Watch Out, Monsanto!

Trey Smith

When it comes to citizen activism, I live in a very pedestrian area. People around here don't tend to get collectively up in arms about anything. Use of drones? Yawn. Bailouts to Wall Street? Blink. Even hot-button social issues like abortion or same sex marriage don't cause the local minions to awaken from their lethargy.

So, it was rather shocking last weekend when a march (and informational booths) was held to protest the agri-giant, Monsanto. It wasn't heavily attended, but Della and I happened by near the end and the adjacent parking lot was crammed full of vehicles. This was at the point when things were winding down.

As reported by Democracy Now!, "actions were held in 52 countries and 436 cities around the world, including New York City and Mexico City." One of those cities happened to be Raymond, Washington!

You may not have realized that hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets last Saturday because, by and large, the mainstream media decided not to cover these events. No matter. The lack of coverage didn't dissuade people from joining in.

If I was Monsanto, I would be more than a bit alarmed. While I'm sure the corporate big wigs aren't shaking in their boots due to a small protest along the southwestern Washington Coast, they should be. If even people here are fed up with Monsanto and their GMOs, that would seem to indicate that a groundswell is growing against this corporate bully. Maybe, just maybe, the unwashed masses are starting to wake up.