Protesting the direction of the country under Donald Trump, people will gather Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the U.S. for “ No Kings ” demonstrations — what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies.
This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and it is expected to be the largest.
It comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.
Every single person I saw that drove by the protest today flipping people off or shouting hateful messages was in a pick-up truck. Every single one of those trucks was driven by what appeared to be a young (20 or 30 something year old) white man. There weren’t a lot of them, so it was pretty easy to keep track.
But there’s no point in wasting time worrying about those hateful people – there were hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles filled with all kinds of different people driving by honking, waving, blowing kisses, and showing their support. True diversity. Even tractor trailers and giant trucks were honking, not to mention the minivans and SUVs and yes, even Teslas.
And this was in rural, small town USA.
There was no hate coming from the protesters. Even when the the haters drove by, everyone just wooted louder, thanked them, or just shouted back things like “we still love you” or “we’re fighting for your rights, too”.
Maybe it accomplishes nothing in the immediate sense, but it does prove we don’t hate America. So, we can add yet another tired and lame lie to the GOP rhetoric that’s been proven as such.
As a fequent protest goer I talk with friends how I like counter protestors. There were like 3 in chicago and without them it would not be so obvious how few they are. Whats even better is as the group of normal people grow every day, every week, every month you see their number stay the same. Its all they got.