PAW PAW – More than 250 people joined in the nationwide mass mobilization protest Saturday morning at the Maple Lake Amphitheatre, Paw Paw. The event included speakers, music, food, and a protest march through the downtown.
The guest speaker was Justin Mendoza, chair of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party.
“We have to remember that none of this is normal. None of this is the America we love. None of this is the dream,” Mendoza told the crowd. “It’s time to take action, whether that’s by protesting and making your voice heard, organizing mutual aid for your community, or running for office to fight back against fascism, today is the day you start fighting back.”
Among the other speakers was Sabine Krummel of Lawrence. Krummel, who moved to the United States when she was 13 from Europe, grew up hearing stories about her family who lived in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s during the rise of fascism. Her family’s history is what encouraged her to speak Saturday at the Hands-Off rally.
“We are all connected. There is a ripple effect that goes far beyond what we see. It’s like those domino runs we used to build as kids. You stand up one domino after another until there are many,” said Krummel.
“Now imagine a domino chain of people from Wyoming to Kansas to Oregon and to Hawaii. Each being touched by the previous one,” Krummel added. “I believe even the smallest gesture of kindness will impact the outcome between sanity and destruction of sanity. I believe your single action of courage today in Michigan can impact someone in Florida, California, Arizona, or Ohio.”
Kathleen Murphy, said, “In the few weeks Trump has been in office, his administration has taken a wrecking ball to our rights, freedoms, our public services and democracy. We are all gathered here today to stand up for our families, our neighbors and our communities against the threats imposed by this administration.
She continued, “The Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk, who is unelected, has some serious conflicts of interest and has shown contempt for important government functions. The efforts of DOGE have been fraught with errors, poor planning and outright lies There has been insufficient oversight of these activities and our personal data has been compromised.”
She concluded, “I believe that all of the chaos is intentional by design. He is squashing dissent and difference of opinion against student protesters, independent reporters, judges, lawyers and political opponents. They threaten, bully, and punish folks who get in their way to break us, and make us give up. We love our democracy and freedom too much to lose our voices. Let the world hear our voices today and in the near future.”
Sponsored by Indivisible Southwest Michigan Van Buren County, a chapter of the national Indivisible organization, the rally was one of many held throughout Michigan and among 1,200 organized across the country.
“We are a small yet mighty group of citizens from Paw Paw to the Harbor Country along the Lake Michigan shoreline, to the surrounding areas of Southwest Michigan,” said Jay Foskey, co-chair of the group. “Today, we see many people coming together for many reasons, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, veteran’s services, education and the list goes on. But we have one thing in common, we know what’s going on in Washington is wrong.”
