I’ve never participated in a political protest before, but I must admit, this felt like a pretty good first one to attend… Hands-Off was a nationwide, grass-roots mass protest effort organized through a network of democratic volunteers on Mobilize.io.
I wrote the following in response to a WaPo article about the need for a democratic youth movement:
“I love the idea of Democratic leadership getting younger, but I was at a Hands-Off gathering (protest seems too mild to call it) with a few thousand, mostly senior citizens on April 5 wondering where the young people were? Even our featured ‘singers‘ were called ‘The Raging Grannies.’ While the ladies were amusing and fun, I would have preferred a few 20- or 30-somethings promoting ‘the Mobilized Millennials’ as the centerpiece of our collective democratic (and democracy-saving) movement.”
Still, there were a lot of young people present. I had hoped to see more, but then realized many young people were either working or taking time to recharge after having worked the two or three gig jobs they need to work to pay their bills! Of course there were seniors — lots of them/us — and the crowd was easily 70% (or higher) female. I pretty much expected that, too, but it was a different thing to witness first-hand.
I understand why the City-County Building’s portico was chosen for the Pittsburgh Hands-Off gathering space… Grant Street is fairly wide in font of the 108-year old centerpiece of our local government. And there’s a good-sized, sloping parking lot directly across from the old building’s wide steps. But the organizers placed the microphone too far back from the front edge of the grand veranda. The portico has giant granite-sheathed pillars, which obscured the speakers if an onlooker wasn’t more centered in the gathered mob. Several times, people turned to me to ask who was speaking. I was similarly flummoxed. (I attempted to journal names as speakers were introduced, but several remained simply mysterious, outraged fellow citizens, which was enough for most of us!
One person who seemed to really seize the moment was Conor Lamb.
The former congressman, who lost the 2022 Democratic party primary to John Fetterman for the PA junior Senator seat, was introduced to a well-received cheer. It was kind of surprising to hear, considering Lamb’s loss in the primary was attributed to his “raging moderate” stances. Fetterman was viewed as the more curious Washington outsider who wasn’t afraid to rock the boat. (I admit, I voted for the more even-keeled Lamb instead of the oversized, bald, hoodie-wearing Harvard grad. Conor graduated from my high school and is related to a few of my former classmates and friends.)
Now that Fetterman – who was a conspicuous no-show at the rally – has shifted from his more liberal past (he was the only Dem to visit Mar-a-Lago, and he’s recently been castigated and had to cancel appearances with PA’s newly-elected, carpet-bagging Republican Senator Dave McCormick), it appeared the crowd was ready to back someone who is not afraid to criticize this chaotic, evil administration. (To be honest, I don’t think Fetterman was ever expected to attend, especially since the Republican-led Senate was in session and trying to ramrod through its overzealous spending bill.)
A few other speakers delivered compelling messages, too. Miracle Jones and Beth Mikus spoke passionately about how racially-profiled Americans and various unions were under attack. There was also one other young woman (sorry, I didn’t catch her name?) in a wheelchair who told us about her dependence on Medicaid and Disability Insurance now that MS had made her unable to work any more. She likened her situation (and what the DOGE folks had been threatening to do with those public aid systems) to her and others in her predicament as our society’s “canary in a coal mine.” She was warning us to watch how this administration treats people like her closely, because that will show how they intend to treat all of the “others” in our society. She had to win over the crowd, and by the end of her three or four minutes, she received a rousing cheer.
I was especially impressed with Mitch Kates, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. In dark shades, black ballcap turned backwards, and a black T-shirt emblazoned with “Good Trouble,” he introduced himself booming, “My wife told me when I left home this morning, ‘Don’t Yell!’ (he yelled even louder). Well, hon, sorry. These people are pissed off!” That got a good laugh from everyone, then he quieted things down as he started singing Acapella; “Something’s happening here… what it is, I’m not exactly sure.” He got in a few decent jabs about our dear leader, too, saying we are all paying the price because our “stable genius” is having a temper tantrum and “setting off a tariff bomb to sink the global economy.”
After seeing a Canadian flag in the crowd, Mitch offered a shout out saying, “I see we’ve got Canadian friends here. We love you.”
His final message was about the superpower everyone in attendance shares: “Empathy,” Mitch said, “we will never stop caring about our neighbors. That’s our superpower!”
After a few final choice words, the proceedings at the City-County Building ended and hundreds (possibly thousands?) of attendees marched the length of Grant St., turning left on Liberty Avenue, and then along William Penn Place back to Mellon Square where the crowd was invited to take pictures with the “Trump Chicken” (seen atop this post). Those Raging Grannies were there, too, regaling attendees with still more ditties about liberty, fairness, equality, and aiming rage precisely where it should be aimed, at the self-professed “really smart guy” undoubtedly out on a golf course somewhere.