Y’know, these people are incredibly well organized. Sure, there are local coordinators, but the movement? Organized. Yes. And I need to pay more attention to what I’m missing. Being unemployed, still, means I would have time to participate, if I only knew where they were. That, of course, is on me, but I can support them through writing, too. Heads up that this is a little longer than normal for me, but lots to say.
International Workers Day, aka May Day, has always been reliable for *some* sort of protest. Planning an event on May Day is tricky because many people cannot get off work. Usually, it’s for protests and civil actions for labor rights, but this year it’s bigger, and maybe even better. Causes come together in united protests this year. From CNN:
The 50501 movement originated from a Reddit forum launched on January 25 that gave rise to a wave of nationwide protests led by grassroots organizations following Trump’s inauguration. What began as an online movement quickly spilled into the streets, with at least four major demonstrations in the past four months.
They’re not stopping. You see, most of Congress and all the gazillionaires really just forget or ignore the American people. 50501 shows all of us we have a voice, and we can use it. And we are! You have to start somewhere, right? Yet the protests keep growing and growing. Have some more from CNN:
The may day protests come two days after Trump marked 100 days in office. In that short period, he has moved to upend the world order by instituting tariffs that threaten global trade; dismantling the administrative state under the Department of Government Efficiency’s slapdash cuts; rolling back protections for transgender people; and exercising executive power with disdain for checks and balances.
Gee, ya think? He’s made one hell of a mess, and it’s only 102 *days*. We have *years* to survive this dementia ridden madman. Heh. I’ve seen bits and pieces where MAGA voters have said they’re sorry they voted for him, yet they still support him. Right. Okay, I’m going to give you one long “ish” set of quotes from CNN that gets you up to speed to today. Then I’ll shut up on this subject. Ha.
The first Trump presidency was met with immediate mass protests in the form of the Women’s March on the day after the inauguration in January 2017. The second time around, protests were slower to develop on a significant scale until more recently.
The “Hands Off” protests on Saturday, April 5, targeted both Trump and billionaire Elon Musk in response to what the organizers called a “hostile takeover” and attack on American rights and freedoms. Nearly 600,000 people had signed up to attend the events,some of which took place in major cities like London and Paris, according to Indivisible, one of the organizations leading the movement. In Washington, DC, several Democratic members of Congress, including Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin, Ilhan Omar, and Maxwell Frost spoke to the crowds to criticize the Trump administration.
Then on Saturday, April 19, the “50501” protests gathered across the US in a similar show of disapproval for the Trump presidency’s actions, with one of their key concerns of that protest the plight of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongfully deported to an El Salvador prison.
Hundreds of “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations,also part of the wider movement against the Trump administration’s actions, have also taken place in the US, Canada, and Europe as activists ramp up their opposition to CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal government staffing and budgets through DOGE.
The Tesla Takedowns are ongoing. I’ve seen pictures of them nearly every week. Too bad Elon won’t notice. I’d bet he (finally) noticed the 70% ish drop in Tesla stock prices, though. I already wrote about that awhile back, so no need to cover it again. It reminds me of the Politizoom slogan. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” credited to Margaret Mead. Thanks for sticking all the way through this longer-than-usual piece with me!
*****And now, please be so kind as to read a very special request from our awesome boss******
Zoomers, we are always in need of donations. It’s been an especially rough month, and my own health has not been great these past few weeks, which just adds to the frustration. Anything you can spare will be immensely appreciated. And thank you to all who have donated generously already. Ursula
