Starting at University Way in front of Barge Hall, residents of Kittitas County filled up both sides of the road with signs in support of “Hands Off” Saturday afternoon. The protest focused on policies that have been enacted so far during Donald Trump’s second term in office.
The Ellensburg protest was one of over 1,500 protests held across the United States of America. Globally, it reached in Austria, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK according MSN. It was referred to as a “mass mobilization” by the creators of the event.
“Hands Off” was the organization that helped plan over 1,200 rallies throughout the country. The phrase refers to concerns about the new administration’s attitudes toward social security, cancer research, veterans administration, wildfire fighting, bonneville power admin, consumer protection, Canada and Greenland, Medicaid and Medicare.
Participants marched to Unity Way for speeches and live music an hour into the event. The speakers were local professors and members of the Kittitas County Democratic Party.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and women too, for that matter, that we, the people, are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Dr. Jean Marie Linhart, a professor of Mathematics at Central Washington University, said during her speech.
Another speaker was Shelley Lowndesbury Griffin, current vice chair of Kittitas County Democratic Party
“There is a myth in Washington State that there’s the west side and there’s the east side, and the west side is liberal and it’s progressive and it’s business people and it’s tech people, and the east side were all conservative farmers,” Lowndesbury Griffin said, adding that “41 to 45% of the entire Kittitas County has voted for our Democrats. In Ellensburg proper, it’s 58% and in Roslyn, that’s 60%. That tells me that this story about East Side / West Side is not true, and we need to stop believing in that.”
Attendees varied from babies and their parents to senior citizens. Many attendees were students from Central.
“I am not very happy with this nation, and I really want to be able to save the world and help out. Help save our country from this dictatorship that we’re in now,” Mulholland Dunlap, a second year Media & Journalism major at CWU, said.
The protest stayed peaceful with the exception of colorful words being yelled by a handful of citizens passing by in their vehicles as well as the protesters yelling back in response. Many other drivers honked in solidarity.
The White House and President have yet to speak on the protests. A fence was put up a day before the protests took place and garden tours there were postponed.
