Because I’m active in my local organizing circles, and I see this stuff.
The No Kings folks aren’t doing that. Folks in various socialist orgs like DSA and PSL are doing that work. Folks in the unions, especially folks just starting unions, or are in reform movements within larger unions, like the UFCW or the Teamsters, are doing that work. Hell, the punk kids in our local Food not Bombs chapter always show up to pickets with food.
The folks organizing the No Kings protests themselves are not doing this kind of nitty gritty organizing work. They’re in a wildly different sphere. And my friends across the country mostly echo this.
That’s not to say they’re useless, or that people shouldn’t go, they should. But what I am saying is that the real, long term work, that sustains movements, is being done elsewhere. The more serious organizing that is happening at No Kings, happens not because of the No Kings folks themselves, but because more established, more radical groups are going and doing entryism and political agitation.
I don’t mind a big protest march, I’ve helped organize a couple (much smaller obviously lol) protests myself. But you also need to build power and leverage beyond that too. That could be through labor organizing, mutual aid, etc. But you gotta do more than “Raise your fists and March around, but don’t take what you need” as the Rage Against The Machine song says.
The “No Kings folks” are decentralized and leaderless. The other circles and orgs and people who you say are showing up to the protests and taking names, they are the No Kings folks, just as much as everyone else who showed up to make their voices heard.
It’s kinda weird to say “the No Kings folks aren’t doing anything” when they’ve so far successfully organized three multi-million-people nationwide events. Especially when you then go on to say that your friends and other groups are showing up to the protests and doing networking there.
Do you not see the connection? The No Kings protests created that platform, without which your friends and all those groups would be missing all that outreach.
Don’t pretend other people aren’t doing work, when they’re only doing different work. Whatever activities you’re doing, it’s not the only “real” resistance. And it would be impossible to wage a collective resistance if every cell thought of themselves as the only ones doing any real work, and viewed everyone else as slackers.
Because I’m active in my local organizing circles, and I see this stuff.
The No Kings folks aren’t doing that. Folks in various socialist orgs like DSA and PSL are doing that work. Folks in the unions, especially folks just starting unions, or are in reform movements within larger unions, like the UFCW or the Teamsters, are doing that work. Hell, the punk kids in our local Food not Bombs chapter always show up to pickets with food.
The folks organizing the No Kings protests themselves are not doing this kind of nitty gritty organizing work. They’re in a wildly different sphere. And my friends across the country mostly echo this.
That’s not to say they’re useless, or that people shouldn’t go, they should. But what I am saying is that the real, long term work, that sustains movements, is being done elsewhere. The more serious organizing that is happening at No Kings, happens not because of the No Kings folks themselves, but because more established, more radical groups are going and doing entryism and political agitation.
I don’t mind a big protest march, I’ve helped organize a couple (much smaller obviously lol) protests myself. But you also need to build power and leverage beyond that too. That could be through labor organizing, mutual aid, etc. But you gotta do more than “Raise your fists and March around, but don’t take what you need” as the Rage Against The Machine song says.
The “No Kings folks” are decentralized and leaderless. The other circles and orgs and people who you say are showing up to the protests and taking names, they are the No Kings folks, just as much as everyone else who showed up to make their voices heard.
It’s kinda weird to say “the No Kings folks aren’t doing anything” when they’ve so far successfully organized three multi-million-people nationwide events. Especially when you then go on to say that your friends and other groups are showing up to the protests and doing networking there.
Do you not see the connection? The No Kings protests created that platform, without which your friends and all those groups would be missing all that outreach.
Don’t pretend other people aren’t doing work, when they’re only doing different work. Whatever activities you’re doing, it’s not the only “real” resistance. And it would be impossible to wage a collective resistance if every cell thought of themselves as the only ones doing any real work, and viewed everyone else as slackers.