They rallied in
Washington, DC and in Boston, in Chicago and
Concord, New Hampshire, in Milwaukee and
Asheville, North Carolina, and in 1300 other places. A combined
attendance of at least a million people came together
to send a message to the President and the man
who purchased the co-Presidency, Elon Musk.
The message – hands off our Social
Security, our Medicaid and Medicare, our 401-k
accounts, our immigrant brothers and sisters. Organized by
MoveOn, and supported by hundreds of
organizations, the turnout for the Hands Off
movement may be a foundation for the necessary
resistance to the oligarchical perfidy
we can expect from this administration.
Many were
attending mass events like this for the first
time. They didn’t go to the Women’s
March or to the rallies against racism. They came
out this time because they are outraged at the
lawlessness of this administration. Many were
older, not the rallying kind, but they are
apprehensive about what will happen with
Social Security and other benefits. Others are
federal employees, uncertain about their jobs
and futures. There were teachers, nurses,
attorneys, physicians, poor people and
patriotic millionaires, from every
demographic. The Hands Off rallies are
the making of a movement.
There are a few
more Hands Off events after April 5.
Little Rock, Arkansas, canceled
their planned gathering because of dangerous
weather and will rally On April 12.
Parts of Kentucky, managing catastrophic
flooding, also postponed their gatherings for
a week. The postponements are evidence
of the urgency of this moment and testimony to
the focus and determination that the MoveOn
team have exhibited. They seem committed to
facilitating ways for people to come together,
lift their voices, and send a message.
Notably, the
President signaled his indifference to this
rousing movement by silently playing golf,
failing to react, except to tout the “success”
of his sweeping tariffs. Instead of
lowering prices “on day one” as he promised,
he is sparking world economic chaos that will
be especially harmful for people on the
bottom. Like Nero “fiddling while Rome
Burns”, this destructive administration seems
apathetic to the pain they are causing.
No one should
be surprised by this administration’s reckless
disregard for the Constitution, for human
rights, civil rights, and the order of law.
Project 2025 details all of these
actions, but some people don’t believe that
fat meat.
Is greasy.
In other words, they heard what the
President said he was going to do, but didn’t
believe him. Now that their jobs are
being eliminated, their relatives being
deported, and their food prices are rising,
they are saying “we didn’t vote for this”.
The massive nature of the Hands Off
suggest resistance to this administration’s
policies transcends the grousing of a few
left-wing activists and Trump detractor.
Instead, many who voted for the current
order are now experiencing buyer’s remorse.
April 5 was a
statement, but what’s next? Will people
mobilize? Will some of the nonvoters get
registered and ready for the 2026 elections?
Will the tremendous energy of April 5
encourage people to get involved in state and
local politics, perhaps running for office or
supporting candidates that reject the
extremism of this administration, and demand
more than the platitudes about “a little bit
of pain”. It’s easy for some to talk
about a “little bit” of pain, but some will
find the pain imposed by this administration
unbearable, especially those with lower
incomes.
The MoveOn team
and the organization that supported Hands Off
must keep the momentum going. Otherwise,
April 5 will be simply an exciting activist
moment. Justice demands a movement, one
that is transformative, and also encourages
the bipartisan conversation that this
administration has avoided. They keep
talking about their “mandate”, but the current
president did not win in a popular vote
landslide. Instead, he won by 2.28
million votes, or a margin of 1.47 percent.
He won through voter suppression, but
also through the nonparticipation of many who
are learning, the hard way, what’s at stake.
There were some
young Black activists, especially Black women.
who encouraged people to avoid the rallies.
My cursory view (along with some
reporting) suggests that while the speakers
and entertainment “looked like America” the
crowd looked whiter than reality. Some
Black folks have activism fatigue, and we all
get it. Author Tricia Hersey’s book Rest
is Resistance, is a reminder
that Black women cannot be everything to
everybody. She writes, “You were not
just born to center your existence on work and
labor. You were born to heal, to grow,
and to be of service to yourself and
community, to practice, to experiment, to
create, to have space, to dream and to
connect.” Balance is the key and
resistance is important, invigorating, and
transformative.
Those who
oppose this administration’s policies are
among those who gathered on April 5. Now
they must keep their opposition going in the
months to come. Thanks, again, MoveOn,
and thanks to all who turned out. The
Hands Off website has
information about a May 1 action. Check
it out!
