Patricia A. O'Malley
Social Policy & Programs Consulting ~ Community Matters
412-310-4886 ~ info@patomalley-consulting.com
Copyright Patricia A. O'Malley ~ All rights reserved
Established 1993
Patricia A. O'Malley
Social Policy & Programs Consulting
Training and Services for agencies working toward social and economic justice
The Whole World Is Watching
Say it again.
March 12, 2026
Donald Trump’s unqualified loser ICE agents drag US citizens and legal resident immigrants into the streets.
They beat them and ship them to prisons in foreign countries without the due process that our constitution guarantees, just to entertain themselves.
Some have died. AND THEY BRAG ABOUT IT.
On August 28, 1968, I was thirteen years old.
The Democratic National Convention was in progress in Chicago.
Thousands of college students had gathered there to protest:
- the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
- the Vietnam war
- the unjust military draft
- the ineffective and barely enforced new civil rights laws
- typical Democratic Party chaos
- and the government sending young men, who couldn’t even vote, to die protecting the interests of rich old white men.
It was a hot summer night in Pittsburgh, and I couldn’t sleep.
I went to the living room to watch TV, only to find a sight I will never forget.
The protests were vigorous, but peaceful, until …
Even though the protest organizers had permits for their people to sleep in downtown’s Grant Park, hundreds of Chicago police officers and Illinois National Guard troops arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing. As the sleepy students awoke and began stumbling around trying to figure out what was happening, the cops and troops began beating them. And beating them.
AND BEATING THEM.
They would not stop.
I didn’t know much about the war then, but I thought that if so many people were willing to travel so far to protest it, they must have a valid point. And if they wanted the cops to stop beating them, all they had to do was go home.
But they didn’t. They stayed.
At some point, while the TV news broadcast the cop riot, the students chanted “The whole world is watching.” And the whole world saw it. And was horrified. That chant was heard around the world. It ended the cop riot.
It helped to end the war and generated the infamous Chicago Seven trial.
I’ve been writing Community Matters since 2008. Sometimes people ask me how I became “radicalized”.
I’m not as radical as many people I know. But this is it.
I sat on the floor and cried.
And now, 58 years later, I’m at that point again.
In 1968, the whole world watched while Chicago cops rioted with the blessing of Mayor Richard Dailey.
And now the whole world is watching ICEthugs riot in Minneapolis and elsewhere with the blessing of the morally bankrupt president, congressional Republicans, the Republican party, and many of their fellow Americans.
The organization Indivisible has been sponsoring the No Kings rallies, and will sponsor nearly 2,000 more all over the United States on Saturday, March 28. And countless smaller events nearly every day. Go to their site for details.
AND JOIN US.
If this is your first protest, welcome. And don’t worry. You’re among friends.
The Chicago cop riot was an anomaly. For 44 years, I’ve participated in countless protests. I’ve never seen a riot.
But let’s add a piece to this day. I hope everyone at every event will honor the Chicago protestors and repeat their chant.
“The whole world is watching.”
Because we know they are. It’s up to us.
Marching alone isn’t enough. Contact your legislators, even if they’re on our side.
Don’t ever let anyone say that you didn’t do what you could do.
It’s never been more important than it is today.
We need EVERYONE. Yes. You.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read the Constitution
Indivisible
Chicago History Museum: The Whole World Is Watching
Chicago History Museum: The Chicago Seven Trial
Chicago (The Band): August 29, 1968: The Whole World Is Watching
#USA: It’s Up To Us
Protests and Demonstrations Do Bring Change
Why We Need More Lobbyists
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