Yesterday was the second nationwide day of protest known as “No Kings.” I did attend a large “Hands Off” rally in Washington, D.C., and I have attended a lot of smaller demonstrations in the town where I live, but I was unable to attend the first No Kings protest in June of 2025. Fortunately, I did manage to attend a local demonstration on October 18 even though I was traveling. The following are some observations that I wanted to document, mostly for my own reference, about things that seemed to work well and not so well during this protest as compared to others I’ve attended.
Marches are better than gatherings
The previous protests and demonstrations I have attended were single-location events where people gathered with signs and flags while speakers took turns speaking. The event I attended yesterday was a march that took us from a park, across a major walking bridge, and through the city’s downtown. Standing around with a sign can quickly feel pointless, leading to people heading home early. A march not only gives particpants a sense of purpose and (literal) direction, it makes continuing more practical than leaving. If the march ends where it began, you might as well keep going until you get back to your car!
We are past the time for certain kinds of signs
“I’m so mad I made a sign!"
"Things are so bad even the introverts are here!"
"Now you’ve pissed off the grannies!”
These messages were clever and impactful a few protests ago, but the message we needed then is different from the message we need now. “Can you believe that I came to a protest?!” Yes, we can believe it. Because things are very bad, and everyone should be able to see it. The new message needs to be that we expect every sane person to join these protests, eventually if not today, because it is the sane thing to do.
Chanting is pretty great if it is organized, but it sucks when it’s not
I hate chanting. I wish I didn’t, and I don’t begrudge anyone that finds it motivating and meaningful, but I tend to feel stupid when the chants start. However, I’ve now learned that there are a few chant qualities that make me much more comfortable jumping in.
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Chants need a designated leader. When a specific person with a megaphone starts every chant, I can know that I’m not going to get caught up into a questionable refrain initiated by some random attendee. It also gives the chant an end point: when the leader stops, the chant stops. Otherwise, it just peters out gradually, which feels weak and embarassing.
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Call and response is the way. Don’t make me repeat a whole manifesto (or stupid rhyme) over and over. Give me one simple phrase to respond with and let the leader add variety with the call.
”Who are we? / We the people!"
"Who’s country is this? / We the people?"
"Who’s going to win? / We the people!” -
This one is very much a “me thing,” but if you start a chant with “Hey hey! Ho ho!”, I’m out.
If you can get a permit, it’s worth it
It is a powerful feeling to take over the streets of downtown while the police stand guard to make sure nobody harasses you. I imagine things are different in places where the authorities are hostile to the protestors, but in this relatively neutral city, the police were, if not supportive, at least obligated to assist us.