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Hands Off Miami & Feckless Protest Against Fascism [1]

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Date: 2025-04-06

There were dozens, dozens of us! Which was sadly unsurprising as Miami is the heart of America’s political and economic shifts. In some ways South Florida has become a secondary de facto capital of the United States and the Republican party.

At our demonstration we had no counter protestors, not even an angry comment thrown our way. We also received a lot of friendly beeps from cars passing by. This could be seen as a sign as the country is on our side or much worse. The fascists are so confident in their hold on power they do not need to counter protest or commit violence upon us, and I do not blame them, we are a feckless movement.

Virtue signaling is not a dirty phrase, there are times and places where one should virtue signal. This is a sadly befitting time for Americans to signal against fascism and in favor of general good will. Yet, we are doing nothing to go beyond our virtue signals, this hands off event in Miami was an opportunity to organize toward future action. Instead, the most action I saw was from four petitioners. Petitioning is all well and good, demonstrations are all well and good but are only effective if a government cares to listen.

Fascists do not care to listen to anyone who is not a hyper-nationalist, one must make them listen. But fascists are not concerned by a protest following Ron DeSantis’ street blocking ordinances to a tee. There was a deep irony when our group shouted “The people will never be divided” as we found ourselves across the street from one another.

Why were we following the cops every crossing order? Without a hint of civil disobedience the fascists know they can beat us down. At the event, US customs and borders vehicle happened to be driving by us, the driver had his window rolled down and stared at us piercingly almost knowingly. We are especially violence prone when I heard protesters say multiple times, “This is so much fun.” This should not be fun, this should not be happening! There is nothing fun about fascism and the myriad harms committed by fascists. This virtue signal is not for fun, it is to at least showcase a middle finger against the illegal kidnapping of college students, cuts toward disability services, cuts towards global public health, and I could unfortunately flood the zone with more harmful actions being done by American fascists.

This gathering together fecklessly is not a winning strategy, when I asked a volunteer what he thinks should be done next he answered “Phone banking.” The law is not operating under normal functions and we are going to call Chuck Schumer so he can do even more nothing about it? There was no rebellion here, nothing punk, I wish I could even say that this was a winning aesthetic. But when the greatest actions occurring were a good petition for Miami redistricting and a marijuana legalization petitions, the fascists have nothing to fear.

If we do not go about any civil disobedience by and large then we are complicit to the laws set by fascists. A brisk walk from Bayfront Park to the Miami Freedom Tower does nothing, and even this feckless movement lost emotional steam. If we are indeed fighting for the needs of individuals with disabilities, in less fortunate economic conditions, migrants, and so on, one must indeed fight. In a Nietzschean sense, one does not have to fight with fists, “The higher man is distinguished from the lower by his fearlessness and his readiness to challenge misfortune.” Yet, there is no challenge to misfortune occurring here, chanting and songs organize toward nothing. We can change nearly every heart and mind in America but there is a threat that our democratic systems may not hold. What then?

Fear of the people is not fear that the people will gather in a mass virtue signal in urban centers. Fear is fear of damage, fear of chaos, and lastly fears of violence which I believe one should never even flirt with especially if against fascist violence. But those fears of damage and chaos can be sparked via civil disobedience. Our organizing should be within the halls of power, if you want a good example of a strong recent protest look at how Jewish Voice For Peace went into Trump Tower. A demonstration, even a good one, does not guarantee any progress let alone victory but at least Jewish Voices For Peace riled concerned. Furthermore, even if a protest does not rile concern, then one should put their body on the line to truly signal virtue. We are a shame to the likes of John Lewis concerning ourselves more with our “fun” then putting our bodies and souls on the line against fascism.

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