I have never before been in a crowd as big as the crowd in Chicago today. It was an insane number of people - I couldn’t see the edges, and I’m not usually short enough for that. Someone counting near the start estimated 300,000 and I can believe it. Had to hold on to my kid even after AN HOUR waiting to start the march (we weren’t even that far back, it just was a lot of people exiting on to the street) because there were so many people walking and cutting through groups. The rally started at noon and the speakers went for about an hour and it was 2:30 before we really got to march. We even had to skip out halfway rather than marching the whole route because it had gotten so late by the time we were near a good stop on the L. So, so many people, all of them smiling, all of them willing to stand together, all of them worried and hopeful all at once.
One of the things I notice about the police who manage the protest crowds in the city is that they’re almost entirely hands-off, and that when someone thanks them, they thank the protestor back. Today I caught a “God Bless You for marching” when someone near me thanked the small group of officers mid-street. Which is not to say I trust them much but it’s a far cry from how the Staties interact with protestors in Broadview or the local cops in the suburbs who get pretty testy about protests.
I marched with the musician’s union because that was where I found my protest buddy this time. It was fabulous.
I hope all had comfortable and inspiring protests, that we met people we will work with to keep our communities safe, that we leave knowing there are so many of us working to reduce the harm of the Trump administration.
Went to the No Kings rally in Fredericksburg, VA. Big, joyful crowd and lots of good signs. Many of them were variations of "I'm Antifa" or "Auntie Fa". My favorite was "The Only Qualified Trump Hire Was Stormy Daniels".
No rally in my village, so I'm heading to the nearest town 15 miles away. Bishop California, population +/- 3500, where we held a fundraiser last Saturday to cover expenses to bring Dan Pfeiffer from Pod Save America in as our guest speaker and celebrity protestor.
Trump is doubling down — waging war on our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while American families struggle. This isn’t just politics. It’s democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we’re choosing democracy.
Tomorrow, October 18th, millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings and the power belongs to the people.
I have never before been in a crowd as big as the crowd in Chicago today. It was an insane number of people - I couldn’t see the edges, and I’m not usually short enough for that. Someone counting near the start estimated 300,000 and I can believe it. Had to hold on to my kid even after AN HOUR waiting to start the march (we weren’t even that far back, it just was a lot of people exiting on to the street) because there were so many people walking and cutting through groups. The rally started at noon and the speakers went for about an hour and it was 2:30 before we really got to march. We even had to skip out halfway rather than marching the whole route because it had gotten so late by the time we were near a good stop on the L. So, so many people, all of them smiling, all of them willing to stand together, all of them worried and hopeful all at once.
One of the things I notice about the police who manage the protest crowds in the city is that they’re almost entirely hands-off, and that when someone thanks them, they thank the protestor back. Today I caught a “God Bless You for marching” when someone near me thanked the small group of officers mid-street. Which is not to say I trust them much but it’s a far cry from how the Staties interact with protestors in Broadview or the local cops in the suburbs who get pretty testy about protests.
I marched with the musician’s union because that was where I found my protest buddy this time. It was fabulous.
I hope all had comfortable and inspiring protests, that we met people we will work with to keep our communities safe, that we leave knowing there are so many of us working to reduce the harm of the Trump administration.
Went to the No Kings rally in Fredericksburg, VA. Big, joyful crowd and lots of good signs. Many of them were variations of "I'm Antifa" or "Auntie Fa". My favorite was "The Only Qualified Trump Hire Was Stormy Daniels".
No rally in my village, so I'm heading to the nearest town 15 miles away. Bishop California, population +/- 3500, where we held a fundraiser last Saturday to cover expenses to bring Dan Pfeiffer from Pod Save America in as our guest speaker and celebrity protestor.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pQT4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208da636-f67c-49dd-a71b-f63fb08084f9_1320x994.jpeg
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XeHh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3b0c4105-7579-420b-9b8e-921f6043bbe3_1320x994.jpeg
Dan Pfeiffer canceled, but we had a good turnout anyway!
OT:
𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 #𝗡𝗼𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗗𝗮𝘆𝗢𝗰𝘁𝟭𝟴𝘁𝗵
https://bsky.app/profile/joncooper-us.bsky.social/post/3m3csqlpi6k2b
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗔 "𝗡𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀" 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘖𝘤𝘵 18 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 ...
https://substack.com/home/post/p-176179529
OT:
𝗡𝗢 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦! 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀
https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3m34rzn6fcc2p
OT:
𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄'𝘀 𝗡𝗢 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦! 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀
𝘕𝘖 𝘒𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘚! 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦
https://www.nokings.org/kyr
𝘛𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 (from the Human Rights Campaign)
https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety
See also:
https://bsky.app/profile/tizzywoman.bsky.social/post/3m3f5sq6ct227
A lot of great writing this week!
Amen!
Thanks!
OT (Sorry, Mr. Stephen):
𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦. 𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦. 𝗡𝗢 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦.
𝗡𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟭𝟴
Trump is doubling down — waging war on our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while American families struggle. This isn’t just politics. It’s democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we’re choosing democracy.
Tomorrow, October 18th, millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings and the power belongs to the people.
https://www.nokings.org/
Let's make this a No Kings Open Thread!
WILL DO!
𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗢 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦! 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝟭𝟴𝘁𝗵.
𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘶𝘭!
https://bsky.app/profile/tizzywoman.bsky.social/post/3m3f5sq6ct227
Have a spooky weekend!
My weekend will be spooky, and without kings!
Will head to a border town No King event after my online class today. Be safe out there, Linda.
Will do, and you stay safe too, Suzie!