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The Trump administration is positioning the upcoming No Kings protests as an excuse for crushing dissent
(www.mediamatters.org)
this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2025
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I have a lot of mixed thoughts regarding the No Kings protests (and have discussed them with many organizers)
At the best of times, a parade protest is mostly just there to "show solidarity" but risks people thinking that is at all enough. But the crowds back in June? They were not equipped for any pushback. Even just tear gas (let alone "rubber bullets") would have caused widespread panic and trampling. Not to mention the people who are dumb enough to bring a "concealed carry" gun to a protest.
I am weirdly less worried about police/ice/soldiers unloading and more about "something" happening (false flag or not) to trigger a panic and a stampede.
Usually I make it a point to be either at the core or near the "front" of a protest (think: The dude what pays attention to exactly how many inches from the sidewalk we are). This Saturday? Mad props to the brave bastards who are going to fill that role but me and the old heads I am close to are staying near the edges and encouraging all our friends and family to do the same. This is really feeling like the kind of protest where your exit plan is basically Plan A.
Where I was we had easy evacuation routes. An attack would have dispersed the crowd, but not done more.
OTOH a massacre would likely destroy Republican legitimacy among a chunk of their supporters
I think you over estimate the humanity of many of their supporters.
Fox and friends would cover it like a massive terror of burning the city.
We dont need to flip most of their supporters to change things radically. Flipping 1 in 10 would do it
That's what people aren't getting. We will never have 100% come back to reality. Many are lost to the MAGA fantasy forever. We'll deal with them later.
We just need to wake up enough of them to weaken their voting base to either switch parties, or refuse to vote at all. Nothing is worse than someone who has been converted. Ex-MAGAs will be Trump's worst nightmare.
Absolutely correct. More people need to understand what flipping just 10% on the end of the spectrum would do
Last time I ran the numbers in 2024 it would take more than 10% to get the 17 Senate seats needed to impeach. While that may have changed I still feel folks over estimate the impact of something like this on that voting population with the propaganda engine in place.
Agreed; if the State Regime Media was able to cover up the terrorism of J6 and paint the terrorists as the victims that needed a pardon from the felon-in-chief, AND have most of their audience feel that "cities burned to the ground" during BLM protests (and one of their more idiotic viewers - Taco - seems to think that Portland is still burning, FFS), then there is a sizable chunk of this country that will believe all kinds of obvious bullshit.
Violent government reaction may achieve the short term goal of ending the protest and terrorizing citizens, but it often backfires badly in the long run.
During Vietnam, protests were common, they covered them on the news every day. Lots of people were against them.
Then Kent State happened, and 4 students were murdered by National Guardsmen because they were protesting the evil Draft ( and several others injured, some permanently), and a LOT people changed. They may not have liked the protests, but murdering students who were exercising their 1st Amendment Rights was too much.
It was an enormous change in perception, and it was the beginning of the end for the draft, and the war.
If they react violently to the protests, especially if they use live ammunition, it will be very, very bad for them.
And watch out for agents provocateur among the crowd, encouraging violence, maybe carrying weapons, Molotov cocktails, etc.
We're at the point most of their base would cheer and depending on if any progressives were also taken out both parties would party for days in celebration
Doubt it. Some talking heads on Fox would simply be instructed to parrot some bullshit about "the protestors started it" and their base would lap it up. These are the same idiots who just take it at face value when El Presidente claims that Portland is "burning to the ground" even though it's trivially easy for anyone with an internet connection to determine that this is bullshit.
A lie like that would just confirm the beliefs that these bozos already have, the fact that it's totally divorced from reality notwithstanding. Pure confirmation bias.
Remember that a huge swath of not-coincidentally Republican rednecks wholeheartedly believe that the North fired the first shot of the Civil War even though this is manifestly false.
You can know which alleyway to run down. During a stampede? Even the 10-20 feet it would take to get to that alleyway can feel like 10-20 miles of getting elbowed, kicked, and stomped by panicking people.
Under a "normal" protest? When the tear gas starts flying, people pause to pull their mask up or wrap a scarf around their face. When the rubber bullets start flying? People take cover and suddenly you realize why that woman had a really heavy sign. Eothas forbid, a gunshot? You have people from The Hood who are tragically well trained in identifying what kind of gun that was and what direction it came from. And so forth.
When you have a bunch of shirtless dudes trying to pick up chicks and people focusing on the choreography for their protest dance? They haven't read up on what to do. They aren't listening to the hippie with a glass eye talking about what happened the last time the cops rushed them. When the tear gas starts flying? They get the fuck out no matter what it takes. Which turns a protest into Black Friday at a Toys R Us. Same with that car backfiring (or that dumbass having a negligent discharge...).
Newbies at a protest is good. We need more bodies. But you need newbies who actually "care". Rather than people who are just looking for an excuse to show off their gym bodies because they painted a message on their chest.
That said: I am REALLY happy that the frog suit protests in Portland have gotten so much (social) media coverage. It is pageantry but it is also REALLY effective PPE.
