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.”
Oh look. The same attack they used against Occupy Wall Street. Expect it to be repeated until its accepted wisdom.
Exactly. They’re just frustrated because it’s too loose for them to make a good target out of.
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.
do they need clearer goals?
They need more persistence and more frequency.
1day protests every 4 or 5 months isn’t putting pressure on anyone.
Peaceful protests do not put pressure on anyone. They don’t achieve anything except showing public support for a cause.
Unless protests turn into more direct forms of action such as blockades or riots, nothing will happen.
Have half the country not work for the next 3 months.
You’ll see change.
Tbh I think they really only slowed down because it was the absolute dead of winter.
If the weather is enough to stop protests, the country is more cooked than I thought.
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.
Also a great place for AI drones to harvest endless information
These protests are an important part of the process. At least one commenter in this thread mentioned that seeing people out there encouraged them to participate more.
And discussions online are also an important part of the process. The discussions online are what led to the protests being organized.
These protests need to lead to discussions of concrete goals - what they should actively accomplish, otherwise they will fizzle out like the Wall Street protests in years past.
And people should see the groundswell of support and run for local office, run for regional office, for state, for national office. Get the experience and take over the government at all levels. Take our country back from fascism.
So all of it is important. Do what you can at every level. Fight against misinformation and fascist propaganda. Get out on the street if you’re able. Run for office if you’re able. Support those running for office. Participate in discussions about concrete goals.
All of it matters.
The similarity to the wall street protests is exactly what comes to mind for me. At a certain point you need actionable goals and them to be clearly known.
Yes, just like after raising awareness in people (by talking about it online, for example), you need to at some point have concrete action like getting protests going. And yes, very much, we need to work towards the next steps with the protests.
“No Kings” - Sounds like a clear goal to me. Excuse me now while I get ready 🇺🇸
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.
Clearer goals? Its pretty straightforward
No Kings
Seems like a pretty clear goal to me.
Without any direction, a goal is nothing but a fantasy. How do you think this goal is supposed to be accomplished?
Some 50501 chapters are speaking out about demands https://50501demands.com/
Any goal would be productive.
Edit: There aren’t any demands being made so they don’t feel the pressure enough. I know it’s about getting together to get the discourse started but meanwhile Trump has started a war without warrant or approval, and that’s just the most recent thing he’s done. He’s planning on messing with the election/voter roll next. Some opposition is needed.
It’s good to protest but if everything returns to normal Monday morning, then thsy don’t have to change anything.
The morning after the protest in Minnesota ICE shot Alex Pretti. Justice for them should be demanded.
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.
Turn “No Kings” into a general strike. Ask the French, they are the experts.
How about “try this entire administration for treason?”
Millions show up, “but could it be perfect?” Fuck off guardian.
If legacy media treated the Trump administration’s ridiculously unconstitutional antics with the same skepticism as they express about protesters, perhaps he wouldn’t have been elected to a second term.
Maybe if they would do this at way shorter intervals? June 25, October 25, March 26 - with such large gaps, you won’t grab long-term attention.
