To head off the "What's the point" comments. Events like this bring people together. They make contacts and help with greater organization.
It also helps people remember that they aren't alone. In a world that appears to be designed to isolate people, these protests provide a counter.
I'm so tired of these defeatest, naysaying keyboard warrior pukes shitting on these protest events.
These stupid fucks demand revolution but have absolutely zero concept of organizing or things taking time to execute.
They also won't be the ones fighting in a revolution. They're chocken-hawks eager to send others to die just like Trump
Always ask them "What's your plan?" That usually shuts them up or makes them admit they have no plans.
I've decided to reply to them along the lines of "wow, you're right. We could be doing more. What are you doing? I need better ideas and you clearly have some, please share with the group what your more effective methods are".
Their plan is to absolutely refuse to participate in any meaningful movement for change, and instead actively hinder it at every step.
They do this while also demanding a revolution that they themselves absolutely refuse to take part in whatsoever.
Basically, I just described every single .ml user.
My plan requires things yall aren't willing to do. Yall only want hold signs and be peaceful while our enemy is rounding up people and putting them in camps. We are only a year or two from the gas them phase. And again best we can get from yall is another peaceful protest. Fucking let me know when we are ready for real action.
This shit probably what they did when it happened in Nazi Germany.
“This shit probably what they did when it happened in Nazi Germany.”
If you’re unaware of fate of opposition groups in Nazi Germany, what they did or didn’t do, you could always read up on history. It’s out there, right at your fingertips. Everything from their mistakes to their successes. It’s one of the great things about history, it already happened so you can learn from it.
And what are your plans?
This is not a safe space to be discussing those plans.
Almost like getting together with other outraged people, like perhaps at a protest, would be a better place to meet people with whom to discuss those plans? Or do we just want resistance cells to spontaneously generate from the aether without any prior networking?
You can't fucking organize shit at these protest. They already getting premmision and only allow at certain time and place. No one hiding faces and no prepping is happening. Just bunch people holding funny signs on a Saturday. Then they spend all week acting like they made a difference.
My plan can't be done here on fucking internet and fucking phones allowed. My plan will be illegal as fuck.
In both my experiences, once the "main group" left, there were people more aligned towards.. non "allowed" "methods of liberation".
I can tell you went to neither. You say you can't talk online because it is too dangerous, but also won't go to the concentration of people angry for the same reasons to talk about it. Is your plan to be a lone wolf? Because one asshole with a good drone that wipes out even ideally, like, musk, bezos, zuck, trump, 5 supreme court justices, hegseth, vance, thiel, you still haven't solved it if you were a lone asshole with a lucky drone. The problem is more systemic. Continuing pressure is necessary. Groups. Organization, which begins somewhere.
These protests are great. We need more of them. Three No Kings protests to defend your freedom in a year is pathetic. They should be every day or at least every weekend. They're attacking your freedoms and killing people every day. You need to bring the same level of energy to defend it. If the best you can do is 3 afternoons a year you're going to lose.
No one's going to attend a protest every weekend. Better, less frequent showings are probably better.
And it’s worked before. The protests largely helped end the Vietnam war. Women got the right to vote because enough people spoke up. The civil rights act was passed. Enough small ripples in the same direction can produce a crashing tsunami.
Mainly because those in charge cared about how it looked towards them. This adminstration doesn't give a flying fuck.
This adminstration doesn’t give a flying fuck.
But they've all been quietly moving into military housing on bases just the same, something officials from past administrations rarely did, if ever.
Last fall it was Miller, Noem, and Rubio; earlier this month it was Pam Bondi, and that NYT article mentions that Hegseth and other highly-placed administration officials also have or are now moving house onto military bases.
It's interesting what giving a fuck can look like, once you let go of the idea it means a positive fuck. In fact, it almost looks like they're all hunkering down for an extended hate fuck from The American People.
Fucking no protest ended the war. What crack you smoking? That not why we back out of that war. If protest ended wars we wouldn't had a 20 year 2 trillion dollar war that ended in us replacing the tailban with the tailban.