A "stampede" where a protest turned on itself because of an inciting incident (false flag or not) just paints the victims as rabid dogs. It is an extension of "The LA Riots were full of looters" and so forth.
But also? I dislike how much people have decided their lives are Call of Duty and they are going to John McClane their way through The War. But I still think "Who are you?" from Andor is essential viewing for anyone who at all cares about the world. Because it depicts exactly how a false flag can be used to incite a powder keg and turn genocide into "both sides". And the follow up episode makes it 100% clear what happens when the fascists control the media that is reporting on what happened.
The one I was at did training on how to respond. Remember: people are at a protest in their own community
Which, in a situation where you have people who understand what it means to protest, works great. I've given that training myself on quite a few occasions over the... decades.
When you are just grabbing as many warm bodies as you can and most people are there because it is a party and isn't TOO much harder than using an app to put a watermelon on top of their facebook profile picture? You can "train" them but they aren't paying attention to the scrawny woman who has seen some shit and is trying to explain that the first thing you do if you hear a gunshot is to duck down, take a breath, and figure out what direction it came from so that you can move for cover. They are instead thinking about how fun it will be or what they'll be able to put on instagram.
Like I said, Parade Protests. They are awesome for showing that people DO give a shit. But as things get more and more real, you are putting a LOT of uncontrollable variables into the mix.
It's all about knowing a friend is looking out for you too.
Yeah I feel the same way. The last No Kings event in my area seemed like people were treating it almost like a street festival or parade. There was no confrontation, but had there been, I think everyone would have immediately complied and gone home. "Hey guys, the police said we have to turn the music down" type energy.
I like No Kings because it lowers the barrier of entry for regular people to become politically active, and it completely undermines the narrative in the article that someone had enough money to pay for hundreds of simultaneous protests across the country and in Canada Mexico and Europe.
Each person should participate to the level they are comfortable with and can manage their own group's safety. But I also think that since it's been a few months, the conversation should shift towards, "How can we help the immigrants and legal resident non-citizens in our city? How can we make the most of the power we have together to stop the actions of the fascist government? Can we raise funds and get support to pull off a national general strike? Can you sign a strike card?", since by next year a "Pokémon GO to the polls" type campaign is way too little, far too late.
Let Fox News doublethinkers doublethink and portray whatever false narrative. The solidarity of people is built over time and I think they will feel more empowered each rally and be able to take more effective action. It's up to all of us as much as core organizers to harness that energy into something useful.
Its a balancing act.
I will never stop criticizing the stupidity of "I changed my profile picture. I am helping". But parade protests where you get EVERYONE out very much show the force that can potentially be mobilized/motivated. It is on a similar level to getting people to ACTUALLY call their representatives.
But, at the end of the day? Most people only give so much of a shit. And a parade protest, much like a profile picture "protest", is going to that well. Obviously escalations tend to recharge (or demoralize...) that reserve. But we saw it with BLM and (the clusterfuck that was) Occupy Wall Street and so forth. Getting people out is good. But it makes them start looking for a way to say "I did my part. I basically marched with Marty King". At which point said movement loses all meaningful support and is a few people dancing outside of an ICE facility (which, again, I think is actually frigging awesome and mad props to encouraging more people to costume up in PPE).
Like I said, I have a LOT of reservations about "No Kings" (and that doesn't even get into the kinda sketchy way it was organized...). But I'll be there and so should all of you who can. But... there is a time for parades and dancing and a time to be ready to get your shit rocked by jackboots and we are a lot closer to the latter than the former.
I agree on much of your points and definitely acknowledge the risks of movements losing steam after achieving only modest wins. My take though is Tantrump's compulsive need for attention is why I think No Kings is not going to peter out on its own. Canada's boycotts were thought to have gone away but constant remarks of annexation have helped people en masse to maintain it.
I think it's important to recognize everyone's tolerance is different and Americans aren't used to protesting and striking like they do in Europe, Québec, parts of Asia and South America. Even top level commenters here voice hesitancy for the risks to their safety from the gestapo or provocateurs escalating things. The size and all-inclusiveness of these protests and sufficient advance preparation against violent provocations have kept it peaceful, and have successfully slowed down ICE agents' escalation. Despite federal agents still acting recklessly, if only the most dedicated and prepared folks were there then the media narratives of 'militant antifa rioters' would be believed by the general public.
Portland has laid bare Trump's entire plan is to "aura farm", and that it falls flat when it gets turned into a joke. The goal seems to be to project power when his government sends in the military to end all the crime, homelessness, drug use and dissent. Trump is weak, his government departments filled with incompetent hacks. His strongman image leaks air each month the US survives, so the further the momentum can be sustained the better.
Always have a plan B, maybe even a C
LOL, who's downvoting plan B???
They don't even know WHAT they are downvoting.
This must be a Troll Farm, maybe a Republican troll farm, or even a Russian troll farm. Could be a bot, it could even be my Ex. We still don't get along.
It also could be Nestle, my DECADES long boycott is FINALLY having an effect.