I live in Northern Germany and went with other friends from Democrats Abroad. There were rallies being held in many European Cities, and in Mexico and South Africa. Those of us who are in countries where we are able to protest in public are glad we could be in community and solidarity with us. These were the ones I found.
It's up to people of ALL ages to take responsibility to fight for their rights. This is a fascist coup, not a fashion fad or a commercial product needing to be marketed. Unfortunately. I think there are large swaths of people with no personal or generational experience of direct political engagement or participatory democracy and a lifetime experience of being pandered to. Everyone needs to step up and meet the moment in whatever way they can. Stop waiting for someone else to make it feel "cool" enough for you to join in.
I went to two protests on Saturday and didn't notice a skewing towards "older people". I understand what the guests were getting at (needing to involve younger people) but the conversation turned me off a little, like older people outnumbering younger seemed to somehow not be as important. A little ageism there. I am a baby boomer and have been politically concerned if not active my entire life. I did notice my millennial relatives did not protest and I have not heard a peep from them. At the risk of sounding snarky, maybe they should get off their phones for awhile and step outside. Never have understood the obsession with phones for that generation. We are ALL important and ALL have a voice, although we do bring different experiences to this crucial moment in our country.
Can anyone say Palestine? While we are focused on our privileged "rights" we condone the #genocide of an entire population...all else pales in comparison and yet Hands Off and 50501 and Indivisible ignore it....unpleasant truth
In every rally I have been in in Germany there have been Palestinian flags and people rallying for the people of Palestine. However, no one was there at our Rally in Berlin, but there was a big Palestinian rally that weekend in Berlin too. A lot of people picked their rallies and some went to all. There was also an anti-Tesla rally.
As a person who has spent so much of my life in academics, mostly biomedical research, I think Anand asks some interesting questions. There is SO much to explore within this very big topic, I.e. funding of research in the broadest sense. I agree with Astra in that I don’t think Federal Funding of research should be separated from Universities. Also, funding of research is more diversified than might appear with many intersections and collaborators with the center often being the universities and colleges. Funding comes from foundations and wealthy people. There is Federal Funding to the National Labs and a lot of collaborations of Universities/Colleges with Biotech and Pharma funded by industry. Would be a great future topic.
I guess I feel pretty encouraged that we had a significant number of younger people show up for the protest. It was not completely geriatric folks like me. That is noteworthy, I think, for a small town conservative area. But I think we still need to do more youth outreach.
I AM A BABY BOOMER. I am protesting and doing all that I can to fight against the regime FOR MY GROWN CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. So, I AM ABSOLUTELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS. WHILE WE NEED TO MAKE THIS “COOL”, WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE IN OIR COALITION TO FIGHT THIS FACIST REGIME. PERIOD. SO WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK. EVEN WE “OLD” BOOMERS. We need collective ideas not just ONE MESSAGE. I TOOK AN 80 YEAR OLD WOMAN WITH ME ON SATURDAY WHO HAD NEVER PROTESTED. HER PRESENCE MATTERED. I’m pretty sure that she and I have some different ideas about politics BUT WE WERE THERE TOGETHER. DO NOT RISREGARD ANY ONE PERSON’s REASON TO FIGHT ALONG WITH US!!!!!!!!!!!!
Resistance is essential, but resistance with a meaningful goal would be ten times better. Please consider advocating for the Informed Citizens movement (informedcitizens.com). The Informed Citizens values, goals, and Independent Citizens Commission would provide Democratic and Repbulican candidates and voters with the dual purpose and opportunity of stopping Donald Trump’s destruction of our democracy while also taking steps to fix the broken political and economic systems that allowed him to build power from the unrest of the middle class.
Agree w the skewing older-true here in SF, CA too - and we ‘elders’ were yelling for Term Limits especially when Pelosi’s rep spoke. Can’t speak to getting more younger folks in-there was good representation in SF too, but my experience includes agism-and I’m not irrelevant by a long shot. What about Diversity? Appreciated how Mystal talked about bringing oranges & pizzas- and were there.
As for worrying about men-and mostly white men, let’s be clear-women x the board have not achieved pay parity-it’s not b/c feminism ignored them. Men need to decide to be allies and educate each other. Really pisses me off to still be talking about this all these years later-
I’ve been hearing this a lot from my brother and sister unionists. I respectfully disagree that we should have protested at the ballot box.
