I’m going to pick on you a bit, but don’t worry, I’m not doing this to be mean spirited nor am I trying to change your opinion. Just wanted to mention some things, for the benefit of others reading disparaging messages who might benefit from a different perspective.
They need to protest during the week and disrupt businesses.
No Kings is about building a movement, with the goal of increasing attendance at each event. I’m not sure that protesting during the week will achieve that goal – in fact it would likely be counterproductive. Almost certainly, it would lead to fewer people showing up.
This is not to mention that many/most of the groups sponsoring and organizing No Kings are also organizing a mass protest on FRIDAY May 1st. It’s not a No Kings event, but again, many of the same local organizations planning it.
And not only do it a couple times a year like it’s a music festival.
No Kings isn’t just a couple times a year. Tomorrow is the first event of 2026, but 2 more are being planned, leading up to the election in November. It really does take a lot of time and money and effort, all coming from volunteers who have lives outside of organizing events, so the cadence needs to be careful not to exhaust goodwill of the people protesting but also the people organizing. And to reiterate, many of these organizations making No Kings events happen are also doing other protests and events, like ICE OUT and the May 1st protest.
I was an early organizer for 50501 and Indivisible last year and nothing has changed
Change takes time, movements take time to build. But also, and I apologize for being personally critical of you here, as it may not be your fault, but I have to wonder why an early organizer for the groups you mentioned wouldn’t know that there are more than a couple No Kings being planned this year and that there is a protest during the week (Friday May 1st) coming up (just not No Kings) being organized by pretty much all the same local orgs that do No Kings.
What’s missing in these protests from experience is young people. It’s mostly 30+ people. Mainly retire aged.
That seems like a local phenomenon or a reflection of the people in your area. I will say, lots of people are giving in to fascism and authoritarianism and complying in advance in response to fear of violence and retribution. That’s how fascism works. For example, I’ve got friends who won’t go because they are afraid of being arrested or that counter protesters might resort to violence.
The hardest people to recruit are those who have never been to a political rally or protest. People younger than 30 overwhelmingly fall into that group. For many of them, this chaos feels normal, it’s pretty much all they’ve known since they reached an age where they started paying attention. And, throughout the ages, young people are less politically engaged than older crowds. Social media might have you think otherwise, but nothing has really changed there. Then also consider that people of that general age range are more likely to be working weekend jobs, going to college and working, starting new families, etc. That’s why it’s even more important for the rest of us to show up for them.
Okay. So we’re showing up. Last one I went to I left early, because there were a bunch of speakers alternating between wringing their hands about the state of things, and patting themselves on the back for showing up and holding signs.
I came because I want to participate, I ask: what can we do? And that was unanswered.
Sounds like your local organization(s) may have failed you at the last No Kings. From what I can tell, these are all grass roots organizations, a coalition of many different groups across the country, putting these together.
This isn’t top down mandated events orchestrated and funded by billionaires and elites. It’s working class people who are literally learning on the fly how to do these things, not professionals paid by billionaires. For a lot of these groups and the people involved in them, this is the first time they are doing these events. It’s a learning process, mistakes will be made, and there will be room for improvement.
As for what you can do: Did you reach out to the organization(s) that sponsored and organized the last protest you attended, offer your assistance and/or provide feedback on where they could improve? Did you reach out to those speakers, even if you didn’t like what they were saying? That might be a start. I can’t say about your specific circumstance, but many of these groups have a social media and online presence, even if it’s sparse, they’ll have contact info listed somewhere. You might have to look. If you are really good at making signs, you can offer to help. If you’re well-connected with the police or political candidates in your area, you can be a liaison. If you have a medical background, you might be able to be a street medic during future events. If you have money to spare, these groups are almost certainly taking donations. All of these things help. If your local group(s) aren’t helpful, look further. Look to see if there’s a county-wide group, state-wide, national, etc. Reach out to them. Donate to them. They’re supporting the local folks, too, with training, information, and planning assistance.
And if all that fails, start your own group. Literally anybody can organize a No Kings event. All you have to do is register when the time comes. Of course, there’s lots and lots of work, time, energy, money, etc involved – even for a small event with a dozen people. It’s hard work. But someone has to do it. So, if you want to participate and nobody else is living up to your standards, raise the standard and show them how it’s done!
