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To put it into perspective, that’s around 2.3% of the whole US population.
Here’s an idea, at the next protest help people register to vote make sure you keep your papers in order. In case if the government makes an effort to stop people from voting you have papers ready.
Yes it is important that the legislation fails, but it is better to be ready for all eventualities. Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
have you been to a protest? they do this at like, every single one of them.
I have not been to a protest in the US. Over here you don’t have to register to vote, so that wouldn’t be a thing to do at a protest, but it’s good to hear that they are doing that over there.
From what I’ve seen this is already happening, along with other engagement drives like circulating petitions and recruiting for mutual aid or collecting aid donations. Those efforts can vary by location but it’s certainly not “just standing around with signs” like critics say.
Yeah, and all of that was hugely a thing at the no kings protest I was at
I don’t believe in critics, just wished for everyone to be ready.
Some dude at the protest I attended had a petition signature sheet for ranked choice voting. He took time to calmly explain how RCV functioned to protestors who weren’t familiar with it. Wound up getting a lot of signatures once he brought up the costs of runoff elections on the taxpayer’s dime. Gotta know how to speak to your audience
I went to a no kings protest in my very red, very rural area and there were hundreds of people. I expected like a dozen of us. Protestors filled the area on the side of the street we started on and people had to start filling in the other. We got nothing but honks of support and cheers from passing cars. It was such an amazing turnout and it was such a great experience.
I think this is an important part of protesting that goes overlooked by the “protests don’t immediately solve the problem” people. I’m in a very conservative area as well but when I protest I get more support than opposition. It helps other people realize that hey, maybe I’m not actually surrounded by people who are okay with this. Maybe there are actually a lot more of my neighbors who aren’t okay with things, and there’s actually hope that if I start acting up more, I’ll have support. Hope and morale are pretty important for resistance movements.
It also helps you see some of your neighbors who are on your side
Same. I woke up and saw there was another protest scheduled for today projected to be bigger than the last one. I thought “maybe this time there will be one in my town” and lo and behold. I swung by at the tail end of it to see what was up and it was active to the very end. I talked to the event organizers who said 300 people showed up and most care were honking and giving thumbs up. I ended up following the group to a post-protest location to eat and hangout and all in all I talked for five straight hours. I only expected to swing by for a couple minutes to see if there were more than a dozen people.
Peaceful protests aren’t enough.
Diversified tactics are necessary in my opinion; for example, it wasn’t MLKs peaceful marches alone; the Black Panthers were a necessary part of the civil rights movement.
Fear goes both ways, the state doesn’t have a monopoly on it.
If peaceful protests worked then the US military would be holding hands on the Iranian border singing Kumbayah.
Was anything achieved?
A guy drove by my local protest with a thumbs down and I got to call him a pedophile protector, which was very cathartic for me. I probably don’t need to do any more political action until the election now. /s
To be more optimistic, and entirely anecdotal, it was the largest protest in my town by far and there were many more young people present. The resistance is growing, and becoming more diverse.
Americans, even the ones who engage with the election cycle, have been politically sedentary since the civil rights movement in the 60s/70s. It takes some time and effort to wake people up to the fact that human rights are bought and continually paid for with blood, sweat, and tears. These protests are doing that. Single protests don’t solve problems on their own, but they are a necessary step to finding the solution. Take comfort that they continue to grow.
Furthermore it normalizes the people doing more direct action. Protests like these help bring the people forcibly resisting ice into the overton window. The current right wing strategy uses flooding the zone to control the narrative and create a feeling of helplessness. This is getting more and more people out and active and encouraging increasing involvement.
Single protests don’t solve problems on their own, but they are a necessary step to finding the solution.
I’m afraid these “protests” are holding back the next step by keeping people busy. Do the protests on a monday.
It takes 3.5% of the population to affect regime change. On Saturday 2.3% (8 million Americans) poured out into the streets, furious. How many more feel the same as them, but didn’t go for whatever reason? My guess is easily another couple million. That’s… That’s just about, to even more than 3.5% of the population of the United States.
In order to look at that mass mobilization, and come away with this level of dumbass comment… I mean. Wow. What kind of lead paint tastes best? I figure you’re the person to ask
So, who’s gonna vote both dems and reps out of power in favor for real regime change?
