Today, April 5, 2025, is my husband’s and my 50th wedding anniversary. We’re Minnesotans who have been vacationing in southern Portugal. This morning we drove 2.5 hours to Lisbon to join nearly 300 American expats and others in a HandsOff protest. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate our Golden Anniversary! Lets hear from HandsOff protestors from across the globe.
Thank you. We were bummed not to be in the States and protesting at our Capitol in St. Paul. On our way back to our car with our homemade signs, a young German guy rushed out of a restaurant and shook our hands. That felt good!
Thanks for representing in Portugal! My family was there in St. Paul and it was glorious. Hope to see you there on April 19th! Hands off and elbows up!
Hundreds of people lining both side of the street for three blocks in tiny Issaquah, WA (home of Costco's HQ). Best sign was "I've seen smarter cabinets at Ikea."
THAT is cool. We had, I blush to admit, other plans for the day, but we couldn't get there, due to all the traffic (worse than even our usual here! I'll still carry my Ukraine flag and set it in the back window on our way to our postponed plans today, and let folks know where we stand). It was expected in the big cities; one old fogey protestor type who was probably a teenager->young adult in the 60s (vs. me, who was barely in kindergarten in the more exciting times) was grumbling that the turnout in D.C. wasn't anything near as big as protests in the past, but maybe it was a good thing that it was more spread out these days, even in the small cities and towns in the rural areas.
A huge turnout in DC is a great thing when it happens, but honestly it doesn’t respect the realities of the working class to expect we can all take time off work and afford to travel there. Decentralized protests can happen more often and include more people
Portland was chock full of anarchists and druggies—- oh wait, nope nope, sorry just 50,000+ people of all walks of life fiercely singing and marching and chanting and coming together to protest the lawlessness of this president. On a gorgeous sunny day, thanks God.
It has been glorious indeed! Clearly your work God. I saw one sign, roughly made that stated God hates you Trump and Jesus ain't saving you. I thought of you guys.
Sadly, the lower midwest and midsouth is drowning, and if the protest in Jonesboro Arkansas went on, I couldn't get there for flooded roads. I marched against the Vietnam War and the draft, and for Civil Rights. I reckon I have a few marches left in me, and "God willin' and the creek don't rise (again), I'll make it to the next one.
Don't expect help from the government. It's all up to you now, with the fentanyl addicts and SSDI fraudsters. You voted for this. Your state literally voted for child labor. The blue states that have adults that work and try to protect their women and children don't owe you a dime.
Are you directing that at phat khat personally? Cuz that’s what it sounds like. I don’t think PK is responsible for the entire state of Arkansas, just as you are not responsible for the US voting for the orange catastrophe…
Yeah, there are refugee Blues all over, and if anything, PK deserves a medal for staying in such an egregiously Red place. :-/
(Catherine, natural disasters have proven they don't care if their targets are Red or Blue, as has been shown. What's needed is compassion for everyone; Jesus said be kind to even enemies. If nothing else, it really bugs them. :D)
I'm with Rachel C; stay safe and stay fierce, PK! :)
??? Why are you attacking me? I didn't vote for this at all. Even in my super red county, 20% of us voted against it. When I moved here, in 2004, it was a blue state.
And, yes, it's a mess now. But we're fighting it. There are a lot of good people here. We need support, not hate based on the state we live in.
As far as druggies go, they're in blue states, too. And SSDI cheats are few and far between, as you'd know if you ever applied. It's very, very hard to get approved.
I accept all your criticisms and appreciate you (and others who totally had your back) taking the time to note them. A bit of privileged ignorance on my part. That's gonna get fixed.
It was really awesome. And gave me hope. My little city had so many people there for Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, and Mexico. I even saw a sign apologizing to the world (yes!). We need more of this energy.
We were out in Eureka, CA, less than 30K population, a good 4 or 5 blocks both sides, horns a-honking, singing, chanting, admiring posters, smiles in solidarity, . . .
Even we here in Scottsdale, AZ, showed up surrounding No-town-hall Rep. Schweikert's (R) office today. We were told there were 1,200 of us. Lots of honking horns in agreement driving by.
Palatine, Illinois today! #HandsOff protest! Amazing experience! Organizers expected @ 150 people to show up. There are at least 500 there! Would love to post a photo but do not know how! Thank you God for this space!
We had about 200 show up to the event even though it rained through most of it. Vivek Ramaswamy was supposed to appear and speak. He was a no-show, of course. And he wants to be governor of Ohio. Primary that idiot!
Hooray for Hoomans! Thanks to all who were able to show up and state what our democracy should look like. The signs and physical presence warm my heart. Onward!
Today, April 5, 2025, is my husband’s and my 50th wedding anniversary. We’re Minnesotans who have been vacationing in southern Portugal. This morning we drove 2.5 hours to Lisbon to join nearly 300 American expats and others in a HandsOff protest. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate our Golden Anniversary! Lets hear from HandsOff protestors from across the globe.
Happy Anniversary! Great way to celebrate with 300 like-minded people!
Thank you. We were bummed not to be in the States and protesting at our Capitol in St. Paul. On our way back to our car with our homemade signs, a young German guy rushed out of a restaurant and shook our hands. That felt good!
Congrats on your big day, Ann and hubby! 🥂 Southern Portugal sounds dreamy! Enjoy yourselves!! 💘
It truly is
So Cool!!! And Happy 50th Anniversary!
