Let’s all admit it: what we have seen in these past nine weeks is worse than we expected. I’ll confess to that – having seen the first Trump Administration, I was prepared for a shambolic mess of conflicting executive orders, legal incompetence, and extreme kleptocracy. We may be seeing a lot of that, but we are also seeing a Trump Administration that is moving quickly to dismantle programs that Americans rely upon, as they take steps to cow opposition in the business, legal and educational sectors. They are moving fast and breaking things on a massive scale.
We don’t have a lot of time to stand up for the America that we love. In the past nine weeks, Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented power grab — his on-and-off tariff oscillations are driving up prices, he is slashing funding for essential programs while the Republican-run Congress twiddles its fingers, and he is creating instability at every turn. Enabled by Elon Musk and all those complaisant Republicans in Congress, his corrupt agenda is making life harder for everyday Americans while eroding our democracy. We can’t afford to wait any longer to fight back.
Over 100 national organizations are joining together to plan a mass mobilization of peaceful protestors on April 5th for the HANDS OFF rallies in big cities around the country. From massive and long-running behemoths like the League of Women Voters and Service Employees International Union to the young and scrappy groups like the newly formed 50501; from issue advocacy groups like Social Security Works, League of Conservation Voters, and Planned Parenthood, to groups like Women’s March and Indivisible that formed in the wake of Trump’s first election, all of these organizations are gathering together to stage massive demonstrations in cities around the country. And for you to make the most impact with your presence, we need you to head into the nearest large metro area to participate.
The reasons why your impact is maximized by attending a big metro rally can be found in the BBC News article “The ‘3.5% rule’: How a small minority can change the world.” That article is based on the academic work of Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University.
“Looking at hundreds of campaigns over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns. And although the exact dynamics will depend on many factors, she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.”
Professor Chenoweth noted that people tend to ignore the success of peaceful protest, observing that “ordinary people, all the time, are engaging in pretty heroic activities that are actually changing the way the world – and those deserve some notice and celebration as well.”
READ: Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick Is Scared to Hold a Town Hall. His Constituents Organized One Anyway
We need folks to take some of those heroic actions by heading into their nearest metropolitan area for these 4/5 HANDS OFF actions. And this has to do with some basic sociological studies. In short, the bigger the crowd shown, the more moving the image is and the greater power it has to get other people involved. A 2020 study by Stephanie Geise, Diana Panke, and Axel Heck found that “media images are efficient carriers of political content that can motivate citizens to protest.” And we all know that today’s media is more likely to widely promote images of massive crowds.
So if we want to achieve that 3.5% mobilization rate, we have to wake up all those folks out there who say things like “I don’t pay much attention to politics.” And to get them to awaken, we need to flood the zone with image after image of American cities full of peaceful rally-goers who are committed to the same goal – saving America from the ravagings of Trump, Elon and their cronies. And there is no image more powerful than a massive crowd in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
That is not to say that smaller events don’t have value – of course they do! A fellow Indivisible group, Upper Bucks United, is planning a HANDS OFF event in Quakertown. The Doylestown Action League has a solidarity event planned for Doylestown, scheduled especially for folks who have physical issues that would prevent them from dealing with the rigors of travel to and from Philadelphia.
PHOTO ESSAY: Hundreds of Protesters Rally Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk in Doylestown on President’s Day
Both of these events have value and it is wonderful that we have a thriving progressive community to support these actions. But nothing other than the images of massive crowds in our iconic city locations has the power to mobilize that 3.5% of our American electorate needed to effectuate change.
I hope you will make time in your busy life to plan the trip to Philadelphia for the HANDS OFF rally there on April 5th, and I hope you will talk some of the people in your social circle to join you. You have the chance to make a huge impact, to build the momentum this country needs to resist the excesses and inhumanity of the Trump Administration. I think America is worth fighting for, and the trip to Philadelphia is a cheap price to pay to save our country …. Don’t you agree? See you there!
