Two Quick Points About “Hands Off.”
On the one hand, “Hands Off” was impressive because so many people showed up with their energy, ingenious homemade placards and legitimate grievances. Perhaps some of you were in the streets and can share your experiences. Thank goodness for Code Pink as they passed out “stop the genocide” pins.
On the other hand, the protest was a Democratic Party operation from its inception. Co-Executive Directors Leah Greenberg (former State Dept) and Ezra Levin ( Obama Admin) set up “Indivisible” as an anti-Trump rally with “Lock Him Up” a popular chant. Where were the “Hands Off Palestine” demands? I saw blue and yellow shirts and even placards reading “Hands Off Nato!”
Without question, those behind the rally had the sole purpose of sheepherding people back into the Democratic Party even though it stands for nothing except returning to power. I noticed that none other than Nancy Pelosi was the featured speaker at the rally in Scranton, PA.
Even the “Hands Off” slogan was manipulative as it was appropriated from the “Hands Off Venezuela” movement. Finally, several members of the Black Mis-leadership Class (coined by Bruce Dixon at Black Agenda Report) spoke at the protests, no doubt worried that so many Black people have abandoned the Democrats. My sense is that the anger so plentiful on Saturday must be channeled into a movement and party that supplants the duopoly which is part of the “oligarchy.”
Imo, the “Hands Off” protest was the soft launch of a DNC GOTV campaign. This tactic worked exceptionally well at the 2017 pussyhat protests and the 2018 March for Our Lives.
On 5 April 2025, the “Sit Your Black Ass Down” movement stayed strong and stayed home. This made me very happy. Why? Because, for the first time in a very long time, the Black community ignored propaganda from the dominant society and heeded excellent advice from the Black Grassroots. It was nearly impossible to identify a Black face in any of the protest footage. Ftr, Blacks have been abandoning the Democrats for a while, as we saw in the 2024 election.
On the other hand, Whites heeded the call of the White Mis-leadership Class (many of whom also spoke at various “Hands Off” events) and obediently turned out in throngs. The White left should take a lesson and start educating their own.