Those people are either paid shills or permanent victims of life, either way, they are useless.
The same people who say, "What's the point?' are the same people who say, "I don't know any leftists in my area. I don't know how to meet any any other "real" leftists irl".
I met actual leftists way easier by attending reading groups instead of events where everyone just yells while walking in a predictable line till they feel like going home. Ones where we discussed how to educate people and the history of effective socialist movements that actually helped people in their day to day lives instead of just for a few hours.
Everyone who attends will now be a list and yes they are great but nothing going change until we take these protest and use them for action. Why not shut down every fucking city no work no shopping until our demands are met. A fucking protest on a Saturday when most people aren't working anyway.
Let me know when going revolt then I be there.
Holy Cow!
I live in a rural area, surrounded by staunch conservatives. It's isolating at times.
But today? It was incredible to see how many people showed up for our small town rally. Hundreds of people who feel the way I do about the direction this country is being taken. And it's a breath of fresh air. Hard to feel alone when I talked to dozens and dozens of people today who want the same thing I want ... NO KINGS.
Almost as refreshing? Almost no hostility shown to us. I saw a few middle fingers. One lame-ass truck drove by and tried to "roll coal". It was pitiful. My lawnmower smokes more than that. Overwhelmingly, it was cars driving by beeping and waving and smiling at us. Felt the love.
Realistically, though, these events are our practice runs. It's where the people are learning to exercise their rights. Lots of folks are rusty. Even more of us are just now attending our first protest ever. It's also local people learning how to organize and build community. For a lot of those folks, this is their first time organizing events for hundreds or thousands of people. It's a daunting task. They deserve recognition, too.
Next steps: Did you see any local organizations today like I did? Did you see who organized your local No Kings? Reach out to them. Offer help. Offer feedback. Send donations. Sign-up. Register. Follow their socials. Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.
It's a shame that I can no longer attend myself since I now work night shift so it occurs during my bed time. Last rally opened my eyes that despite being in a red state, I'm not nearly as isolated as I thought I was
that despite being in a red state, I’m not nearly as isolated as I thought I was
That's really nice to hear. I'm in a blue state and I imagine our protests look and feel very different, based on expectations.
Anyway, you gotta spread that story. I'm sick of the "what are these protests going to accomplish?" despair-mongering.
All power to the people
I've been very pessimistic about the future of the Untied States since Trump took power. But today's protests have given me a bit of hope
Good! These can and will get bigger and louder.
The largest pressure release value in US history. People don't realize their anger and frustration is being neutered by the system they oppose.
Exactly. Some marches that are months apart, on a Saturday, when Trump is golfing, aren't going to do much. They didn't organize anything when the pot was boiling after Minneapolis. The partner list of the organizers doesn't list a single serious socialist organization. It seems like any revolutionary energy has been channeled into liberal nonviolence and a new round of electoral disappointment.
I'm curious what the final participant numbers will be, because the organizers have cited the 3.5% rule as some magic threshold that will change the fact that fascism is already here. I'm sure that once that number is crossed, they will find some other excuse for why nonviolence didn't work.
They will keep claiming that we're almost there. If they only wear more frog outfits and do more line dances, that'll force Trump out.
Maybe the frog to dino outfit ratio was wrong?
as someone who doesn't agree with you, it is an interesting metaphor. Non-violence is what many people believe. Turning anger into non-violent action is what you are witnessing.
Please take the time to read Peter Genderloos "The Failure of Nonviolence From the Arab Spring to Occupy".
Not a single right we have has ever been achieved with non violence. Nothing has ever been granted by pleading with the state.
The problem is everyone thinks violence is things like broken glass. Violence from the state comes in many forms, poverty, homelessness, hunger, economic, physical, and psychological.
The only forms we can exercise is economic and broken glass.
The photo coverage of the protests is incredible - really creative stuff leading to awesome shots for future history books.
NO KINGS, Janesville, WI
Hoping this is true, but it seems a bit silly to report that the organizers are saying it's the largest ever. Have you ever heard of event organizers going, "yeah, the last one had way more people, but this one will be fine".
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