Here’s some pictures from San Francisco’s No Kings March on Saturday. A Better Person than I would have posted them Sunday, but after marching all afternoon Saturday with a group of friends I took Sunday off to sleep in, make an apple pie, have tea with friends, and do the laundry. We must enjoy these simple pleasures while we still can.
And then life intervened, as it seems to do quite a lot lately—but here they are, better late than never! The march in San Francisco was crowded, lively, joyful, peaceful, like all the other marches across the country, and together they make a powerful statement that we are indeed building a huge movement to defend democracy.
As usual, after the march is over I’m seeing a variety of responses, mostly celebration, but some critiques saying “What good is it? Seven million people march, but what changes?”
Change never comes from any one march or action. Change comes from building broad- based, powerful movements that can sustain an ecosystem of actions at varying levels of risk. When vast numbers of people actively oppose a regime, it loses legitimacy. And though we tend to think that governments rule by force, brute force is actually costly to employ and depends on the perception that its use is legitimate.
The size of the protests is one aspect of this delegitimization, and for the protests to grow, they need to attract new people, even those who have never protested before. And No Kings Day did. I saw many reports of people saying, “This is the first demonstration I’ve ever been to in my life.” Mass protests need to feel safe, so that people who are scared might take a first step into courageous action. We don’t need a movement of hera/os, because hera/os are few and far between. We need a movement of ordinary people, able to sometimes exhibit a little bit of bravery. And then we need to invite those people to take the next step, and the next.
The thousands of demonstrations everywhere, from Manhattan to small towns in red states, also give people a chance to feel connected. Especially in those small towns and conservative communities, they say ‘You are not alone! There are many here in your community who feel the same, so speak up and speak out! Know that you will have support even as you face opposition.”
A massive protest like No Kings Day tells the politicians, the courts, the media, the military and all the institutions who are tempted to comply with Trump’s unconstitutional demands that they will face public ire if they yield and will have support if they resist. They buttress the recent court decisions that rule against Trump’s attempts to invoke the Insurrection Act and send Federal troops to blue cities.
The peaceful and joyful nature of the protests exposes the lies that MAGAt politicians and media use to smear all protests, just as the dancing frogs in Portland make the ICE thugs look like ridiculous overreach. See how The Daily Show imagines the chagrin of the Fox News Control Room as they post the chiron: “Chaos Across the Country: No Kings Protests Brought Mayhem to Many U.S. Cities” over pictures of smiling, peaceful protesters singing “This Land Is My Land.”
And, of course, the MAGAts are busy delegitimizing themselves, from Mike Johnson refusing to swear in Adelita Grihalva out of fear of releasing the Epstein Files, to stonewalling any negotiations to reopen the government, to Trump posting an AI video so disgusting and obscene that future High School History teachers will be embarrassed to even describe it. Not to mention literally demolishing the White House. As reality sets in, as the health insurance subsidies go away and rates rise astronomically, as people continue to see their neighbors and coworkers brutally abducted, as prices continue to rise and businesses fail, their legitimacy will continue to erode
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The next step up from mass, peaceful marches is more targeted, confrontational and risky actions, like the ones we’ve seen this morning here in the Bay Area blocking the cars and trucks that are deploying ICE agents. Indivisible is engaged in ongoing training and organizing to build power.
The Mayor of Chicago has put out a call for a General Strike. Neighbors are organizing Rapid Response Networks to protect immigrants, and volunteers are accompanying asylum seekers to court. There will be opportunities for focused action, and need for even greater courage and commitment in the coming weeks and months.
But every big change begins with small steps. This past weekend, many put their feet on the path to democracy, and we should celebrate that!
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Hear more of my thoughts on No Kings Day, and how protest and ritual are similar, on my latest podcast: “Action and Ritual: No Kings Day and the Spiral Dance”.
This post has been syndicated from Starhawk’s Substack, where it was published under this address.