More than 3,100 anti-authoritarian protests are scheduled across the US and at least 15 other countries on Saturday. All these events will take place under a single banner: No Kings.
Formally launched in June to fight back against Trump administration policies, the No Kings movement has grown with astonishing speed – its second and most recent mass protest in October drew an estimated 7 million participants. Organizers expect Saturday’s events to be the biggest protest in American history.
But the movement is also leaderless, broad in cause and hasn’t advanced any policy demands. Some social movements experts recognize No Kings’ momentum but question if it needs clearer goals.
“There’s not any one way to get people into a movement. You want to have as many doors open as possible because you have to reach people wherever they are,” said Hahrie Han, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the co-author of Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America. “The bigger challenge is, once they’re there, how do you keep them there, and then how do you channel that engagement in collective ways?”
But organizers say they are aware of such critiques and that these choices are all by design.
“The name No Kings is, in and of itself, a demand. It is a direct repudiation of this administration, of this regime, of its unconstitutional, illegal, immoral and frankly profane actions,” said Hunter Dunn, an organizer with the 50501 movement, one of the groups behind No Kings. “It’s a declaration of intent that we are going to return power back to the people.”
These protests are a place for organizing and networking.
But what’s really being danced around is “Why are there not politicians converting this movement into effective policy?”
And we all know that the power brokers and leaders of the political parties are being paid to ignore them and keep it a leaderless and rudderless movement. We saw the exsct same thing with Occupy Wall Street and thst resulted in lobbyists codifying their bribery into law.
“No Kings” - Sounds like a clear goal to me. Excuse me now while I get ready 🇺🇸
They might need a brain scan device
Clearer goals? Its pretty straightforward
The [no kings] movement is also leaderless.
So … they should elect a king to follow?
Of course, the Trump administration needs someone to target as a domestic terrorist. The entire country can’t be labelled domestic terrorists, they obviously need a leader… Who can be made an example of
A hugely important aspect is to put your money where your mouth is. Vote with your wallet - this administration cares about you more as a consumer than as a citizen.
Be mindful of where you spend your dollars. Shop with local businesses that deserve your money. Single day boycotts of giants like Amazon and Walmart aren’t helpful if you’re just going to show up tomorrow and buy from them anyway. Find alternatives and really consider who will be benefitting from every dollar you have to spend.
Pay in cash. Use local swap or buy nothing groups. Try lending libraries and second hand stores. Give homemade gifts and baked goods instead of store bought presents. Go without. We have been conditioned to live our lives laden down with so much stuff, and truly so many occasional use items don’t need to be owned by every individual household.
“It’s a declaration of intent that we are going to return power back to the people.”
I mean, that sounds good but, when did the people have power? Are you just trying to get back to the system that gave us Trump? Why did that system give us Trump and what effects was it having on Americans and people around the world?
You can tell that I’m British so I’m clearly not showing up to these protests. But we all have skin in this game as we’re all affected by the American Empire, especially today. We need you to get this right and not go back to a world that gave us Nixon, Bush, Bush, Trump and a president that promised hope and change and delivered a healthcare plan from the Heritage Foundation. We really need Americans to understand that the status quo has wrecked our planet and we need to try for something very different.
American here. You and I are on the same page
Also, No Kings is at least a way to meet people. I hope people use it for that
I often hear about how MAGA aligned commentators will bad mouth Trump, without ever mentioning his name. It’s not often I hear criticism of Democrats without mentioning their names. And I fully understand it. Many may not like to admit it, but liberals are also cultist. And we need to be better than the MAGAts we’re constantly shitting on. Say his name(expect some downvotes for it though)
Fuck yes
I’ve said this before nokings 1, and nokings 2
If it’s just going to be protest parades, then don’t even bother, you’re wasting your time.
Let me be very clear: nokings 1 & 2 changed. nothing.
If you want to change things, protest for weeks, protest in from of the Whitehouse and don’t leave until the Cheeto is gone
“Letting the perfect get in the way of the good.”
Most people can’t stop working and/or travel to DC for endless protests, but they can go out on a Saturday afternoon.
