Protests of federal government changes scheduled for Saturday across the north country

Yahoo

03-04-2025

Apr. 2—MASSENA — More than 50 individuals have signed up so far, and more than 100 others have expressed interest in taking part in a peaceful protest against changes under the Trump administration.
They'll gather from noon to 2 pm. Saturday at the intersection of Main Street and Route 37 in Massena, and they won't be alone. Similar protests will be taking place throughout the United States, including in Potsdam, Watertown and Plattsburgh.
Organizer Jeanna Matthews said her involvement started on March 14, when veterans and supporters were called up for a nationwide march, dubbed the Veterans March, to protest the impact of cuts on critical programs that support former military service members.
The protests were spearheaded by 50501 (short for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement"), a political action organization founded to protest the policies and actions of the second Donald J. Trump administration.
"I heard about a veterans march on March 14 that was being organized all around the country. I had been hearing about cuts to veteran's benefits and things like that, and Elon Musk and his team of programmers going in and just firing tons of people," Matthews said. "It was playing pretty fast and loose with essential services and veterans benefits, people who deserve much better treatment."
She said she felt strongly enough about it that she talked to some friends and decided to hold an event that day, along with others that were taking place in the U.S.
"The way they said it was in Washington, D.C., in every state capital, or in your town, at a street corner near you. Basically, do something where you are. I thought I could do that," she said. "So, some friends and I decided to just organize something."
They then decided to do another similar event in conjunction with the nationwide protest on Saturday. That's being done in partnership with the North Country Neighbors for Civic Engagement.
"They have a lot more experience with this kind of thing," Matthews said.
The event details have been posted on Facebook.
"'We've been very clear that we should avoid the driveways. It's a peaceful protest and I really encourage people to focus on slogans on their signs that are convincing and respectful, and really try to get people to think about the direction things are going," she said.
She has suggested several possible slogans for signs that might resonate with north country voters, like "Hands off Social Security," "Canada is our ally not Russia," "Reverse damaging cuts," "Stand with our allies," "Firing air traffic controllers makes us all less safe," "Protest DOGE," "Don't cut services for veterans," "Fund our schools," "Rural seniors need Social Security phone service," and "Musk's Tesla pays less taxes than you."
"There's a lot of issues going on right now. I know there's a lot of things I'm concerned about. They're cutting Meals on Wheels. They're making Social Security difficult to access. They haven't outright cut Social Security, but they're saying you have to show up in person and you can't contact people on the phone. Especially for seniors in a rural area, that can be the difference between them being able to get access or not," Matthews said. "It would be nice if we could have just one problem and focus on that. But there's a full frontal assault of problems and I think a lot of them are very impactful up here."
She suggested that some of the changes taking place in Washington aren't agreeable to many people.
"I think many of these things were not what people voted for or advocated for," she said. "If they've done surveys, would you have wanted legal visa holders or green card holders targeted? Would you want cuts to veterans benefits? Would you want cuts to buying produce from farmers for food banks? Would you have wanted to make it difficult for the people who have paid into Social Security all of their life to be able to get those services? I think it's deeply unpopular all across the country, even in areas that voted strongly Republican. I think people are alarmed and afraid and want to have their voices heard."
Peaceful protests have been planned on April 5 in:
NEW YORK
Albany
Avon
Batavia
Beacon
Binghamton
Buffalo
Canandaigua
Corning
Cornwall
Delhi
East Hampton
Elizabethtown
Farmingville
Fredonia
Gardiner
Geneseo
Glens Falls
Greenport
Hamilton
Hastings on Hudson
Hector
Herkimer
Highland Falls
Ithaca
Mamaroneck
Massena
Middletown
Mineola
Monticello
Mount Kisco
Nanuet
New York
Newburgh
Norwich
Oneonta
Ovid
Owego
Patchogue
Plattsburgh
Potsdam
Rochester
Sag Harbor
Saranac Lake
Saratoga Springs
Saugerties
Seneca Falls
Staten Island
Syracuse
Troy
Utica
Warwick
Watertown
VERMONT
Barton
Bennington
Brandon
Brattleboro
Burlington
Chester
Hartford
Jericho
Manchester Center
Newport
Saint Albans City
Shelburne
South Burlington
South Royalton
Vergennes
Winooski