A Protest for the Ages,

Or at Least Until Supper

The good people of Nevada have seen many strange sights at the State Capitol, but yesterday’s gathering was one for the books. A motley collection of the disgruntled and the overenthusiastic converged upon Carson Street, waving signs, shouting slogans, and generally conducting themselves in a manner best described as a cross between a political uprising and a particularly unruly family reunion.

The occasion? A “National Day of Protest,” which, if we are to believe its architects, was meant to “reject fascism,” “defend equality,” and “resist executive overreach.” It remains unclear how these noble goals translated into midday loitering and minor traffic disruptions, but that is the beauty of democracy: one need not be effective so long as one is loud.

It was not their first attempt at such an endeavor. A previous installment occurred on February 5, when crowds gathered nationwide to express their discontent with various executive orders. That protest, while spirited, was modest compared to yesterday’s gathering, which stretched from Musser Street to the edge of the Capitol complex, proving that, at the very least, a grievance has a remarkable power of multiplication.

The “50501 Movement,” as it calls itself (for reasons best known to its founders), boasts of being a decentralized grassroots effort born on the internet—Reddit, to be precise, which explains much. According to its website, the movement is a response to the “plutocratic allies” of the Trump administration. This writer is uncertain how many of these protesters could define “plutocratic,” but their commitment to the cause was evident, if not always coherent.

Law enforcement, perhaps recalling the previous protest’s excitement—where one motorist allegedly solved his political disagreements with the business end of a firearm—maintained a hearty presence. Officers on foot, in cars, motorcycles, and even dirt bikes roamed the perimeter, prepared for any escalation beyond the usual grumbling and sign-waving. Fortunately, no incidents aside from a semi-truck forced to a screeching halt—an unfortunate byproduct of enthusiastic civic engagement mixing with inattentive traffic management, were reported.

Curiously absent from the affair were counter-protesters on foot, though several motorists made their opinions known with flags and impromptu window signage. Pro-Trump banners and Confederate flags made their rounds, drawing the obligatory chorus of boos from the assembled activists.

But here is the rub–while these fervent agitators stood shoulder to shoulder decrying various injustices, there was not a word—nay, not even a whisper—about the nine million dollars that vanished under Nevada’s Attorney General’s nose, nor the hundreds of millions that mysteriously evaporated during the COVID-era spending spree. Nobody mentioned the teachers’ unions, which have created a troubling mix of inefficiency and despair in Nevada’s education system. No, dear reader, the righteous indignation of the day was reserved for D.O.G.E., which is drawing reparations from an ill-willed bureaucracy.

It is known as a “useful idiot”—a term not coined by me but rather by those who have studied the curious phenomenon of people passionately demanding solutions to problems they barely understand. And so, with grand pronouncements and self-satisfied rhetoric, they marched, wholly convinced of their virtue, blissfully unaware of the richer pickings for outrage that lay just beyond their protest signs.

The next event in the 50501 playbook is February 28, where participants are encouraged to refrain from spending money—a noble sacrifice, provided it does not interfere with their morning lattes. It will be followed by an Amazon boycott and, in March, a call for a nationwide workforce strike. One can only hope these revolutionaries have informed their employers, lest they discover too late that striking is most effective when one has a job to return to.

By 4 p.m., the crowds had mostly dispersed, leaving only a handful of stalwarts clinging to their signs and convictions. And so ended another chapter in the ongoing saga of American political theater—equal parts earnestness and absurdity, with a healthy dose of irony for those wise enough to recognize it.