The “Hands Off” protests were exhilarating. In Massachusetts, despite the huge turnout in Boston, surrounding towns had substantial crowds as well. In Natick, about 10 miles west of downtown Boston, about 500 people came out and friends reported similar numbers in their local communities. The beeps of support from motorists were almost non-stop, something I’d never experienced before. The sense of fellowship and commitment felt destined to crystallize, galvanize, and mobilize opposition to the Trump-Musk regime.
Yet—a sign of the times. The media dramatically underplayed the turnouts. Michael Moore lays out the extent of the muted media response, perhaps the most egregious being CNN’s lead sentence: “Scores of people took part in protests against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk across all 50 states and globally on Saturday…” A few lines down the article notes that 600,000 people had signed up ahead of time and that the organizers were claiming millions in attendance world-wide, though CNN said they could not verify those numbers. CNN never states on their own behalf an alternative to “scores”; rather the higher numbers are “sign-ups” and organizers’ “claims”.
This numbers game deserves a closer look. Had CNN done the sort of under-estimation of the anti-Vietnam protest era, using “tens of thousands “, we’d figure, “Corporate doesn’t want to sound as if they support the pro-democracy demonstrations but at least they’re not blatantly lying (though “hundreds of thousands” would seem a passable low-end estimate).
But “scores”? Did some callow copywriter think “scores” means “a lot”? A score means “twenty”. That means 30,000 score signed up for the event even though a large portion of those attending didn’t sign up at all. Our local protest had hundreds, not scores. “Scores” is never used to describe numbers in the hundreds, much less hundreds of thousands. It’s just sloppy—or deliberately misleading—journalism.
None of this would matter were it not so indicative of the establishment’s ambivalence to confronting a government backed largely by white supremacists, extreme religious fanatics, and self-indulgent bro-boy billionaires intent on replacing the Constitution with a technocratic, militantly religious dictatorship. And all of it led by a cadre of characters that make David Lynch’s TV classic “Twin Peaks” look like “Leave It To Elon Beaver”.
How do we capitalize on the momentum from “Hands Off”? In contrast to the January 6th riots and attempted coup we have a huge turn-out of peaceful, informed people appalled at the dismantling of the U.S. government. There is no room for false equivalency here, anymore than in 1933 Germany or in equating the moral stance of Soviet and Russian dissidents against the likes of Stalin, Brezhnev, and Putin. The course of protest that prevails will decide the future of this country.
Mass protests have an inherent weakness if they’re only backed by more of the same. The government can always shrug them off or create a false crisis that distracts attention and diverts support for the movement. The example of Netanyahu serves as a beacon for Trump and his courtiers, backers, and handlers. Before October 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested against Netanyahu’s utterly corrupt government and his attempt to disable the Supreme Court. October 7th saved him; since then, prolonging the Gaza invasion has kept him in power. Even today, tens of thousands of Israelis take to the streets to protest Netanyahu, the Gaza slaughter, lawless West Bank violence against Palestinians, and the descent of Israel into violent factionalism. Yet he’s still in power. No one knows how to transition away from him because the opposition is not united and much of it, like the Schumer-wing of the Democratic Party, has no viable vision for what’s to follow or political credibility with which to rally the opposition.
Ah, things will turn around in 2026! As the Web video meme says, “Wait for it…” Wait for what? Elections, or at least fair elections, may not be held in 2026. Besides, our biological clocks are ticking. A list of “doomsday” trends documented by the scientific literature reads like a buffet menu of catastrophe. It’s already happening at a scale almost no one anticipated even a couple of decades ago. The people warning us are not half-assed preachers spinning sleepy-time fairy tales to purportedly mature adults with open wallets. It’s scientists, as in 99 percent+ of all climate scientists in the world. The remaining <1% are those writing p.r. b.s. for the oil companies.
So sure, we should feel good in the wake of the “Hands Off” protest. But what next?
Build mass movements with clear goals and pressure Democrats and Lincoln Project Republicans to use those goals as a campaign platform. Roll back Citizens United, which pits small donors against billionaires and gigantic business conglomerates. Send I.C.E. back to the borders instead of unleashing them across the country as a Gestapo-in-training. Take back the environment from the corporate interests that, even in the midst of climatic breakdown, use their financial clout to guarantee that they can continue to excavate, extract, and exploit without restriction or concern for the common good.
Reasonable religious leaders ought articulate their often heart-felt case against right-wing reactionary fundamentalism that runs counter to their traditions. Similarly, professors in universities and teachers in censored red state schools should conduct mass teach-ins in their classrooms on appointed days—say, “Critical Thinking Wednesdays”—to teach issues the government wants them to ignore.
Join community groups that keep up the pressure on politicians. Major law firms, instead of kneeling in submission to the Republicans, should flood the courts with class action suits on every front. Responsible corporate leaders (they do exist) should be calling out their colleagues’ underhanded, corrupt dealings that have done more to devastate the U.S. environment and middle and poorer classes than any single cause.
Our political system has been corrupted by gerrymandering and the electoral college. The struggle against discrimination, whether based on color, religion, ethnicity, or gender, is under siege despite the cartoon image of “woke America” fostered by both the right wing and mainstream media. But so many other groups are also falling through the cracks: the poor, the sinking middle class, small farmers, small business owners whose financial well-being is the bedrock of economic activity and prosperity, the veterans who are losing their federal civil service jobs (40 percent of federal employees are veterans), and the veterans promised citizenship if they served and now find themselves in danger of being deported. The only path to power lies in these groups making common cause with one another and creating the mechanisms to channel the power of the many.
Big Pharma must be compelled to address major health threats such as antibiotic-resistant germs and potential pandemics. The slashed budgets of almost every health organization and research group under the Federal government’s purview, and handing oversight of the nation’s health to a delusional Secretary of Health and Human Services, is equivalent to biological warfare waged against our nation. A subtle, lethal enemy could do no better than to strip our nation of its public health safety net.
It doesn’t matter if Democrats can’t agree on the same goals or align their priorities. For some reason, the left and center always factionalize themselves in the foot when confronted by a hard-line authoritarian movement. The point is simply to begin. Build it and yes, they do often come. There is so much potential. Scores of possibilities! While we’re lost in culture wars and spending trillions to militarize space and prepare for war with China and enrich the .01 percent, there’s a whole new world world order (!!) waiting to be actualized, an exploration of invention, restoration, revitalization, justice, and sustainable economic growth. All we need do is organize, influence, empower, and implement.
Or not:
Someone said I really should
I replied I surely would
If I only thought I could
So I left things as they stood.
P.S. The Democratic Party should. just make Senator Cory Booker and Representative Melanie Stansbury the party leaders in Congress. ASAP.
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