Hands Off protest in Tillamook, Oregon

From the writer of “WTH Is Going On? – Over 500 attended the Indivisible Hands Off protest in Tillamook, OR our small town of 5000! Previous protests here had not exceeded 125. Folks came from all over the county. Some attended from Portland while on vacation.

Everyone was pumped! Our rally planning team collected over 100 signatures to get the new ERA Oregon measure* on the ballot in November 2026 and hundreds of new sign ups for our local Indivisible newsletter.

Purpose of Protest

While there is some skepticism about the efficacy of protests, this event made it evident that achieving immediate change is not the primary goal. Historically proven by many social justice movements, peaceful protest does not yield overnight results. The true purpose is to bring like-minded people together in greater and greater numbers to connect, increase solidarity and uplift spirits. It encourages participants to become more engaged and active and call others in until the movement can no longer be ignored or suppressed.

It reminds us, as Cory Booker said in his record breaking floor speech: The power of the people is greater than the people in power.

The power of the people is greater than the people in power.

Community in Protesting

Many folks who attended came early and stayed after to talk to each other and to us. Some said that they had lived in our towns for months or years and had not been successful in connecting with like-minded people. Others commented how incredibly affirming it was to be in the presence of so many people working in unity toward the same goals. Many thanked us for organizing the protest and asked, “What’s next?”, or “When can we rally again, the sooner the better?!” * equalrightsoregon