of Mount Desert Street and Main Street.

They will hold their signs.

Cars will pass.

Tourists will walk by.

And every so often, somebody will stop.

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All photos: Carrie Jones/Shaun Farrar/BHS

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