Ventura protesters call for an end to California shutdown
A woman participating in the protest holds a sign that states, “My freedom doesn’t end where your fear begins.”
May 2, 2020
At noon on May 1, 2020, a large and passionate group of protesters gathered outside the Ventura County Government Center, demanding a full reopening of California. This protest comes more than a month after Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay at home order due to COVID-19. Similar protests were held on the same day across California in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco.
Protesters gathered on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Telephone Road with decorated signs as cars honked as they passed those assembled. Some cars circled through the government center and drove as a parade around the protest.
Many protesters dressed in red, white and blue and held homemade signs with a variety of slogans and messages. Some read: “Open churches,” “Fully Open California,” and “All jobs are essential.” A handful of protesters wore face masks, but most did not.
At the heart of the protest, multiple people spoke and at one point the group was led in a rendition of “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land.” The occasional American flag and “Trump 2020” flag waved through the crowd on the Government Center lawn.
Beyond the protesters, a line of counter protesters stood against the rally. Wearing medical scrubs and masks, four people, presumably healthcare workers, stood six feet apart from each other on the center median, in a line with their arms crossed.
According to the Facebook event advertising the protest, the event was organized by Gina Bacon, Jessica VanderZwaag and Rick Sanchez. The protest is a continuation of the We Have Rights movement.
When asked why she was protesting, Colleen Cocklin explained, “our freedom is being infringed upon” and “the virus” is no longer an imminent threat. Another protester simply said, “tyranny.”
Protests like this have garnered controversy due to split opinions among Californians. Foothill Tech science teacher Mika Anderson emphasizes that “stay at home orders are extremely, extremely important for people to abide by.”
Although she acknowledges people have the right to protest, Anderson believes if, “we all abide by the orders and take the advice of our [medical professionals] we will get through this pandemic faster than with people protesting and disregarding the sound medical and scientific guidelines.”
However Colin McClain ‘20, fully supports the right to protest and believes that “the city, in order to keep us safe, should let us work and feed our families.”
In contrast, Foothill Tech teacher Dan Baker warns of a potential second wave of infections. “One issue with infectious organisms is that the longer they are in a population replicating, the more chances there are for mutations,” explains Baker.
“While COVID-19 is deadly, a mutated COVID-19 could be worse, and that could be a very real risk of loosening social distancing guidelines prematurely,” stated Baker.
Mark McNulty • Jan 14, 2021 at 8:23 am
For those bashing Gina Bacon as “racist”, you should realize you may be accused of libel as Gina’s social media accounts were hacked and those racist comments were not hers. The deranged man (Edgar Castrejon) that was responsible for her identity theft and personal attacks on her reputation has since been arrested and is standing trial. Please stop spreading hate and fake news, thanks. Also, the concerns aired at the protests, that the lockdowns would be worse than the disease has been vindicated. Suicide rates have doubled, domestic violence has doubled and our economy is now in shambles thanks to Newsom’s tyranny, so you can dispense with the insults regarding the concerns of these protesters as well.
Cameron Krewson • Jul 15, 2020 at 10:22 am
It should be noted that the main organizer- Gina Bacon is a hardcore white supremacist. She recently got called out, and deleted her FB, but there are records of her demanding “Keep Ventura White!” As well as using the N, word- over and over. Almost refreshing to witness old fashioned hate, instead of the super veiled stuff these days.. But damn, she’s literally so hateful she needs to be on a watch list.
Mike • Jul 14, 2020 at 3:31 pm
The organizer, Gina Bacon, has recently left incredibly racist comments on Facebook. In part it reads…”these f***ing n****** and n***** supporters are ruining our way of life. We must do whatever it takes to keep Ventura County white. We cannot have those black creatures make our home unlivable.” These are the exact words of Gina Bacon.
Steve Madden • Jul 14, 2020 at 12:43 pm
Gina Bacon started this. Wow. People reading this should really see her twitter feed on Sandbox Coffee house. The poor business is closing down because of her bigoted behavior and spread of hate throughout our county. She should be ashamed of herself and for Pete sake, read a history book or a science book and learn how the world works, you dolt.
Mallory • Jul 13, 2020 at 7:49 pm
The organizer of this protest, Gina Bacon, just wrote on Facebook: “The second shut down is the fault of #blm. Great American businesses like Todd Ryzow and Sandbox Coffeehouse will not stand for this. All these black things are not American. These creatures are ruining our way of life. We must do whatever it takes to rid ourselves of this n***** plague. #keepventurawhite #whitelivesmatter #blacklivesdontmatter”
Phoremir Stu Dent • May 7, 2020 at 1:06 pm
These people are exercising stupidity dressed up as their liberty while putting a potential halt to human life and future happiness. They should pay out of pocket if they become infected or infect someone else because of their reckless behavior.
Flight23White • May 3, 2020 at 12:28 am
Look at these protestors man, so inspirational, jkjk, if I added all of their collective IQ’s together and multiplied them by 100, I would still end up with 0.