Before that can happen, like-minded people need to know they are not only not alone, but are members of a group that is growing larger. These protests accomplish what IMHO is a necessary step.
Would you agree that even a violent revolution can’t happen until the revolutionaries find out there are other revolutionaries besides themselves.
Introducing millions of protesters to each other is not a waste of time at this point.
I agree with this.
Just saw this sign on one of my Facebook feeds:
I Pray that
Big Beautiful Bill
Will be the name of
Trump’s cellmate
Many of them also like the idea of being in an unhappy marriage with someone who cannot leave them.
Thats why they are trying to destroy things like alimony, women’s education, welfare, etc. They feel if women are financially dependent, they can’t leave a relationship.
I noticed the same thing in the footage I saw from the one in my town. I can understand why many nonwhites would be hesitant to attend.
One other thing. Later in the day, I dropped my ballot into the mailbox for a local election we’re having next month.
I saw a photo from Occupy Democrats earlier, that I thought was an appropriate response to someone’s post. Unfortunately, I could not find it when needed. I just found it again now. A sign at a rally says, ‘Imagine losing our country to a fat b___h that can’t even blend his makeup.’
Agreed–but I feel too often that there’s no next step, no escalation, of any import. If it’s an introduction that doesn’t lead to escalation, it serves no meaningful purpose.
I’m ready to be talking about next steps.
This just floated onto my YouTube Playlist. It seems very appropriate for the day.
Great turnout on south Orange County, CA. It’s gratifying to talk to folks who’ve lived here a long time, and hear their amazement at how the area’s demographic is changing and getting bluer.
Great feedback from passing cars; I only saw one person flip us the bird, though I’m sure there were others. Lots of peeps in bear suits (do not poke the bear!), a few unicorns, chickens, an Elvis, and a lobster.
Did /will it move the needle? Who knows, but it was good for my spirit to see proof that there are so many others who still have hope and refuse to give up. I wish some of the more pessimistic here would attend one.
Reminds me of the classic “Grow a brain, morans”.
Attended Mineola Long Island NY edition. I’m really not much for rallies and marches… I want to have more political voice than chanting the equivalent of “four legs good! two legs bad!”… but I felt it was essential to show up and add to the crowd-size, and it’s not like I have a better option for speaking my perspective and being heard.
I think as far as direct impact on Trump goes, yes they are. Trump is like that thing about how there used to be “I hate Elvis” pins sold right next to the “I love Elvis” pins. There is a crowd out there screaming his name. It doesn’t really matter to him if every instance of his name is preceded by “fuck”. He just cares about having the biggest crowds and he’ll straight up lie and claim that these crowds were supporters. But never in the history of ever will he be convinced that he is a bad President and he should resign. He’s not capable of processing that idea, not even if every person in the land was protesting.
Having said that, I think the protests are great for establishing that yes indeed, there is a certain number of people out there who fully understand that this guy sucks and needs to go. It’s not a critical mass yet but it’s getting there.
Us libs have to be the polite, tactful ones, i get that, and we dont blast our opinions in mixed company, like THEM!
But we gotta cut that shit out.
Mrs. Trees and I are some straight knee-slappin’ hillbillies. We’ve always tried to be tactful around these folks, we’re outnumbered, we know. My hometown friends all voted for Trump.
We went to a hillbilly pary tonight, and we decided to lay down the gauntlet. We told our lifelong friends that we can’t be friends anymore if they’re gonna be fascist.
My hillbilly friends agreed! They were waiting for someone else to chime in! We just have to be loudmouth, drunk uncle, assholes about our opinions right now! THAT’S what these people respect.
Didn’t say it make sense
No kings in Pittsburgh was chill.
I felt better having gone.
Gonna offer rides to bus people next time.
Conditions are too different for many parallels to work. This isn’t a foreign occupation, nor is it one race against another (plenty of white folks on both sides, for one thing). There’s no charismatic leader like Gandhi to unite the masses and to coordinate actions. The population of India wasn’t almost evenly split on whether India should be independent and the Brits should leave.
The most important thing is not to be silent. These demonstrations are a powerful way of speaking out. Of course they are not going to make him resign, I can think of no actions barring a civil war that would have anything like that effect.
I have friends who live in Ferndale, you’re right, it has a lot of Ann Arbor vibes to it. Also definitely a haven for the LGBTQ+ folks. One of my friends once referred to themselves as “the token straight couple on the block”. The husband was also at the No Kings.
I’m sure Trump and MAGA are vastly disappointed - it’s like they can’t conceive of large numbers of people gathering without violence or coercion. I wonder how they’ll try to spin it?
Of course there was a reason - intimidation. And fear - not on your part. On the part of ICE who know they are deeply, deeply unpopular in Chicago. The Trump regimen runs on fear.
I once said “it’s not much of a protest if it doesn’t inconvenience someone” or something to that effect on this forum when the conservatives were pearl-clutching over people kneeling during the national anthem. I still tend to thnk that way.
However - morale building exercises are also important. The fascists want their opposition to feel isolated and alone, to feel as if they are the only ones out of step. Mass gatherings like No Kings II counter that. It also counters the argument that there is only violence on the left - nope, the left can be pretty darn peaceful.
As for the discomfort - Trump’s own policies and mal-administration are providing plenty of that.
I’ll offer a few selected samples from a predominantly right-wing message board that I occasionally look in on. The thread is titled, “Today’s ‘No Kings’ Protest was a Massive Success,” though I think the OP was being sarcastic:
That’s how they’ll spin it: “A bunch of kooks protesting against something America doesn’t have anyway.”
My bold.
“Too often”?? When, precisely, has our country been in these exact circumstances after the 1770s? Even during the Civil Rights and Vietnam protests, there were still some grownups in government on the opposition side.
This is our PRESIDENT now:
We are in a different ball game today. We are feeling our way and making this up as we go along.
Definitely, but
My bold.
Maybe not THE next step, but A next step is for leadership to emerge. A charismatic leader would be great, but the movement needs inspired, focused leadership to grow in numbers and take part in nonviolent activities-- like these protests but MORE– that will have impact on society. There is momentum now and it will need to be directed. I believe that will happen… The sooner, the better.
The problem really, really isn’t what he looks like. And joining him in fat shaming doesn’t strike me as a good look.
Of course Trump’s not going to resign. I don’t think anybody’s expecting him to.
And of course right-wing sites are mocking the protests. They’ve become too large to ignore.