If that’s the least someone can do, don’t tell them not to.
I live in a fairly rural area and I see about weekly if not maybe every 2 weeks (maybe im not passing through at right times every week) protests against ice / no kings. I’m not trying to say protests are useless, but it hasn’t made a difference YET. I do think the more people see how unhappy Americans are with the administration that helps reflect on how our country is perceived by others, as most Americans are unhappy with what’s going on. I do think it’s very important if your going to protest to go vote. No 8 don’t mean presidential and mid term, I mean all your local elections too. Most people don’t realize how much local changes actually can effect you more than federal ones, and if u get all the right people in local office I think that will “trickle up” and spread through higher offices. Vote at the booth, vote with your wallet, and don’t stop making noise when things need to be heard! Even if no policy change comes from a protest at least awareness was raised, and it’s better than sitting down and taking it. (This is being typed from my porcelain throne while I skip out on protests because I have a huge backlog of chores around the house so don’t listen to this hypocrite)
Protests are also useful to network and build organizations and skills.
Don’t listen to naysayers like this idiot
Oh look. The same attack they used against Occupy Wall Street. Expect it to be repeated until its accepted wisdom.
Can you be more precise please. What attack is the same?
The “what are they even protesting?” attack that is repeated no matter how many times you’re told.
Exactly. They’re just frustrated because it’s too loose for them to make a good target out of.
The only thing that’s going to get their attention is a general strike. As long as Frank Freeway is more worried about getting fired than he is about what kind of society we’re going to live in, that’s not going to happen.
How about “try this entire administration for treason?”
I’d like to see every governor that still respects the constitution to activate their State Defense Force.
Send a crystal clear message that true patriots are ready to defend the constitution against all threats, foreign and domestic.
It should be hosted in the same place trump held his rally before the capital was stormed. At the conclusion of the protest everyone should walk to the capital building for “selfies”.
… they need better arms and supplies.
Power respects power.
Sorry, didn’t make the rules, but that is how history actually works.
Yep, there are exceptions, within a spectrum.
But generally speaking, being loud and annoyed is not enough, not against a State that is rapidly turning its instruments of devastation inward.
Having a giant group therapy session is great and all… but if it doesn’t actually lead to any … material changes… its just a group therapy session.
This guy gives up too soon and pretends he knows things absolutely. Go out and protest today with positivity and hope for change in your heart. “Can’t you see you’ve already been conquered!” is bullshit mentality.
Arms don’t provide political power on their own. They are an important part of a much more diverse array of tactics and tools to do so, but building strong mutual aid networks and community is even more important.
The 3.5% rule is something many of you need to educate yourself on
An armed rebellion will give trump the opportunity to declare martial law and hold on to power. It’s strategically a bad idea.
Without at least parts of the military on the side of rebellion, it would be crushed quickly.
No Kings
Seems like a pretty clear goal to me.
No billionaires or AIPAC is better
Go to the protests: you’ll see them all.
There’s room for everyone.
That’s a problem, no? OWS failed because it had no clear goal and was just a catch-all for general dissatisfaction. And OWS was a sustained protest, not a four-hour long jaunt before everyone goes home.
No. It is a deliberate choice; the article itself is about why. The sub-headline of the above article, emphasis mine:
Anti-authoritarian rallies standing up to Trump have broad objectives and no leaders. Organizers say that is by design
What you are looking at is the dead center of propagandist’s difficulty to categorize and discredit/smear/twist a tightly defined goal, while issuing a broad enough invitation to all: No Kings.
That’s specific enough for me, and it was specific enough for millions more the last time, and I expect it to be specific enough for even millions more than that tomorrow. Personally, I think it’s genius and I would not have it any other way.
But if the anti-authoritarian thought “No Kings” is not enough for you in itself, or you believe that is somehow non-specific in the face of encroaching authoritarianism and a rapidly coalescing fascist government, maybe you should rethink your own strategy.
And Occupy Wall Street did not fail, seeing as how we’re still talking about Occupy fifteen years later not in terms of failure, but of its current relevance. Maybe you didn’t want people to realize you were talking about Occupy?
