How To Shout Without Making a Sound
Signs for protests and demonstrations - and a brand-new way to hold them, the SCOFAH!
On June 25, the day after the Supreme Court announced the Dobbs decision, I along with many other people in my county had something to say about the sudden assault on women’s Constitutional rights. That day I made a sign and took it to the courthouse to join the crowd of protesters.
Americans are in a long period of public outcry that began around 2015 with the election of a pretender to the presidency. Before Covid, we would go to Asheville in January with pink hats and handmade signs to join rivers of people, all of one mind and one heart.
We’re living in a time of protests. I’m not alone in believing this fall’s election will either destroy democracy in America or give it another chance. How can I persuade enough other voters of the urgency I feel? Even if we all shouted together, our voices couldn’t reach enough people in our county.
What we can do is write and mail postcards, post on social media, phone and visit voters. And we can write our words on signs. We can take the signs to town and demonstrate what democracy looks like, and that it works.
The signs in the photo above are made with cardboard and markers, anything at hand. They are spontaneous and impressive. When you see this photo, you don’t have to hear a sound to get the people’s message.
Everyone can be creative when you have something passionate to say.
For instance, in the photo above the young woman dotted the “i” in “lives” with a small circle and capitalized the words “BLACK” and “MATTER”. She probably did it without too much thought, but you can tell she took care. It speaks with her own voice.
Creativity comes easily from asking yourself, “What is the best way to say what I need to say?”
For example, what if you were carrying your sign and needed to rest your arms or free your hands, but didn’t want to put your sign down? My friend Stephanie not only had an idea about this; she designed and made the Self-Clasping Overhead First Amendment Holder, or SCOFAH (said in the cadence of “scuba”).
First Amendment, yes!
Keeping your sign high and visible with little effort is one of the many uses for Stephanie’s design. I’ve chosen just a few from the list on her SCOFAH website (see the link below this post):
On her website Stephanie also generously provides detailed instructions with lots of photos and drawings. Not only is the SCOFAH hands-free, it also breaks down for going indoors or transporting it in your car.
Once you determine the size of your holder you’re ready to make signs from poster board or other material that fits its frame. Make sure to use two signs back-to-back so that press reporters and other observers will be able to read your message from every direction.
Here are a couple of guidelines for successful signs:
Readability — stand way back from your sign to test it for letter size and color contrast against its background color
Material — foam core sheets, cardboard, poster board
The purpose of all this is to get the attention of voters in your community. Your written or hand-drawn message is about protecting your values and our nation’s very democracy.
You’ve made your signs, you’ve decided how to display them, now sign up for newsletters to be aware of what’s happening in your town. Go out and freely speak your mind in a public space — that’s democracy! — for an hour at a time without making a sound. Repeat as necessary.
Thank you, Stephanie!
Thanks to all that have let their voices heard!
Democracy lives when people are free to participate. CHEERS for SCOFAH!! ..and for Deda and Stephanie who are both true blue!!!!