Why I'm supportive of Hands Off 2025 (and understand why some Black voters stayed home during the protests)
Notice how there are no police officers around or riot language when white people protest?
Imagine you live in a condominium, and the condo board just hired a new property manager. Condo monthly assessments are collected. But you notice that the bills aren’t being paid. The water bill is now over $8,000. The gas bill is around $3,000. The electricity bill is about $1,000. You’re now concerned about the economic state of this building. You’ve been paying monthly assessments, too, and the bill balances are getting higher instead of lower over the past few months. You start reaching out to other condo owners who have been paying assessments, showing them copies of the bills and telling them, “Hey, this isn’t paid.”
Some shrug and claim they paid their dues, so they’re not worried about it. A handful don’t even live in the condo; they’re renting their units out. But you live in this place. When bills aren’t paid, you and the rest of the residents will be the ones without water and without heat and without electricity. You’re getting louder, and emailing or calling anyone who will listen. Every condo owner is either not responding to you or acting like this is no big deal.
You decide you’re going to apply to be on the condo board because you’re now furious about bills being past due and want to know why. One condo owner doesn’t want you on the board and blocks you at every turn. In fact, he even gets other condo owners to try to make sure you don’t join. You run anyway. The election happens, and you don’t get enough votes.* You shrug and hope the new condo board can get to the bottom of the bill pileup.
I’m annoyed when people say “Americans” voted for Trump — and ignore a specific and large demographic fighting against his presidency for three straight elections.
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And then the electricity goes out. The property manager lies and says it’s a “system error,” but you have a copy of the electricity bill that clearly states that if the bill isn’t paid immediately, the electricity will be shut off. The property manager sends out an email blaming the electricity company. But then you see a payment post — for the exact amount (plus a late fee) that the electricity company threatened to shut off if not paid immediately. Now the power is back on. The owners assume an electricity technician came out to fix the “system error.” They’re still refusing to admit that the property manager is not paying bills.
Finally, your condo association is so far behind on bills that signs are put up all over the doors, declaring other utilities will be shut off if not paid immediately. And condo owners start coming to you, insisting that we’re all responsible for paying these bills. Now you’re side-eyeing these people who didn’t want you to run for the board, didn’t care about what would happen when the property manager was a thief, voted against you when you tried to resolve the issue, and are acting like it’s your duty to save the building.
Anti-Trump, Black voter warnings fell on deaf ears
Does this sound like a completely unfair situation that could’ve easily been avoided? Yes. It. Does. And this is how Black voters feel about the uprising and anti-Trump rallies popping up all over the nation. While 92% of Black women voters and 81% of Black men voters repeatedly warned others of what would happen if Trump was re-elected, these warnings fell on deaf ears. Former President Joe Biden said it. Former Vice President Kamala Harris said — and debated — it. Deaf ears again.
Whether these voters chose Trump “for the economy,” because they are still mad about Senator Bernie Sanders losing or are anti-war, ignoring all of this helped Trump to return on Inauguration Day 2025. (I have zero love for the 36%, or 89 million of all races, who didn’t vote at all.) Ironically, now this crew is lecturing you at every turn, insisting that you get out there and fight. But you? You stay home. You ignore all the new complainers, especially the ageist ones who talked nonstop about one debate (and ignored Biden’s NAACP well-spoken speech a few days later).
You’ve wiped your hands of this entire situation. This is what it’s like for Black voters who protested voting against Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024 — and he’s now in the Oval Office with a rabbit-hopping, co-president Scrooge McDuck. Why on Earth would you show up to any rallies, any protests, sign any petitions or visit any town halls? Why would you team up with the same people — and their relatives, friends and co-workers — who ignored you until all hell broke loose? This is their fight, not yours.
Recommended Read: “Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies across the US”
Playing Devil’s Advocate: Stop asking other Black people to stay home
But then there’s the other side of the argument. It’s the one where you know if you sit at home and don’t fight at all, you’re going to get pulled into the chaos regardless. You still live in this country (or “this condominium,” using the example above). You’re still legally obligated to deal with this nightmare. Your “we told you so” and demands that it’s somebody else’s job to fix everything is starting to come across like Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” song.
You have a right to cry. You have a right to be upset. You have a right to stay home. You did what you were supposed to do! But you don’t have a right to insist everybody else who is Black stay at home with you. That’s where the anti-protesters lose me.