Although, it’s so very true that many of us knew/know that DT is a feckless POS and should not have won that election. It’s also true that none of us knew he would cause this massive destruction of our Democracy in his first 70 days. Those who were afraid to vote, didn’t and let’s not forget those voters who simply thought that their vote didn’t matter. And don’t even get me started on the rigged part of this past election.
My point is this:
We are all in a different place politically than we were on January 19, 2025. This tyrant has literally turned our entire World upside down. This is why people are protesting. I choose to embrace the moment knowing that it will not be easy. Leaders will rise to the occasion and I am counting on the young people to take the lead. It seems they already have. (Although we need to talk to young white males to find out what their needs are).
Saturday was my 4th protest since February, my second in DC. By far this latest DC protest was the largest gathering I've experienced, with perhaps 100k people, maybe more spread all over the mall. It was also the least motivating. I left Washington feeling deflated. Please hear me out on this.
In my limited protest experience, there is more to it than just a bunch of people showing up with signs and slogans. People who take the time to show up at a rally are not just there to walk or stand around with a sign and shout the same old slogans - "This is what democracy looks like!!" People show up to be "rallied", to be around like-minded resistors, the more the better. They need to feel like they are part of a coordinated movement, while being collectively motivated and encouraged by the experience so that they can maintain their enthusiasm for resistance when they go home and have to live in the larger society that contains a whole lot of MAGA.
This past weekend in DC, we showed up. There were tens of thousands of people and we were motivated to be there and rally for democracy against this regime. And there were great speakers as well. But, and this is a huge BUT - the vast majority of protesters could not see or hear Jamie Raskin, Eric Swalwell, Al Green and the others who gave rousing speeches. The stage was set up in a spot that prevented 90% of the attendees from seeing them. And the PA system was so bad you literally had to be within 75 yards of the stage to hear what was being said. As a result, I left the rally after four hours feeling demoralized. There was no unity, no feeling of camaraderie, no common purpose to rally around created by exciting and motivating speeches.
This was in stark contrast to the Veteran Rally in early March. At that rally, which only had about 10k attendees, the stage was set in an area of the Mall that allowed a greater number of protestors to see the stage. The organizers also had set up a concert-level PA system. Everyone could hear it, all over the Mall. And there were two jumbo-trons bracketing the stage so that EVERYONE could see the extremely motivating speakers. It brought everyone together and created a real sense of camaraderie that was palpable. People were happy and energized when the rally ended.
I don't mean to be too critical of the organizers because I don't know what bureaucratic hurdles they had to overcome or what constraints they had to deal with. But if we are going to maintain any momentum in this fight and keep people turning out in greater numbers, organizers need to set the stage to create a sense of shared purpose for those who get off their asses and show up.
Three things: the correction comments Anand noted about people not knowing about or having retirement accounts are important, I think, for the Ink demographic to understand more deeply, and even more important is to grasp the sheer desperation of the millions of Americans who struggle every day literally to stay alive, find shelter, feed their families. Bemoaning the loss in value of a retirement account comes off I think as some kind of combination of ignorance, arrogance, and oblivion. So there’s that—if the goal is to build an inclusive movement. Second, I don’t think the appeal of crypto is all that complicated: people want a way to get rich and since all the promised paths to wealth are pretty much foreclosed, crypto seems to promise at least a chance (just as has every such scheme throughout our benighted Americsn history—but who knows that anymore?? ). And third, the DC gathering I joined was packed with kids. On my trip in on the Metro I was surrounded by teenagers, young families, and all manner of folk. And we were a joyous multitude—there was even a Klezmer band going after the Israeli government with their big brass dance.
I agree about savoring the wins. I have been intentionally thinking about each positive piece as a stepping stone - "how can I use this to keep moving forward? how can I use this to move into the next moment and build more."
ALL THAT SAID, I HAVE BEEN A PROPONENT OF GETTING NEW BLOOD INTO THE DEM PARTY. WE NEED AN INFLUX OF YOUNGER LEADERS BUT OUR OLDER LEADERS SHOULD BE WILLING TO HELP MENTOR THE NEW LEADERS. THERE IS EXPERIENCE WORTH MINING. AND THERE IS ROOM FOR NEW IDEAS. ALL IS NEEDED.
thank you for everyone who joined!!!!!