I’m going to pick on you a bit, but don’t worry, I’m not doing this to be mean spirited nor am I trying to change your opinion. Just wanted to mention some things, for the benefit of others reading disparaging messages who might benefit from a different perspective.
No Kings is about building a movement, with the goal of increasing attendance at each event. I’m not sure that protesting during the week will achieve that goal – in fact it would likely be counterproductive. Almost certainly, it would lead to fewer people showing up.
This is not to mention that many/most of the groups sponsoring and organizing No Kings are also organizing a mass protest on FRIDAY May 1st. It’s not a No Kings event, but again, many of the same local organizations planning it.
No Kings isn’t just a couple times a year. Tomorrow is the first event of 2026, but 2 more are being planned, leading up to the election in November. It really does take a lot of time and money and effort, all coming from volunteers who have lives outside of organizing events, so the cadence needs to be careful not to exhaust goodwill of the people protesting but also the people organizing. And to reiterate, many of these organizations making No Kings events happen are also doing other protests and events, like ICE OUT and the May 1st protest.
Change takes time, movements take time to build. But also, and I apologize for being personally critical of you here, as it may not be your fault, but I have to wonder why an early organizer for the groups you mentioned wouldn’t know that there are more than a couple No Kings being planned this year and that there is a protest during the week (Friday May 1st) coming up (just not No Kings) being organized by pretty much all the same local orgs that do No Kings.
That seems like a local phenomenon or a reflection of the people in your area. I will say, lots of people are giving in to fascism and authoritarianism and complying in advance in response to fear of violence and retribution. That’s how fascism works. For example, I’ve got friends who won’t go because they are afraid of being arrested or that counter protesters might resort to violence.
The hardest people to recruit are those who have never been to a political rally or protest. People younger than 30 overwhelmingly fall into that group. For many of them, this chaos feels normal, it’s pretty much all they’ve known since they reached an age where they started paying attention. And, throughout the ages, young people are less politically engaged than older crowds. Social media might have you think otherwise, but nothing has really changed there. Then also consider that people of that general age range are more likely to be working weekend jobs, going to college and working, starting new families, etc. That’s why it’s even more important for the rest of us to show up for them.
This is an excellent comment. Well worth the read. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
Okay. So we’re showing up. Last one I went to I left early, because there were a bunch of speakers alternating between wringing their hands about the state of things, and patting themselves on the back for showing up and holding signs.
I came because I want to participate, I ask: what can we do? And that was unanswered.
Sounds like your local organization(s) may have failed you at the last No Kings. From what I can tell, these are all grass roots organizations, a coalition of many different groups across the country, putting these together.
This isn’t top down mandated events orchestrated and funded by billionaires and elites. It’s working class people who are literally learning on the fly how to do these things, not professionals paid by billionaires. For a lot of these groups and the people involved in them, this is the first time they are doing these events. It’s a learning process, mistakes will be made, and there will be room for improvement.
As for what you can do: Did you reach out to the organization(s) that sponsored and organized the last protest you attended, offer your assistance and/or provide feedback on where they could improve? Did you reach out to those speakers, even if you didn’t like what they were saying? That might be a start. I can’t say about your specific circumstance, but many of these groups have a social media and online presence, even if it’s sparse, they’ll have contact info listed somewhere. You might have to look. If you are really good at making signs, you can offer to help. If you’re well-connected with the police or political candidates in your area, you can be a liaison. If you have a medical background, you might be able to be a street medic during future events. If you have money to spare, these groups are almost certainly taking donations. All of these things help. If your local group(s) aren’t helpful, look further. Look to see if there’s a county-wide group, state-wide, national, etc. Reach out to them. Donate to them. They’re supporting the local folks, too, with training, information, and planning assistance.
And if all that fails, start your own group. Literally anybody can organize a No Kings event. All you have to do is register when the time comes. Of course, there’s lots and lots of work, time, energy, money, etc involved – even for a small event with a dozen people. It’s hard work. But someone has to do it. So, if you want to participate and nobody else is living up to your standards, raise the standard and show them how it’s done!