Over the weekend, demonstrators in Austin and across the country aired their grievances in a substantial display of resistance known as the "Hands Off!" protests, targeting perceived overreaches by Donald Trump and Elon Musk in matters affecting healthcare, data, and employment. In Texas, protestors converged at the state Capitol, with CBS Austin reporting a turnout that exceeded expectations. Alexandra Haddix, an organizer with 50501 Texas Chapter, decried, "We're seeing corruption on a level that is unfathomable."
Meanwhile, a broader picture was painted by NPR, revealing a patchwork of dissent spanning from D.C. to Portland, unified under a shared slogan but illustrative of a plethora of concerns. Kelley Laird from Rockville, Md., encapsulated the breadth of issues being protested, from federal cuts to immigration policies, as she told NPR, "They're coming after education, coming after healthcare, coming after the arts, coming after the press." Notably, in Boston, demonstrators rallied against the arrest of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University doctoral student, while others voiced opposition to cuts potentially impacting national parks and veteran services.
In the nation's capital, a sizable crowd occupied the area near the Washington Monument, where concerns over reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and veterans' benefits were notably vocalized. Resistance groups have been forming in technological spaces as well. "Sisters of the resistance," a group chat formed by neighbors to support each other and coordinate protest attendance, exemplifies how communities are digitally banding together in activism. “We need to form community to bolster each other up because we have to be in this for the long run," Emily Peck, the originator of the group chat, told NPR.
Veterans also expressed grave concerns about the implications for Social Security and veterans' benefits under the Trump administration, with one such protester, Colleen Boland, stating to NPR, "We took an oath long ago to protect against all enemies foreign and domestic, and I don't think either Sonya or I ever imagined that we would have to kick in on the domestic piece of our oath, but we have, we are, and we will." Adding to this sense of urgency, attendees from Charlottesville, Va., Al and Bev Mirmelstein captured the sentiment in their sign: "Hands off our Constitution, rule of law, Social Security, free speech, health care," as reported by NPR, signaling a stalwart commitment to safeguarding a variety of American principles and institutions.
The culmination of these protests and the momentum they are building suggests an America deeply divided and in contestation with the actions and influence of its leaders. As the "Hands Off!" protests indicate, a significant faction of the populace is taking to the streets to assert their visions for the country and to challenge the status quo being shaped by figures like Trump and Musk.
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}