In the recent week, there have been a lot of discussions about the 50501 protest. The talk of these movements have been popping up all around the country and even in Torrington, Connecticut. Torrington was one of the many towns that joined in support of this movement. On April 5th, many members of our community gathered around Coe Park, holding up signs, raising voices, and expressing their concern about President Donald Trump’s administration.
The name 50501 is short for ‘50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement’. The 50501 Movement aimed to organize 50 protests in 50 states on a single day. These protests oppose the policies and actions that have been taken by Trump’s administration.
The crowd chanted, “This is what democracy looks like,” while cars drove by, honking in support. Senator Richard Blumenthal made an appearance and delivered a speech, encouraging the crowd to with the statement that “the power belongs to the people.”
When asked why he chose Torrington for a stop on the statewide day of rallies, Blumenthal said, “Look at this turnout. This is absolutely amazing. The energy is incredible.”
But what were they protesting for? These protests were a nationwide movement against the policies enacted by President Donald Trump and his advisor, Elon Musk. These protesters rallied for many reasons, such as cuts against certain programs like Social Security and Medicaid, and controversial new tariffs. The outcome of these protests had a large turnout. There were approximately 1,400 events across the 50 states, drawing an estimated 5 million participants nationwide.
Lisa Roche, a teacher at Torrington High School who participated in the protest on April 5th shared her thoughts on the experience stating, “As an American, I was very proud to be a part of the widespread “Hands Off”… Peaceful protests have been a cornerstone of our democracy since the beginning and our free speech rights are enshrined in our Constitution, in fact it is the very first amendment.”
A THS alumnus also shared their reasons for showing up, saying, “I went to Stephen Ivain’s campaign announcement, and this is something they encouraged everyone to do if they want to make a difference. And I do.” Ivain has just announced his interest in running for mayor of Torrington. The THS alumnus supports him.
“Politics in this country has strayed far from what it should be—they’re now about personal agendas and self-interest, not about serving the people or the true purpose of our country.”
From protests like these, we can gain a valuable insight into the public’s opinion on citizens and their relationship with the government. These protests allow citizens to use their First Amendment rights, showing demand and dissatisfaction within our government, and to gain overall awareness of things that are going on inside our government.
