All Hands on Deck for Fredericksburg Hands Off Protest
Saturday's Hands Off Protest drew an estimated 800 people.
By Devin Schwer
WRITER
Herman Jones of South Stafford and his wife Charlotte were among the hundreds of people who came to the intersection of Blue Gray Parkway and William Street on Saturday afternoon for the “Hands Off” protest.
The event was one of more than 1,000 across the country to protest the Trump administration's “Assault on government, our economy, and our basic human rights,” according to Hands Off 2025.
This was Mr. Jones's first protest since he attended the March on Washington in August of 1963, and he told the Advance that the current situation is “about the worst I could ever imagine. Everything I see is bad decisions. You’ve got people who are totally inexperienced and don't understand the consequences of their actions.”
A retired Army Officer and Veteran of the Vietnam War, Jones came to this demonstration over his concerns about the Trump administration's handling of veteran affairs and foreign policy.
The billionaires who are pulling the levers in power in Washington, he told the Advance, are breaking things they don’t understand. “You can't serve the people,” he said, “if you don’t have empathy…. People are going to be hurt financially. People are going to die from lack of Medicare. Children are going to die from lack of Medicaid. Older people aren't going to be able to have nursing homes. People who live on social security are going to lose it. And the respect this country has had for veterans is being upended.”
Howard Rudat, Chair of the Stafford Democratic Committee, and one of the organizers of the event, said the demonstration, which he estimates attracted 800 people, was an opportunity for community members to participate in a nationwide movement. (The Fredericksburg demonstration was organized by the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Democratic committees, and Indivisible FXBG.)
“A lot of people want to get involved,” he told the Advance, “but the thought of going to D.C. and being part of a larger rally up there — it was too intimidating, so they wanted to be able to do something local. They were very eager to come out and come together locally, do something we could all join together and show that we are not alone.”
That desire to have an impact locally is what drew Leslie Martin to the event. I’m here “as an individual,” she said, “and what brings me out is the strong desire to do something … and to be with other people who are also outraged by what’s been going on at the national and state level.”
Most concerning to Martin are “attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion … deportations, [as well as] crackdowns on immigration.” She’s equally concerned about recent actions at the Department of Education. and how those actions could “funnel down and impact my university.”
Nicole Cole, Spotsylvania County School Board member and Democratic nominee for Virginia’s House of Delegates in House District 66, attended the protest Saturday afternoon as well.
“We need to stop the incredible overreach and illegal things the federal administration is doing,” said Cole.
“The people need to do what we are doing today,” she continued, “to make sure that we are fighting for what we need and what the government is supposed to do for Americans. We have a lot of people here with disabilities who are concerned about their Medicare going away, veterans' benefits being decreased, or taken away - I am concerned about the attacks on public education, on the Department of Education, because when you dismantle critical agencies that provide services across the board, to our kids, that created a lot of instability, it will create issues for every community and every family.”
Video courtesy of Penny A Parrish.
As with any demonstration, the real question becomes, what long-term impact will it have?
Asked if he thought the demonstration would make a difference, Jones told the Advance: “I don't know. Thats the thing, how much of an impact will it [have]? If it's done all over the country, maybe it’ll have some impact.”
All Photos are courtesy of Penny A Parrish. To see more of Parrish’s work, visit her website.
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Diversity? What planet are they on? Real issues, critical issues are Social Security, Tariffs (did I say Tariffs?) and the wars Donnie Warmonger is getting US into. We don't care about Houths over there. We care about survival here at home. Being able to afford a trip to the grocery store.