Notes on No Kings

Yesterday was the No Kings rally, perhaps one of the largest rallies I’ve seen since Trump was first elected. My partner and I went to show support and to hopefully witness a historic moment.

Before going to the rally, there were two narratives I was constantly confronted with. The first, and perhaps the most pervasive, was the constant messaging surrounding violence. I’ll be the first to admit that the U.S. government and its armed forces are some of the most violent forces to have ever existed, however, this rally was never going to be that. It is a permitted event, funded by a pissed off billionaire, and backed by liberal non-profit groups. That doesn’t mean there is no possibility of violence, in fact there was a fatal shooting at the No Kings Rally in Utah by one of the Peacekeepers hired by No Kings organizers, but it was still a far cry from the "chaos" that main stream media has portrayed it to be. Given who the organizers of this rally were, it was never going to be anything close to a riot.

Certain people, and by extension, certain protests are met with more force than others. Young black and brown people fighting for a radically different vision of society are the most dangerous in the eyes of the state. The student encampments of last year are a prime example. If you visited any of them, you'd learn how peaceful and well-organized they were. Students sat in the grass playing music, doing their homework, eating snacks with friends, yet because of who they were (a young, palestinian-led movement) they were met with some of the most violent repression I've ever seen, atleast since the George Floyd protests. To pretend that all protests are going to be met with same levels of force by the government is to pretend that all causes are equally threatening in the eyes of the law, that all people are equally threatening, but we know that’s not true.

So even before I went to the rally I roughly knew what to expect. A massive turnout, slow marches through the loop, and police escorts (permits typically mean the police march alongside organizers rather than against). The mood was largely jovial, and cordial like a parade or pride event. Instead of protest anthems, pop songs were played. Families walked together, the American flag was waved by people who wanted to “fight for their country” and instead of fighting tear gas, millenials played their kazoos and showed off their Andor signs. There were fits and bursts of indignation, such as the march past Trump tower when everyone started throwing up their middle finger, or the brief chants of free Palestine, but I never once heard a chant of “Fuck the police”, on the contrary, I even heard one person behind me talk about how they think ACAB is a bit too much.

Which ultimately leads into my second point, the constant critique I found online that this event was too corporate, whitewashed, or simply performative. While I don’t disagree with these arguments (I’d much rather not march alongside police apologists myself), I believe these critiques are more honest then they are useful. The No Kings rallies are liberal, and bourgeois just like most college campuses, but just like college campuses, they serve as fertile ground for radicalization, especially for the politically disengaged. It would be ahistorical to say otherwise.

While these rallies aren’t inherently revolutionary (No Kings is simply a plea for the status quo, not a plea for a better future), they do provide the necessary infrastructure for it. Because it doesn't take a highly skilled agitator to get the millions of working class people marching on a Saturday afternoon redirect their anger from one billionaire to the billionaire class as a whole.

Is this one day march going to be responsible for raising class consciousness and building working class solidarity? Of course not. But it would be foolish to doubt their efficacy. They are simply a recruitment event, for both leftists and liberals and anyone else who shows up. What happens next is uncertain. Whether this movement fizzle into another unremarkable DNC presidency, or paves the way for a more equitable society depends on who best organizes and inspires the people. I believe both are equally possible scenarios at this point, but I’m personally more invested in and will continue to work toward the latter. Hopefully you will too.

P.S. If you are looking for an actual call to action, then look toward the organizations in your community that are doing meaningful work. If you're not sure where to start, then check out this list compiled by Block Club Chicago.