Mt. Pleasant---A demonstration held in reaction to Thursday’s Foxconn groundbreaking drew close to 500 protesters to a village park about five miles from the ceremony.
They spoke out against several aspects of the Foxconn deal, as well as a host of unrelated policies advocated by the Walker administration, and at the federal level, by President Trump.
The event took on a festive atmosphere, with speeches taking place under a park pavilion interspersed by performances from a couple of politically-oriented musical spoof groups from Madison, the “Forward! Marching Band” and “Raging Grannies.”
Patrick Schelble, a retired registered nurse from Milwaukee, said the state’s $3 billion incentives package prompted him to join the protest. "I'm not sure why we're doing it," Schelble said. "I know it is in search of jobs, and I do believe in that also, but I just see that this is something that is almost unheard of."
One of the speakers, Laurie Longtine of the Waukesha County Environmental Action League, told the audience that Foxconn critics, no matter if they’re concerned over environmental aspects or the incentives package, are united by one thing. "We are fighting the same thing," she said. "We are fighting a government that is supposedly representing us but instead is taking our taxpayer dollars and using it to subsidize a foreign, multi-national company on our soil. And in the process we're going to be ruining our air, our soil, our water."
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