"October’s No Kings rallies were different. People had their bearings. There was a widespread understanding – both at the rally I attended and the many rallies I watched unfold on the internet – that the mealymouthed norms enjoyers had no place here anymore, for there are no more norms. They’re all gone, and fuck, that might be a good thing. There was anger, visceral anger, about how the country had been sold to the highest bidders, how anti-constitutionalism had become normalized by the regime and its frothing allies on the Supreme Court. Republicans had told us for generations that it was us – their opponents – who hated America. The No Kings rallies rejected that framing. No, we said, it’s you who hate this country. It’s you who are committing crimes against it and its people. America has an enemy, and it is you."
Honk If You Feel Alone Against The Leviathan, Denny Carter, Bad Faith Times, Oct 20, 2025
"CBS News, newly conservative, played “No Kings” very quietly on their website — by Sunday afternoon, you had to search to find it. And when you did, the first paragraph managed to include the Republican diss. It went like this: “Crowds hit the streets Saturday … to vent their anger over President Trump’s policies in ‘No Kings’ protests, which Republicans have slammed as ‘Hate America’ rallies.”
‘Who cares?’ About 7 million people, that’s who: Media coverage of Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ protests included the New York Times’s shrug, Margaret Sullivan, Oct 20, 2025
"No Kings 2.0 was a huge success. More than 7 million (by some estimates, more than 8 million) showed up. We were peaceful. We were patriotic (many of us waved American flags). We stuck to one message: that we refuse to live under a dictator. We had fun (the costumes and signs were fabulous). We felt powerful in our solidarity.
And we are powerful.
What’s next? How do we use that power? What should we do now? I’ll leave to others bigger or more dramatic suggestions. Mine boil down to a dozen simple ones..."
What Should We Do NOW? What comes next, after No Kings 2.0, Robert Reich, Oct 21, 2025
"When I look out at the world, not at the cowardice of large institutions but the actions of actual human beings, I am verklempt at the scale of love, rage and (most of all) principled action that I see all around me. Honestly, every single step that I wish was being taken right now is in fact being taken. Sometimes a million times over. Mass protests? Direct civil disobedience against agents of state violence? Ad-hoc community safety networks? Mutual aid? Big-hearted people running for office for the right reasons? Bodies on the line? Writing that speaks truth and buoys spirits? Potlucks? People are doing it. You’re doing it. We are doing it."
Here is a very specific thing you can do right now that will meet the moment quite nicely: Maybe do it five or six times, actually Garrett Bucks, The White Pages, Oct 22, 2025
"I’ll talk to you, specifically, because if you’re reading this you’re interested in change, in politics, in defeating fascism. If you’re reading this you’re probably among the growing majority of the US population who thinks we’re on the wrong track. Or, you might live elsewhere and think our species is on the wrong track in a few key ways. Most importantly, you probably want to do something about it.
* * *
I moved into community and city-wide organizing instead. These changes came out of a desire to build power, to build institutions that would allow us to care for one another and actively shape a better society, instead of just responding to the ills of the current system. My politics now are rooted in the slower and steadier work of building power in my neighborhood, and in my city.
* * *
Some folks lash out under stress, a natural response. But effectiveness doesn’t mean berating those who you think are ineffective. Effectiveness in the fight against fascism means figuring out how to bring millions and millions of people into this work. It means remembering that all of us once knew less, were less politicized, were less radical. It means helping people on their own journeys rather than mocking those who aren’t yet where you think they need to be.
My journey from protest to organizing: How millions in the streets can move to millions of organizers, J. P. Hill, Oct 21, 2025
What comes after 'No Kings' is crucial, from Cardinal Pine
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