I spent most of my day getting to and from Berlin where I went to a Hands Off Rally.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/us-citizens-unity-around-the-world?r=f0qfn
I live in Northern Germany and went with other friends from Democrats Abroad. There were rallies being held in many European Cities, and in Mexico and South Africa. Those of us who are in countries where we are able to protest in public are glad we could be in community and solidarity with us. These were the ones I found.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/hands-off-around-the-world?r=f0qfn
It's up to people of ALL ages to take responsibility to fight for their rights. This is a fascist coup, not a fashion fad or a commercial product needing to be marketed. Unfortunately. I think there are large swaths of people with no personal or generational experience of direct political engagement or participatory democracy and a lifetime experience of being pandered to. Everyone needs to step up and meet the moment in whatever way they can. Stop waiting for someone else to make it feel "cool" enough for you to join in.
I went to two protests on Saturday and didn't notice a skewing towards "older people". I understand what the guests were getting at (needing to involve younger people) but the conversation turned me off a little, like older people outnumbering younger seemed to somehow not be as important. A little ageism there. I am a baby boomer and have been politically concerned if not active my entire life. I did notice my millennial relatives did not protest and I have not heard a peep from them. At the risk of sounding snarky, maybe they should get off their phones for awhile and step outside. Never have understood the obsession with phones for that generation. We are ALL important and ALL have a voice, although we do bring different experiences to this crucial moment in our country.
Can anyone say Palestine? While we are focused on our privileged "rights" we condone the #genocide of an entire population...all else pales in comparison and yet Hands Off and 50501 and Indivisible ignore it....unpleasant truth
In every rally I have been in in Germany there have been Palestinian flags and people rallying for the people of Palestine. However, no one was there at our Rally in Berlin, but there was a big Palestinian rally that weekend in Berlin too. A lot of people picked their rallies and some went to all. There was also an anti-Tesla rally.
As a person who has spent so much of my life in academics, mostly biomedical research, I think Anand asks some interesting questions. There is SO much to explore within this very big topic, I.e. funding of research in the broadest sense. I agree with Astra in that I don’t think Federal Funding of research should be separated from Universities. Also, funding of research is more diversified than might appear with many intersections and collaborators with the center often being the universities and colleges. Funding comes from foundations and wealthy people. There is Federal Funding to the National Labs and a lot of collaborations of Universities/Colleges with Biotech and Pharma funded by industry. Would be a great future topic.
I guess I feel pretty encouraged that we had a significant number of younger people show up for the protest. It was not completely geriatric folks like me. That is noteworthy, I think, for a small town conservative area. But I think we still need to do more youth outreach.
Nothing wrong with being geriatric!
ALSO! REMEMBER, SOME OF US “OLD PEOPLE” have more time to do this than younger people.
I AM A BABY BOOMER. I am protesting and doing all that I can to fight against the regime FOR MY GROWN CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. So, I AM ABSOLUTELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS. WHILE WE NEED TO MAKE THIS “COOL”, WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE IN OIR COALITION TO FIGHT THIS FACIST REGIME. PERIOD. SO WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK. EVEN WE “OLD” BOOMERS. We need collective ideas not just ONE MESSAGE. I TOOK AN 80 YEAR OLD WOMAN WITH ME ON SATURDAY WHO HAD NEVER PROTESTED. HER PRESENCE MATTERED. I’m pretty sure that she and I have some different ideas about politics BUT WE WERE THERE TOGETHER. DO NOT RISREGARD ANY ONE PERSON’s REASON TO FIGHT ALONG WITH US!!!!!!!!!!!!
Resistance is essential, but resistance with a meaningful goal would be ten times better. Please consider advocating for the Informed Citizens movement (informedcitizens.com). The Informed Citizens values, goals, and Independent Citizens Commission would provide Democratic and Repbulican candidates and voters with the dual purpose and opportunity of stopping Donald Trump’s destruction of our democracy while also taking steps to fix the broken political and economic systems that allowed him to build power from the unrest of the middle class.
Agree w the skewing older-true here in SF, CA too - and we ‘elders’ were yelling for Term Limits especially when Pelosi’s rep spoke. Can’t speak to getting more younger folks in-there was good representation in SF too, but my experience includes agism-and I’m not irrelevant by a long shot. What about Diversity? Appreciated how Mystal talked about bringing oranges & pizzas- and were there.
As for worrying about men-and mostly white men, let’s be clear-women x the board have not achieved pay parity-it’s not b/c feminism ignored them. Men need to decide to be allies and educate each other. Really pisses me off to still be talking about this all these years later-
Here is the thing about these protests... It makes it seem like these are "what democracy looks like". NO!
Democracy is the boring everyday participation in local and state Govt.
Democracy is joining local organizations helping others.
At the very least democracy is VOTING in every election at local, state and national elections. AT THE VERY LEAST.
