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.”
They want protestors to have too many demands so they fail just like the Occupy Wallstreet protests. “No Kings” is a good demand.
I think “Trump bad” is a legit reason
I agree. I think Miller and his dweeb crew have “flooded the zone” - done so much outrageous and horrible shit as quickly as possible - so effectively that protesting over specific issues just doesn’t work right now. It’s not that little Donnie has done one or more specific bad things that we want him to change policies on. Little Donnie is going out of his way to do as many bad things as possible, and by the time we organize a protest about bad thing number 67, he’s already moved on to bad things number 69, 88, and 108. “Go back to Epstein Island and put the adults back in charge” is the only rational message for a mass protest right now.
Turn “No Kings” into a general strike. Ask the French, they are the experts.
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.
No kings needs to become No Oligarchs. All that MAGA responds with are taunts like “we dont have a king” and “We havent had a king in 250 years”.
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.
Tbh I think they really only slowed down because it was the absolute dead of winter.
I think it’s going to get to the point where we will be doing a protest every month if not weekly to show our distaste in this administration. I really do feel and think that there needs to be a massive show of distaste outside the White House with that being said, I know if that occurs there will be violence from the administration towards a protest outside of the White House lawn.
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.
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
Where do you see this happening? Or are you just fear mongering?
Stingrays have been around for ages, I have to imagine there are more sophisticated versions. We know ICE is using apps developed by Palantir. Usually “fear mongering” only applies to unreasonable fears.
If I were going to one of these, I’d leave my phone at home, or keep it in a Faraday bag.
Stingrays are way more real than “ai drones collecting information”. I don’t like the fear mongering when there are actual issues at protests. The only way to keep yourself safe is to know the real issues at play.
Also, leaving your phone at home is a tangible defense to the problem, I agree with you completely. Burner phones are also an option.
Uh oh, Citizen, prepare for our pleasant Thought Reprocessing Ray™ at some random point during the day!
I don’t see ICE arresting anyone around me. Stop fear mongering.
I asked you to show me an example? I’ve seen examples of ICE being pieces of shit.
Reminder that Democrats gave Trump his funding bill and stopped the most effective government shutdown.
“No Kings” - Sounds like a clear goal to me. Excuse me now while I get ready 🇺🇸
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
The entire country can’t be labelled domestic terrorists
Trump: Hold my beer
He doesn’t drink beer, his weapon of choice is Diet Coke out of a sippy cup.
But but but… Chickensuit Man in Portland was already identified as the antifa leader!
Clearer goals? Its pretty straightforward
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.
