By Don Backman, Co-lead Indivisible Tillamook Coast Action
Hands Off, NO KINGS, Mayday, NO KINGS II, NO KINGS III. Millions of people came together to say “keep your hands off” civil rights, the constitution, and the rule of law. Donald Trump and Project 2025 intend to establish an authoritarian government, a dictatorship, the Trump Regime. They are attacking the very soul of democracy.
What have the four largest mass protests in US history accomplished? Quite a lot, really. At the time of Hands Off, the Democrat leadership in congress was rolling over and playing dead. Democrats were voting for some awful legislation while Elon Musk and DOGE were stealing our personal information and ripping open the government’s confidential and even secret files like a bag of chips, then copying our information to mysterious unsecured servers off in the “cloud.”
It seemed like big corporations and big universities, and pretty much everyone was giving in without a fight. After Hands Off, it was clear that there was growing opposition to the Authoritarian take over.
Then there was NO KINGS, and the opposition to the Trump Regime had noticeably increased. We saw more backbone in the opposition in Congress. We saw businesses and universities standing up for themselves in court. Then last fall, NO KINGS II blew the lid off. And now, just after NO KINGS III which was even larger, we have a Congress that is fighting back (with our collective foot on their rear). We are seeing the opposition candidates defeating Republicans in what were very red areas. Cracks are forming.
A critical change happened on the way to these events. Every day people got to know one another. They started getting together with friends, with new acquaintances, and forming small community groups to stand up and do what they can. Pop up protests, signs of fascism, constant phone calls to elected officials, postcards, weekly protests, they collect food for those too scared to go out, they write letters, knit hats, and stand watch for ICE, donate food for those in need. Every day people put pressure on elected officials to stand up. Everyday people are primarying those politicians who aren’t fighting or who are collaborating. Here, we call these groups Community Resistance Teams, or CRT’s. Day-to-day organization is where the real long-term strength lies.
Before, and during the revolutionary war, the patriots stood for democracy, the idea of civil rights, and the rule of law. They spoke in town squares, made placards, wrote messages, had meetings, they wrote officials, and they contributed what they could. Today, we stand for the exact same things, only in 2026 style. That makes us Patriots. Patriots, see you on April 18th at 1:00 PM at the Tillamook County Library to hear pastor Tim Mayne speak about Christian Nationalism. See you on Mayday, May 1st at the rally from 4 – 6PM, or in Nehalem on the street every Saturday, the weekly protest in PC, or the Sunday protest in Tillamook. Bring your flag. Keep doing the hard, patriotic work that protects Democracy. Patriots. Yes, we are Patriots.
About ITCA
ITCA is a nonpartisan group that takes action to protect women’s rights, defend civil liberties, and maintain a society based on human dignity and the rule of law. An attack on one of us is an attack on all.