Hands Off Protests, Rain Or Shine

When today’s national ‘Hands Off‘ protests were conceived, chances are that no one thought there would be so many things to protest. What began as opposition to Punk, Muskrat & Co. has now expanded out of necessity to include immigration issues, tariffs, and funding cuts for critical services. People whose work is desperately needed have been laid off. Millions are scared and concerned not just about the distant future but tomorrow and next week.

But it’s going to rain in a number of places. Weather forecasts for today show rain moving into the Deep South and East Coast states today, and plenty of Midwest states are waking up this morning to flooded roads from last night’s storms. This raises the question of whether the promised masses will show up. Americans are famously afraid of water, especially when its coming from the sky.

Strangely enough, those questioning whether to participate in today’s protest might do well to ask, “What would Canada do?” As the President has angered our friends to the North, they’ve responded in ways that almost no one was anticipating. Canada is America’s top export market, and 63 percent of Canadians are actively looking for Canadian-made products when they shop, according to a poll from February (though enthusiasm for the movement varies based on class and age). Some stores are adding Made in Canada labels to products—one liquor store in Vancouver posted Buy Canadian Instead signs on empty American whiskey shelves—and Canadian grocers are reporting that domestic-product sales have recently increased by up to 10 percent. Canadians make up the largest group of international visitors to the U.S., but Canadian airline bookings for U.S. destinations have reportedly dropped more than 70 percent for the spring and summer, according to one industry monitor. The U.S. Travel Association calculates that a 10 percent annual decline in Canadian travelers could amount to more than $2.1 billion in spending losses for America.

Canada is in a great position to protest. Are Americans as safe when they pick up a picket sign? Not necessarily. We’ve seen people of color picked up by ICE, arrested for no known reason, and shipped off to El Salvador before a judge has time to stop them. Today’s protests aren’t catching anyone by surprise, so be sure that Homeland Security is watching every location. While it’s unlikely that they’ll take any action against a large group, their habit of picking someone from the edge of a crowd and tossing them into a waiting van puts everyone at risk.

Still, if we say nothing, if we do nothing, the government will think that perhaps we like what they’re doing, that we like how they’re disassembling our country, how they’re putting lives at risk, how they’re raising our food prices, and endangering our jobs. “This is shaping up to be the biggest single-day protest in the last several years of American history,” Ezra Levin, a founder of Indivisible, said recently.

On the National Mall in Washington, DC, members of Congress, including the Democrats Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Maxwell Frost of Florida, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, are scheduled to speak to crowds. Other members of Congress are scheduled to speak to crowds in their home states. After the devastating results from this week’s tariff announcement, anger may be higher than it’s been since the 1860s.

“The only way to win is people power,” Jonathan V. Last, the editor of The Bulwark, wrote last week; the Democratic Party “will have to be pushed into fighting by a mass popular movement.” Democrats have, for too long, been a party of passivity. As a result, they’ve lost their edge, their willingness to fight for the good of the country, and the motivation to stand up and say what’s not popular.

Anyone who is planning on going to one of the local protests today is still encouraged to read our guide ‘How To Protest Safely.’ We don’t want anyone getting hurt or roughed up while you’re out there. Check weather forecasts to see how you need to dress for the day. For many areas, the rain is clearing out, but the temperatures are still low. Please, prepare accordingly.

A strong turnout to today’s protests sends a message to the White House that we’re not going to close our eyes to the damage Punk & Co. are doing to the country. Sure, they’ll try to ignore the whole thing. The President was out golfing yesterday, and the stock market crumbled to its lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 breakout. We can’t expect them to suddenly respond positively because a march today doesn’t instill the level of fear needed to motivate a reversal of policy. We can, however, make a statement as to the strength of our opposition, and that is something that will linger in all future conversations.

We hope you’ll attend one of the marches near you. Locations can be found on the Hands Off 2025 website. Be Loud. Be Strong. Be Safe.