Last week, I was feeling at least a little bit better about our national politics? For better or worse, our government was funded. There was at least a possibility about a ceasefire with Gaza and Israel and Russia and Ukraine? And many court decisions had ruled against what the Trump administration had been doing, and told them to stop or undue what they had done.

Then Sunday night, the Trump Administration ignored a court decision that prohibited it from sending people in American to Venezuela, claiming they were gang members without any due process.

Since then, the Trump Administration has claimed it had done nothing wrong. It refused to provide information about the timing and decisions around the decision. It also declared the court decision was invalid, based on nothing besides the fact that they disagreed with the ruling.

In short, this is the first of the Trump Administration’s actions (I think—it’s hard to keep up with everything) to ignore and proceed against a court ruling. I never expected to agree with most of President Trump’s policies within the many powers he has. But I will NEVER accept him disregarding the balance of power. This balance was set up by our foundational document, the US Constitution.

Therefore, I am joining a National Nonviolent Demonstration called Hands Off on Saturday, April 5. I urge those of us who believe President Trump’s actions are illegal to show up at their local demonstration. If there isn’t one in your area, perhaps you can organize one.

Here is the link to the site to find existing demonstrations or to sign up to organize your own: https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/.

So far in the Research Triangle Area, there are plans for demonstrations in Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro. I can’t imagine there won’t also be gatherings in at least Durham and Chapel Hill. Browsing through the listings so far, there are demonstrations of many different varieties. Morrisville NC is developing dispersed small groups to hold signs along the streets while Raleigh NC is trying to gather large groups. I’m not a part of the organizing group. But it seems they are welcome to different groups doing what seems right for their community.

The same day I became aware of this demonstration, I read this from one of my newsletters, The Contrarian, from an article by Jennifer Rubin:

Remember: there is no substitute for mass, collective, and peaceful action. Brian Klass, author of Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, and expert in democratic movements, recently wrote:

Democracy doesn’t get saved one post at a time. Authoritarians are delighted when their opponents only channel their anger into typed outrage that generates dopamine through clicks from like-minded partisans. Elon Musk will be constrained far more by Tesla boycotts and the prospect of plummeting sales figures than by mean memes. Donald Trump hates bad optics—and mass protests are terrible optics for a wannabe despot who (falsely) claims a “landslide” popular mandate.

There’s no magic rabbit about to be pulled out of a hat to push back against powerful anti-democratic forces. Targeted boycotts, consistent mass protests, and, eventually, coordinated general strikes—along with political organizing that puts pressure on complicit politicians while laying the groundwork for a future electoral surge—remain the tried and tested tools of effective pro-democracy opposition.

So, I don’t want to be someone who only blogs about my disagreements with this Administration. I’m going to be in action.

Trump and Musk say they are doing what “the people” want. But that is based only on the feedback they get from the people on the social media THEY OWN. The most effective resistance to the Trump Administration programs has occurred at Town Hall meetings. Republican legislators have held these meetings and have been overwhelmed with protests against the Administration’s policies. It has been so effective that Republican leaders have advised their members to stop holding public meetings with their constituents. Who cares about hearing about what the people actually believe? They should be avoided because they are providing “bad optics” to the Republicans. TV stations show that the people at these meetings are outraged about what is happening.

Apparently politicians need to see us in person to believe our desires for something different. So let’s show up. Check Hands Off for more information.