I’ve been putting off uploading photos from this assignment I had last year simply because it&

I’ve been putting off uploading photos from this assignment I had last year simply because it’s not something I wanted to cover, because it’s not something I wanted to face happening in my community. But it is next in my year-behind backlog, and honestly as everything continues to ramp up I feel like it may even be a little cathartic to get a few of these out there in a format where I can talk about them rather than having to publish them silently.Last summer, my home town held their own Trump rally. It was held out back at a local “entertainment center” (bowling alley, bar, restaurant, mini golf kind of place) with a small turnout, which was actually a little surprising considering the area (people think of New York state as some big blue Liberal with a capital L area, when in reality a great portion of the state is very conservative).1: This woman saw me walking around with my press pass getting photos, and asked me to get a photo of her hat.2: One thing that caught my attention early on, both at the rally as well as driving around for the months leading up to Nov 8th, is that I saw just as many (if not more) signs about Hillary (typically the phrase “Hillary for prison”) than pro-Trump.3: The merchandise at this rally was interesting to say the least. While there was a fair share of bootleg Trump merch, there was also plenty of generic “AMERICA!” hats/shirts to choose from, but one thing that is very telling is how much official NRA merch they had. Now, I am a hunter. I enjoy target and sport shooting as well. But the NRA is not simply a “pro-gun/pro 2nd amendment” group. If you don’t know what they’re all about by now, do yourself a favor and research them a bit. Make sure you check out the commercials they’ve been producing lately. THAT is why I was concerned with the high number of NRA merch they had.4: More than anything, the organizers of this rally wanted to make sure everyone in attendance connected Trump with America and patriotism. This was one of 2-3 people walking around handing out multiple flags to every single person in attendance. When people cheered, it was with their flags.5: Along with organizers walking around distributing hundreds of flags, there was a table full of “free merch” which consisted of A: some smaller flags B: Trump bumper stickers (which the leftovers were then handed out to everyone, including one forced upon me once they decided I had to be there covering the event because I was “one of them”) and C: Voting propaganda postcards, including phrases like “The Empire State can help make America great again!”. These postcards were also taped to entrance doors for the venue they were allotted the back lot for, as well as littered around inside for people who were enjoying a family dinner or children bowling a few games with their friends, to find.6: A group of high school aged teens attended the rally, I believe they mentioned being PA residents. The rally focused a lot on not necessarily getting votes at home (New York) but rather talking to your friends and relatives in PA and OH and talking them into voting for trump.More photos tomorrow, followed by county fair photos. -- source link

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