Who are those women in robes?

You have likely seen us at local protests, and may have wondered who we are: women wearing red robes and white bonnets, moving slowly with heads bowed, forming a solemn procession. These women, the Peninsula Handmaids, take inspiration from Margaret Atwood’s 1980s novel (and current TV series) “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which portrays a totalitarian theocracy in which fertile women are forced into child-bearing servitude.

Handmaids first appeared across the U.S. in 2017, during Trump’s first term. We are advocates for women’s reproductive rights and bodily autonomy; we magnify the perils of a repressive patriarchy and the loss of rights — particularly restrictions on abortion, contraception, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Red robes symbolize the requisitioning of women’s bodies by the state; white bonnets are about restricted vision and not being seen as individuals; and our silence is a non-verbal expression of dissent.

The Handmaids’ ranks have grown dramatically since Trump’s reelection. Our local group came together last summer and continues to grow. We work closely with advocacy groups across the Peninsula, protesting the government’s slide into fascism, the dismantling of reproductive health care, massive cuts to health and social services — and recently, the cruelty of ICE.

Our appearance and bearing seem to profoundly impact those around us and add gravity to the ongoing struggle against authoritarianism. Not part of any religion or “cult,” we are simply another creative response to the ever-expanding dictatorship that threatens women and all the most vulnerable among us.

Janine Blaeloch

Sequim

Gas prices and more

Let me preface my comments by saying people choose to live in Washington for many reasons, but low taxes aren’t one of them. Washington is a high tax state, including the tax on gasoline.

That said, the Jan. 26, 2026 letter to the editor titled “Math and Civics” and the focus on gas prices is myopic. Using the author’s numbers on average miles driven (11,650) and miles per gallon (23), a Washingtonian buys about 507 gallons of gasoline each year. Our gasoline costs $1 more per gallon than in Idaho, so we pay $507 more. But Idaho also has a state income tax. In 2025, the Idaho State Tax Commission expected 1.03 million tax returns with an average payment of $1,348 per return. The math on that comes out to roughly $1.75 billion.

Washingtonians pay no state income tax. Washington is also considered a “donor” state. We make more money and send more to the federal government in federal taxes than we get back. Idaho is a “taker” state, getting more money from the feds than they pay in federal taxes. Since we get less from the feds, Washington’s state budget is funded by a larger mix of state taxes than Idaho’s budget. So, we pay $507 more for gas, make more money, suck up fewer federal dollars and pay no income tax. If gas prices are your sole concern, by all means vote for the party that runs Idaho.

Louis Kalmar

Sequim