Big Rapids joins nationwide protests

“Hands Off” demonstrations appear in town

“Hands Off,a nationwide protest on April 5, took to the streets of Big Rapids with over 100 locals and Ferris students.

In the early afternoon, on the corner of State St. and Perry Ave., the sidewalks were lined with protestors holding signs speaking out against current defunding and advocating for human rights.

“Hands Off” protests happened all over the United States on Saturday. Photo by: Harmony Goodman | Production Manager

With signs that said,Hands off my education,” “Hands off librariesandProtect trans kids.Protestors gathered with snacks, water and support, making friends along the way.

Big Rapids local Squid Lance, who uses they/them pronouns, heard about the national protest on Facebook and was happy to find out the protest was also happening in Big Rapids. Lance, who is a part of the transgender community, felt an urge to attend and stand with others at the protest.

“For a lot of other people, it’s dawning on them, finances are out of your control, healthcare, social security, all that stuff. I think that’s whatHands Offis, it’s just hands off kind of everything,Lance said.

For Lance, they specifically felt a need to be a part of the protest to speak out on the current issues and threats regarding LGBTQ+ youth.

I’m here because I’m trans. I’ve seen this coming for a long time. This has happened before. You don’t know how bad it’s going to get and [even now] it’s already bad. So, to see this little town that I can come out and support is nice.”

Big Rapids resident John Freiberg showed up to protest againstHands Off,and joined at the end at the corner of Perry Street with a few other counterprotestors. Standing with American flags, blue line flags and Trump campaign flags. Hearing about the protest last minute, the protest signs were taped to one of the counterprotesters’ trucks.

Freiberg went to the protest to make his voice heard and to hear both sides, believing that understanding each other and debating is most important.

“Everybody has a different opinion. I have mine and they have theirs. I’ll listen to what they have to say as long as they listen to what I have to say,Freiberg said.

Big Rapids local Chris Zoet attended the protest with Whitecloud local Lisa Woods, who heard aboutHands Offfrom the Indivisible protest group here in Big Rapids. They both went to speak out about what is important to them.

“Education is the big thing and that’s because if we don’t have an educated public, we’re going to end up with what we have right now,Zoet said.

Woods spoke about her frustration with the continuous fight for reproductive rights. Attending other similar protests in her young adult years, she still fights for her rights as a woman. 

“My favorite saying is, I’ve been holding this [reproductive rights] sign up since the 60s,Woods said.

Engineering technology freshman Daniel Quaker attended the protest with a group of friends from Ferris. He talked about why human rights matter and how getting involved and realizing that it’s not two sides against each other, it’s about making a change and speaking out.

“The less money we have as a people, the less power we have over them. No one wants to speak up and I think more people should use their voice,Quaker said.Everyone is a human, whether you’re trans, Black, white, Hispanic, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is flesh and blood. Everyone is a cell from their mother born onto the earth,Quaker said.

After a couple of hours of protesting, the crowd started dissipating, but the word hasn’t stopped, with some members joining otherHands Offprotests throughout the West Michigan area. 

While members of the Big Rapids community continue to speak up and attend protests, it is clear that the ongoing protest for what are human rights is not nearly over.

Liz Brown helped with the contribution of this story.