Thank you. It was memorable, to say the least.
Happy Anniversary to you both, and many happy returns of the day!
Thank you.
Thanks for representing in Portugal! My family was there in St. Paul and it was glorious. Hope to see you there on April 19th! Hands off and elbows up!
Hundreds of people lining both side of the street for three blocks in tiny Issaquah, WA (home of Costco's HQ). Best sign was "I've seen smarter cabinets at Ikea."
THAT is cool. We had, I blush to admit, other plans for the day, but we couldn't get there, due to all the traffic (worse than even our usual here! I'll still carry my Ukraine flag and set it in the back window on our way to our postponed plans today, and let folks know where we stand). It was expected in the big cities; one old fogey protestor type who was probably a teenager->young adult in the 60s (vs. me, who was barely in kindergarten in the more exciting times) was grumbling that the turnout in D.C. wasn't anything near as big as protests in the past, but maybe it was a good thing that it was more spread out these days, even in the small cities and towns in the rural areas.
I agree! :D
A huge turnout in DC is a great thing when it happens, but honestly it doesn’t respect the realities of the working class to expect we can all take time off work and afford to travel there. Decentralized protests can happen more often and include more people
Oh there will be more - get ready!
Portland was chock full of anarchists and druggies—- oh wait, nope nope, sorry just 50,000+ people of all walks of life fiercely singing and marching and chanting and coming together to protest the lawlessness of this president. On a gorgeous sunny day, thanks God.
Wowee! Fabulous! 💙 👏🏼
It has been glorious indeed! Clearly your work God. I saw one sign, roughly made that stated God hates you Trump and Jesus ain't saving you. I thought of you guys.
Sadly, the lower midwest and midsouth is drowning, and if the protest in Jonesboro Arkansas went on, I couldn't get there for flooded roads. I marched against the Vietnam War and the draft, and for Civil Rights. I reckon I have a few marches left in me, and "God willin' and the creek don't rise (again), I'll make it to the next one.
Stay safe and stay fierce 👹
Don't expect help from the government. It's all up to you now, with the fentanyl addicts and SSDI fraudsters. You voted for this. Your state literally voted for child labor. The blue states that have adults that work and try to protect their women and children don't owe you a dime.
Are you directing that at phat khat personally? Cuz that’s what it sounds like. I don’t think PK is responsible for the entire state of Arkansas, just as you are not responsible for the US voting for the orange catastrophe…
Yeah, there are refugee Blues all over, and if anything, PK deserves a medal for staying in such an egregiously Red place. :-/
(Catherine, natural disasters have proven they don't care if their targets are Red or Blue, as has been shown. What's needed is compassion for everyone; Jesus said be kind to even enemies. If nothing else, it really bugs them. :D)
I'm with Rachel C; stay safe and stay fierce, PK! :)
Proverbs 25: 21-22. I'll be seeing myself out . . .
??? Why are you attacking me? I didn't vote for this at all. Even in my super red county, 20% of us voted against it. When I moved here, in 2004, it was a blue state.
And, yes, it's a mess now. But we're fighting it. There are a lot of good people here. We need support, not hate based on the state we live in.
As far as druggies go, they're in blue states, too. And SSDI cheats are few and far between, as you'd know if you ever applied. It's very, very hard to get approved.
I accept all your criticisms and appreciate you (and others who totally had your back) taking the time to note them. A bit of privileged ignorance on my part. That's gonna get fixed.
I was there, Bel Air MD! Home of thin-skinned, yellow-bellied Rep. Andy Harris (R-Coup plotter)
I was there, too!!!
I bet Andy wasn't...doing all his "town halls" by Zoom, is he? ;)
I wish he'd at least do that much!
I was there in Chicago! It was amazing and hopeful!!
So glad you were overseeing all of us, God! What a fabulous outpouring of humans!
It was really awesome. And gave me hope. My little city had so many people there for Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, and Mexico. I even saw a sign apologizing to the world (yes!). We need more of this energy.
Can’t backdown. Won’t backdown.
Yay little towns! :D They're not just for MAGAts. ;)
We were out in Eureka, CA, less than 30K population, a good 4 or 5 blocks both sides, horns a-honking, singing, chanting, admiring posters, smiles in solidarity, . . .
Even we here in Scottsdale, AZ, showed up surrounding No-town-hall Rep. Schweikert's (R) office today. We were told there were 1,200 of us. Lots of honking horns in agreement driving by.
Scottsdale. Nice. We had 20,000 in Tucson, but, well, it's Tucson.
I just read in the AZ Republic that the Tucson demonstration was bigger than Downtown Phoenix's. Great job!
Palatine, Illinois today! #HandsOff protest! Amazing experience! Organizers expected @ 150 people to show up. There are at least 500 there! Would love to post a photo but do not know how! Thank you God for this space!
It was quite moving to be involved in a world wide protest. Gave me hope.
Houston had a good turnout even though it rained. Signs of hope.
We had about 200 show up to the event even though it rained through most of it. Vivek Ramaswamy was supposed to appear and speak. He was a no-show, of course. And he wants to be governor of Ohio. Primary that idiot!
Can't think he would have been welcome.
Hooray for Hoomans! Thanks to all who were able to show up and state what our democracy should look like. The signs and physical presence warm my heart. Onward!