On March 5th, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets around the country to protest the dictates of the Trump administration and the maneuvering of the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The theme for the day was “Hands Off” (our democracy, elections, healthcare, education, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc). The nationwide call to street action was designed to provide a collective opportunity for people to stand together against efforts to dismantle the structures of our representative government and subvert the rights of the American people.
Local action was organized by Two Harbors Breakwall, which is a branch of the nationwide Indivisible organization. 176 area residents gathered along Hwy 61 in the middle of town to make their voices heard and stand against the ongoing attacks on our constitution, the hollowing out of our government agencies and the manner in which dedicated public servants and the people who benefit from their service are being treated across the country by the Trump / DOGE administration. The purpose of this article is to give voice to local residents who chose to speak about the way they and their family members are being impacted by what is happening in DC.
Some respondents were comfortable giving their names and some asked to remain anonymous out of a need to protect themselves or their loved ones.
Speaking for a loved one who works in the public service sector:
“Every day people are going to work not knowing if they have a job. Every day is a new email. One of the things that our daughter told us is that they cut the funding to her department. They had a credit card to buy supplies for their research projects. That credit card is worth $1.00 now so they can’t do their research. It’s like, ‘Why are we here right now? We can’t do our jobs because we have no money to continue the work.’ Most of the people who work with our daughter know they could get better money in the private sector. They work in the public sector because they believe their work is really important. This is the largest fresh water lab in the country. They do important work but it’s gotten so stressful. When the whole DEI thing came out, they couldn’t use words like climate change and diversity in any of their publications or any of their correspondence. How do you work as a scientist when you are publishing a paper and you need to write about the diversity of fish populations but you can’t use the word diversity? Those are a couple of examples that she gave us and it makes the job so much harder. It’s just ridiculous.”
Speaking as a local business owner:
“As a business person, it’s really hard to plan your business and know what your future is. Are those fabrics going to be 20 to 30% more expensive? Can I ship my products to Canada now? Every day it’s a different thing and all these business people are supposedly running our government but they really crap on businesses by creating this volatility.”
Speaking out from a personal perspective:
“My name is John Frischmann. I’m from Castle Danger, just up the road about 15 miles or so. I’m here because it feels really good to push back a little bit. We’ve all been reading bad news for the last two and a half months, gnashing our teeth and ringing our hands. While this protest is just a little step, it feels really good to be out here. It feels good to hear the honks of the cars as they go by. I think a lot of people are feeling what we feel but it’s tough sometimes to get off your couch at 7:30 in the morning in the cold to come out here to wave a sign. We just need to push back at all the horrible things that Trump is doing. My son is a teacher. He’s worried about his job. I’ve got a daughter who works in Minneapolis who is worried about her job. A lot of people are worried about their job. Some of the cost and job cutting just doesn’t seem to make sense. DOGE is not at all analytical, just lop off 10% and call it good. Maybe some agencies need to be reformed but not like that. It can’t be done with an ax. What you need is a scalpel. There needs to be a compromise between what we are saying today and what the most ardent Trump supporters are saying. There’s a middle ground there. It can’t be all us and none of them or vice versa. There’s got to be something in the middle. Sometimes we think all Trump supporters don’t get it but that’s not the case.”
Nick, from Two Harbors had this to say: “I’m angry with the way things are going. There are too many problems to list with what the current regime is doing. My parents are on Social Security and I receive VA benefits. I have family members that are part of the LGBTQ community. What’s going on with the VA has me nervous. I don’t know how bad it’s going to get but it’s not going to go well.”
Anna, from Two Harbors added: “You mentioned that some of the people didn’t want to give their names and one of the things I was mentioning to Fran is that not only am I thankful and grateful to these people who could’ve been sipping a cup of coffee and having a sticky bun on Saturday morning, but instead are out here. But I also admire them, right? Because they know that there is a reason for fear and they summoned up the courage and they tucked into that vein and here they are and I’m grateful for that. Also, my son Karl has disabilities and receives benefits. Once you’re a member of a vulnerable community, you don’t just see that particular concern but you see everything through the lens of vulnerability. Everybody is vulnerable now unless you are wealthy. I think that this is such a moment of solidarity with all sorts of people who are marginalized and now is the time to center them.
LSSD School Board member Al Ringer touched on concerns about impacts to education: “People are concerned about how things will trickle down and hit the school. A lot of this stuff is up in the air about who is getting laid off and what the Department of Education is going to look like. Our daughter is a teacher in Cloquet. She’s got a student loan and she doesn’t know what the loan program is going to look like because it’s administered by the Department of Education. It changes daily, as you know.” Al’s wife added, “I feel like I’m in an abusive relationship because we don’t know what Trump is going to act like and every day is something crazy.”
Donald Trump is operating under the delusion that he’s been given a “mandate” to impose Project 2025 policies on the American public and ill conceived trade policies on everyone else around the world. DOGE purports its work to be about “eliminating waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government. In reality they are creating waste, fraud and abuse. Stock and financial markets are tanking and ordinary Americans are worried, fearful and angry. As New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said last week, “This is a moral moment. This isn’t about left or right. It’s about right or wrong.” Regardless of political affiliation, it’s time to stand up and speak out.
