Is 50501 A Force To Be Reckoned With, Or Will It Fizzle Out Soon?
Two weeks ago a group of protestors stood outside the Capitol to protest all sorts of things. There were folks against deportation, folks in support of the trans community, and of course, folks wanting to see President Trump behind bars.
The protest was part of something called “50501” which describes itself thusly:
The #50501 protests were a decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies. The idea—50 protests in 50 states on 1 day—was born on r/50501 and spread rapidly on social media.
There are 50501 protests again today with one supposedly taking place at the Capitol. Here’s a photo of the crowd in Athens, GA.
If you’re interested, you can watch a live stream of these protests across the county.
Local reporter George Chidi interviewed a protestor he calls “Bri.” While the movement is decentralized and leaderless, Bri is attempting to provide some leadership and help the movement move beyond holding signs on a street corner into something that gives voice to people she claims are voiceless.
Bri
<continuing> So that I’m not just screaming into the void? Our main goal is to be organized locally, to make sure that people are feeling empowered within their communities, to make sure that people are finding their communities. We’ve been isolated for a really long time. A lot of America is chronically plugged in, chronically online, and it’s highly unhealthy, especially in today’s time, because that leaves us vulnerable to be taken advantage of and to be weaponized. Living in this space of fear and anger. The way we fight that is by connecting to our communities.
GC
It’s interesting that you say that, because as I’ve been talking to folks and as people have been talking about the 50501 stuff, there’s this sort of reserve. Like, “who the hell are these people? I don’t know you. I’ve been protesting for 10 years, and I’ve never seen any of you.” Because there’s this fear that it’s a setup.
Bri
So, I’ve done a couple of other things. I’m involved in other already established organizations, so I am aware, and I’ve been on the receiving end of some of those more traditional activists. We look to them for guidance and some of their wisdom. Then sometimes – and I think is this is pretty relevant in today’s time – we can take some of the old ways and say, ‘hey, you know what? This didn’t seem to be working in the past, and we’re going to do things a little bit differently.’ We’re going to throw a couple of things out there and see what sticks, and as long as we’re being peaceful about it, I don’t see the harm.
Of course, there’s always going to be bad actors. We’re doing our best to make sure that we’re following certain opsec [operational security] guidelines, and making sure that we are keeping a lot of our organizers and people wanting to protest with us as safe as we possibly can. But our own government is not even keeping us safe right now, so we’re feeling a lot of like frustration in general. A lot of us are Democrats, and to be sure, I really want to be clear that 50501 is opening their doors to anybody who wants to participate and stand up against this current administration and the unelected official who’s actually in charge.
Will Bri succeed? Will 50501 become something that moves the political needle in Georgia and beyond? Time will tell, but I’m skeptical. No offense to those involved, they have the right to protest in public any time they want, but there have been left-wing protests against Trump since the moment he rode down that elevator in 2015. The way to stop him is to beat him at the ballot box. The Democrats didn’t in 2016, did in 2020 (no, the election wasn’t stolen), and failed again in 2024.
Protests may draw attention to certain issues, but it seems to me the Democratic Party nationally and here in Georgia is already very supportive of the issues 50501 has raised thus far. Instead, Dems need legislative wins and wins at the ballot box, which means they need to put forward policy ideas that Republican Legislators will support, and then put forward candidates who can attract voters who didn’t vote for them in 2024. From where I sit, it seems Democrats have doubled down on issues and tactics that led to Trump’s 2024 victory.
I’ve been wrong before, and perhaps I’m wrong here, but I’m not sure yet another series of protests against Trump will return Democrats to power.
