I went to the Hands Off protest on April 5. The one I attended was a smaller one across the river in St. Paul, but not the one at the capitol--that one drew about 25,000 people, I understand. I chose to go to a closer one, where I hoped it would be easier to park, and that indeed turned out to be true. naomikritzer was there, too.

The weather was cold and breezy (I'll know next time not to big a big flimsy card for a placard, because the wind kept trying to take it away like a sail). But the sky was a brilliant blue (I used it at the background for this collage).

There were several hundred people there, and I saw no counter-protestors. Many cars honked in support as they drove by (although one yelled out the window, "Get a job!" and I thought to myself Dude. It's a Saturday.). We all interspersed our chants with friendly chatting. We all found comfort in our solidarity of purpose and trading of experience. What can we do?

I made the deliberate choice, which I never have before, to blur the faces in the collage other than my own. What a strange world we are entering, where that feels necessary.

The headline in today's newspaper read, "Students With Visas Live in Fear," and I thought about the quartet of Norman Rockwell paintings "The Four Freedoms," especially the one entitled "Freedom from Fear." How have we come to this point, where we are losing these basic freedoms?

Image description: against a brilliantly blue sky background, various people hold protest signs.

Hands Off



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