The “Hands Off!” nationwide protest took over our country’s streets on April 5. Millions marched throughout many major cities — from D.C., New York City, Sacramento, Denver, Seattle, Everett and so many more. Everyone gathered for different reasons with one common goal in mind: to fight back and make themselves heard.
Evident by the large number of protesters, the Trump administration has been doing a lot of things to anger U.S. citizens. Ranging from tariffs making prices skyrocket, laying off workers, targeting transgender individuals and defunding education to deporting immigrants — even deporting citizens. These are just some of the various reasons people decided to take to the streets.
Christy Thom, a protester at the march in Seattle, was one of the many that was laid off due the Trump administration’s policies and frustrated with how things are going economically.
“I’ve been looking for work and everything is dried up, and there are just no opportunities, and it’s scary,” Thom said. “So I am here fighting for all of us, like for those who are unemployed. He (Trump) has ruined everything for us, for our future.”
A firm believer in women making their own choices, Thom is livid about what is being done to restrict women’s rights.
“I’m 55, so I grew up with Roe versus Wade, and all those protections. So it just shocked me where we’re at right now,” she said.
Thom explained that she was optimistic about the outcome of the protest. “I hope that our voices are heard. I hope there’s enough cities out there and enough people out there, that we’re not silent, that we make sure we are heard.”
Thom isn’t the only one with that idea. Alex Washoe is transgender, and is very concerned with the administration’s efforts to erase trans people.
“I’m trans, so we’re the first on the administration’s ‘list of persecution’ and we’ve got to get out and make sure we’re heard,” Their hope is that these protests encourage people to share these experiences, and keep speaking out and make themselves seen in times of uncertainty.
“I believe in being visible,” They stated. “I spent a lot of my life not being who I really am and I want younger trans people to have a chance to find themselves.”
Daniel Armstrong, close friend of Washoe’s, agrees and came out to the protest to help support his friend and add to the number of protesters. He believes that the more numbers there are, the better. That way people will pay attention to the protests and take them seriously.
Armstrong was pleased with how many people showed up for the protests in Washington alone, and even happier to hear about the amount of people that came out to march nationwide.
He hopes that the more people attend these protests, the more traction they will get in the news.
Armstrong also believes that by calling Congress, being cautious about how and where you spend your money, can help the purpose of the protests.
There is a lot happening in the U.S. right now. Ordinary citizens are making sure their voices are heard so things can change for the better. The “Hands Off!” protests are still continuing, with another nationwide protest that occured on April 19.