It is NOT marching after an election result you don't like.
😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
I’ve been hearing this a lot from my brother and sister unionists. I respectfully disagree that we should have protested at the ballot box.
Although, it’s so very true that many of us knew/know that DT is a feckless POS and should not have won that election. It’s also true that none of us knew he would cause this massive destruction of our Democracy in his first 70 days. Those who were afraid to vote, didn’t and let’s not forget those voters who simply thought that their vote didn’t matter. And don’t even get me started on the rigged part of this past election.
My point is this:
We are all in a different place politically than we were on January 19, 2025. This tyrant has literally turned our entire World upside down. This is why people are protesting. I choose to embrace the moment knowing that it will not be easy. Leaders will rise to the occasion and I am counting on the young people to take the lead. It seems they already have. (Although we need to talk to young white males to find out what their needs are).
Peace out ✌️
Saturday was my 4th protest since February, my second in DC. By far this latest DC protest was the largest gathering I've experienced, with perhaps 100k people, maybe more spread all over the mall. It was also the least motivating. I left Washington feeling deflated. Please hear me out on this.
In my limited protest experience, there is more to it than just a bunch of people showing up with signs and slogans. People who take the time to show up at a rally are not just there to walk or stand around with a sign and shout the same old slogans - "This is what democracy looks like!!" People show up to be "rallied", to be around like-minded resistors, the more the better. They need to feel like they are part of a coordinated movement, while being collectively motivated and encouraged by the experience so that they can maintain their enthusiasm for resistance when they go home and have to live in the larger society that contains a whole lot of MAGA.
This past weekend in DC, we showed up. There were tens of thousands of people and we were motivated to be there and rally for democracy against this regime. And there were great speakers as well. But, and this is a huge BUT - the vast majority of protesters could not see or hear Jamie Raskin, Eric Swalwell, Al Green and the others who gave rousing speeches. The stage was set up in a spot that prevented 90% of the attendees from seeing them. And the PA system was so bad you literally had to be within 75 yards of the stage to hear what was being said. As a result, I left the rally after four hours feeling demoralized. There was no unity, no feeling of camaraderie, no common purpose to rally around created by exciting and motivating speeches.
This was in stark contrast to the Veteran Rally in early March. At that rally, which only had about 10k attendees, the stage was set in an area of the Mall that allowed a greater number of protestors to see the stage. The organizers also had set up a concert-level PA system. Everyone could hear it, all over the Mall. And there were two jumbo-trons bracketing the stage so that EVERYONE could see the extremely motivating speakers. It brought everyone together and created a real sense of camaraderie that was palpable. People were happy and energized when the rally ended.
I don't mean to be too critical of the organizers because I don't know what bureaucratic hurdles they had to overcome or what constraints they had to deal with. But if we are going to maintain any momentum in this fight and keep people turning out in greater numbers, organizers need to set the stage to create a sense of shared purpose for those who get off their asses and show up.
Three things: the correction comments Anand noted about people not knowing about or having retirement accounts are important, I think, for the Ink demographic to understand more deeply, and even more important is to grasp the sheer desperation of the millions of Americans who struggle every day literally to stay alive, find shelter, feed their families. Bemoaning the loss in value of a retirement account comes off I think as some kind of combination of ignorance, arrogance, and oblivion. So there’s that—if the goal is to build an inclusive movement. Second, I don’t think the appeal of crypto is all that complicated: people want a way to get rich and since all the promised paths to wealth are pretty much foreclosed, crypto seems to promise at least a chance (just as has every such scheme throughout our benighted Americsn history—but who knows that anymore?? ). And third, the DC gathering I joined was packed with kids. On my trip in on the Metro I was surrounded by teenagers, young families, and all manner of folk. And we were a joyous multitude—there was even a Klezmer band going after the Israeli government with their big brass dance.
All ages of people of every cultural group can be very funny! Fun has nothing to do with a certain age.
I agree about savoring the wins. I have been intentionally thinking about each positive piece as a stepping stone - "how can I use this to keep moving forward? how can I use this to move into the next moment and build more."
ALL THAT SAID, I HAVE BEEN A PROPONENT OF GETTING NEW BLOOD INTO THE DEM PARTY. WE NEED AN INFLUX OF YOUNGER LEADERS BUT OUR OLDER LEADERS SHOULD BE WILLING TO HELP MENTOR THE NEW LEADERS. THERE IS EXPERIENCE WORTH MINING. AND THERE IS ROOM FOR NEW IDEAS. ALL IS NEEDED.