Hands Off! Actions Coast to Coast

This week Political Economy Watch will simply be a short follow-up to an item mentioned in last week's post: the preview of the Hands Off! demonstrations then being organized for Saturday, April 5, in cities across the country.

Measured by nationwide reach and media attention, these demonstrations were some of the most successful mobilizations on the left side of the political spectrum in many years. By late Saturday afternoon they were the lead article on the Associated Press's website ("Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies across the US") and were featured prominently on the New York Times website ("Mass Protests Across the Country Show Resistance to Trump"). Last week we mentioned that similar actions would take place in mid-size cities like Rochester, N.Y., and Oakland, Cal. Those actions received good media coverage as well, e.g., "More than 3,000 protesters rally in Rochester to protest President Trump"; Oakland: "‘We are looking at a crisis’: Protesters pack rallies across Bay Area, nation Saturday".

Impressions of the New York City Hands Off! Event

I went to Bryant Park, the mobilization point for the New York City event. There was no opening rally; at the 1:00 pm starting time, participants were quickly directed to move east on 40th and 42nd Streets (the north and south boundaries of the park) and then to march down Fifth Avenue to Madison Square Park at 23rd Street. People were still arriving at Bryant Park at 2:00 pm. The Times article cited above reported that the march stretched twenty blocks down Fifth Avenue. That means that people were still waiting to begin marching while others had already reached the finishing point. My estimate is that at least 100,000 people participated. This was large, even by New York City standards.

Though this action was organized by a large coalition of organizations, I did not observe many large contingents of people marching behind specific organizations' banners. Most people who were carrying signs appeared to have drawn their own signs -- something also visible in the photos from the Rochester event linked to above. There were large numbers of people who could have been marching down Fifth Avenue against the Vietnam War in 1969. Though people of all backgrounds participated, I would say that the makeup of the march was whiter and a bit more middle-class than the population of New York City as a whole. Widespread revulsion at Trump/Vance/Musk seemed to be the dominant attitude of the crowd.

I would like to hear from readers who participated in these actions in locales other than New York. Please consider sharing your thoughts in the comments below.