Thoughts On 4/5/2025:
HANDS OFF!! Protest
Thoughts on 4/5/2025:
HANDS OFF !! Protest
By D. S. Mitchell
Making Signs
The alarm woke me at 4 a.m. I was up and out of bed in a flash. I was excited. The protest was scheduled to start at 11:30 and I still had signs to make. “RESIST MAGA,” “HANDS OFF!! EVERYTHING,” “Radio Free America, 2025” and “Musk to Mars”. The “Musk to Mars” sign was quite distinctive; big, bold letters on a field of white. It was definitely my favorite. All four signs only took me a couple of hours with poster board and project markers, but I thought they made a big statement.
A Lawless Operation
Despite all my frenzied activity I was still mad as hell. The Hands Off !! protest was my first protest march since 1968. A lot has happened since those days. I’m now grey-haired, and older than the Ten Commandments, but I’m pissed off. I’m so pissed off I’d even called a couple of friends and we agreed to do the protest together. Strength in numbers. The Trump Administration is running a lawless operation out of the White House and I wanted to let those a-holes know that me and a majority of Americans want it stopped. I could spend the next 1,000 words ranting against the Musk/Trump policies, but I won’t. Instead I want to tell you about my Hands Off!! protest experience.
Deep Red
First of all, let me make it clear. I live in deep red, Trump country. More specifically, Grants Pass, Josephine County, Oregon. Josephine County hasn’t voted Democratic since 1930 something.; that’s nearly a 100 years, it’s that red. However, over the last month, as the darkness of Trump’s agenda has emerged, I have seen fewer Trump yard signs, some of which have been in the ground since 2020. Furthermore, there is a significant drop in the pickup trucks with the giant American flags and mammoth Trump banners parading up and down the main street of our little town.. That boiling pot of MAGA outrage seems is cooling, while the Dems and the Independents are blue with rage.
Fingers Crossed
There were about 500 people at Oregon Senator(D) Jeff Merkley’s Town Hall a couple weeks ago. I hoped the Hands Off !! protest would draw at least as many. I had my fingers crossed. While I worried about attendance, I also fretted about parking. With one of my gang in a wheelchair and me using a walker; ease of parking was a priority. With that in mind, we headed out about 10 o’clock and easily found parking across the street from the courthouse. I high-fived my comrades and with help unloaded first the rollator and next the wheelchair and headed to the front of the Josephine County Court House on 6th street.
Drum Roll, Please
I was surprised to see such a large crowd an hour and a half before the scheduled event. It looked like people were fired up. I could hear the sound of a cow bell, a chorus of drum beats, and a megaphone shouting encouraging chants. People were flowing in from all directions, waving signs. The diversity was striking. The grievances many. There was a sizeable group of boomers, many like us using walkers and wheelchairs. I was happy to see a large turnout of all age groups. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z; everybody was there. There was also a sizeable group of young folks flying the flag of many colors.
Too Many Problems
There were as many concerns as there were people. Women’s rights, Democracy, due process, Trump’s Imperial presidency, DOGE, corruption, the reckless gutting of essential government services like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Veterans benefits. complaints. Despite the anger and outrage all the participants I encountered were respectful and even smiling and good natured, happy to be with a group of supporters and proud to be speaking out.
Democracy in Action
Peaceful protest is Democracy in action. We as citizens of this great democracy are expected to dissent when we see injustice. It is our duty as thinking, caring human beings to speak out. Right now, our country’s government is working against the many for the benefit of the few. The Trump administration is a disaster for the average working person. It is critical that the citizens of this country express their shared outrage over the direction Trump and his cronies are pushing the country. And people are speaking up. They are making signs, putting on their sneakers, and hitting the pavement. I hope the White House is listening. We want no kings here.
The Few Against the Many
The crowd stretched about three blocks up and down NW 6th Street. From my vantage point, it was hard to estimate the size of the crowd. With that said, I would guess that there were at least 1,200 Americans on the street making their voices heard. This was a very well-organized and well-attended event. Organizers repeatedly stressed that the 4/5/2025 Hands Off protests would be peaceful and non-violent. Respect and tolerance was the organizing message, and the crowd did not disappoint. At no time did I see any confrontations or disputes of any kind between the 3 Trump supporters and the 1200 gathered in opposition to him.
There is nothing more inspiring than taking action against injustice. Resist MAGA.
