Che
A photo of staff writer Che' Marroquin at the first Riverside #handsoff protest in April.
During the Last few weeks I had the pleasure of attending two Hands Off Protest and the fighting Oligarchy rally headlined by Senator Bernie Sanders and Congress-women Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. These events were organized in the wake of the Trump Presidential victory in which mass protest started as the Trump administration has made a plethora of controversies, in the wake of the Trump Presidential win protests and rallies have sparked up the two biggest events being the Hands Off protests and the Fight Oligarchy tour. This article functions as a documentation of my first hand accounts and experiences at both events assuming the reader has prior knowledge of all topics discussed. More information about said controversies can be found here.
These mass protests started on April 5th as a plethora of protests took place nationwide over 1,000 protests took place across all 50 States in the Union. Demonstrators gathered to oppose the Trump Administration on a plethora of issues such as Elon Musk’s involvement in the Federal Government, cuts to medicaid, cuts to social security, money in politics, Withdrawal from NATO, and a large amount of other controversial decisions made by the Trump administration. These protests happened in mass nationwide starting on April 5th and continuing in May as of this writing. This article serves as a documentation of all of my experiences at said hands off protests in which I’ve attended 4 protests as well as the singular fighting oligarchy rally I attended, specifically my opinion and recounting of events in which I’ve experienced them and what said experiences mean.
As previously mentioned I attended all protests mentioned starting on April fifth up until this writing. On April fifth I attended 2 Off protests with my parents, my day started at around seven o’clock in the morning as I got dressed and head out to the protests at around 11am with my parents, as I have never until last month had the opportunity to protest so it was definitely a new experience to say the least in my opinion. For a little context the Hands Off protests are a series of coordinated peaceful protests across the continental United States. No singular person or group created these national protests, the Hands Off movement is a coalition of local and Statewide activists groups, a loose network of like minded individuals deciding on various times that would work that are then passed down rank, which is exactly what happened on April 5th.
I attended the Temecula protest which was held on 29363 Rancho California Rd and is the referenced location in all Temecula protests going forward the event started at 11am lasting until 3pm which I stayed for in full the event was fully peace full with no issues at all the staff handed out waters and directed all of the protests where to stand, where not to be etc and was very well ran as all of the other Temecula protests since the first event on April 5th my experience at the first temecula event was amazing and definitely a fun one to say the least although I have had negative experiences since the first time I protested on April 5th up until now as of this writing in May throughout all the protests in which I’ve attended.
These negative experiences boil down to the amount of agitators that are present, of course nothing serious that would alter my experiences protesting but experiences that have stuck with for example. During my first protest there was an elderly lady in a truck with her husband who saw me looked at me and screamred “go fuck yourself” it wasn’t a shock in my view more of an expectation than anything although I did break the stated protesting guidelines set by HandsOff and the event organizers which is to not speak to any counter protesters present so I subsequently started making crying motions which my hand and in front of the truck went “WAH WAH WAH, cry me a river” and started pointing and laughing at her in which she flipped me off said “go fuck yourself” for the second time and turned over once again.
Little experiences like this that just affirm my worldview as when this happens all I think is “so much for the party of family values” I know a women like that sees me as a character a “brown guy” rather than a person and I in all honesty shouldn’t have reacted the way I did but I’m human and reacted in a way I somewhat regret. I’ve listed a gallery of photos I’ve gotten from the event that I appreciate: signage, people etc. After I protested later during the day at Riverside in near town hall which was substantially larger in scope and size. The event was amazing as well and all in all it was a great experience for my two first protests which ‘ve been attending since.
I’ve since been to four other HandsOff protests all taking place as well as for a singular Riverside protest in which all photos originate from. The Temecula protests on Rancho California road. To experiences have definitely changed my view on the area in which I live in and around which i’ve already thought of as very conservative but the idea that so many like minded people can get together to protest the plethora of crimes both moral and legal in which the Trump administration has committed is amazing to see in an area I could never imagine. I’ve also attended the LA Fighting Oligarchy rally hosted by Senator Bernie Sanders and Congress-person Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. The event was packed with over 40,000 people in attendance which was a joy to see and an experience in which I definitely will not forget anytime soon.
It was a joy to see people like Congress-person Ro Khanna and others speak, people that I’ve seen online for years but to actually be there is incredibly impactful and amazing. The energy and enthusiasm the crowd showed could not be beat that day. It truly gave me an immense amount of hope for the future like nothing else. The speeches were amazing and profound as I would’ve hoped it was very powerful and moving Senator Sanders to talk about when he was in his youth and he marched with Martin Luther King on D.C. as well as other stories he recounted that, that same fight is still alive and will continue. The fight for the oppressed and rights is a battle that will not end anytime soon and must be fought. Bernie ended the afternoon speaking how this same movement and momentum will live on in figures like Ro Khanna and Congress-women Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
To summarize, the Rallies were electric and fulfilling and experiences I will definitely not forget. I recommend all that are able to mobilize against an administration that is actively taking the rights of many, and silencing dissidents. The fight for basic human rights and the ability to live free is a battle that I do not foresee ending quickly but a fight which must be fought by each generation in individual ways. The more people are aware and activated the better chances we have to win and create a more equitable, diverse and inclusive society for all people.