That’s right! Nobody.
Me. Voting for progressives.
I feel sorry for the people in your life. That must suck. 😞
Again, was anything achieved?
Yes.
Dang, still goin’ at those paint chips, huh? Do you need me to call someone for you?
What have you achieved?
I asked the question first
So nothing, then. Got it.
Yes.
The achievement is that so many people went to the protests.
An edgy teenager got upset about it, apparently.
i knew donald trump was going to do fascist stuff as soon as he got into office but nobody believed at the time he was going to do so. people thought he was make the cost of living go down but he did the opposite
Last year many articles were saying that if the protests hit 3% of the population Trump was done. Welp it’s happened, so what does his exit look like?
Otherwise this is performative bullshit while we need hard action.
Everyone forgot that there is a hidden big good function for protests more than just a good way to show unity
The hidden function is to enable people to be together so they can socialize, get to know each other, and brainstorm on what they can do together to make things better in some way. Brainstorming, doing, and collaborating united
Everybody in a protest getting things done is more effective than a protest where everyone is only just walking with signs
Right! For example I found out people are organizing like in Minneapolis for if/when ICE ramps up anything here. There were people handing out cards with a number to call to report ICE activity and others organizing to help affected families. Respect to Minneapolis for being a model for the country.
I suppose it also indicates a level of commitment.
e.g. it’s one thing to post on some internet site, another to meet people IRL at a place of interest.
First thing everyone in America can do is buy and learn how to safely use, and store a firearm. It won’t be the first line of action that should be taken, but it’s important for when they refuse to cede power and use violence against everyone.
More people need to be trained to defend themselves, and their freedoms.
3% of 320 million is like 9.6 million. I guess they needed another 1.6 million people before the world changes for them.
wp:Demographics of the United States
Increase 341,784,857 (2025 official estimate)[1]
331,449,281 (2020 census)[2]
Density Increase 96.8/sq mi (37.4/km2)
3% of 341 million is 10.23 million; but yeah, it seems to be growing.
Yep. The idea that if the marches hit 3% things will suddenly get better is a fallacy though. The US is far too large and sparse for that 3% rule to work like some are hoping. Its a lot of people, and good on everyone for going out, but i think actual change requires a bit more.
Hard agree. Watch the same people sit out the midterns because on a single issue du jour again. Calling it now. Happy to be proven wrong.
IMO, by that time, oil prices will fall a bit (due to alternative sources, increased electric car use, more paying toll fees to Iran, and/or maybe, just maybe, more Americans cycling, walking, and using public transit), and/or many Americans will get used to the higher prices (the left because some of them like increased gas prices as a check on over-consumption, and MAGAts will not protest it, because Trump could punch a MAGAt in the face and he will say, “Thank you, Mister President. May I have another?”).
It needs a trifecta. Protests, Politics, and “Persuasion”.
The protests give weight to the political group. They also give cover and a place to organise for harder actions.
The political elements act to focus the will of the protestors, and provide guidance to the agitators.
The “Persuasion” group add teeth to the political demands. They also act to defend the protestors, when the government gets aggressive.
The 3 need to work together to achieve major changes. “The Troubles”, in northern island are a good example. The IRA didn’t achieve much/anything practical. What they did was force the UK government to sit down and negotiate in (vaguely) good faith. The protests and marches acted to show large scale support for the changes.
Against an intelligent, aware government, the need for violence is implicit, rather than explicit. It’s a lot better to engage early and diffuse political hot potatoes. Unfortunately, the US government doesn’t seem like they will take the hints.
The marches should be used to crystallise the other 2 requirements. A political agency, to act as a voice. As well as those willing to go further, to act as the muscle.
(9 million ÷ 330 million) < 2.8%
340 million x 3% = 10.2 million
Math
The mythical 3.5% rule is to keep protests peaceful, which only helps the oppresser
and your alternative to confronting the US police, military, and the several 10s of millions who voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024—and I suppose at least half of those who voted for Dubya—is …,?
Oh, so you’ve read Chenoweth and disagree with her analysis? Which parts?
I read the entire thing when it came out. And it read like bullshit propaganda to keep people from rising up and threatening the existence of the status quo
Okay.
“B-but it takes so much time and effort!! Don’t worry we’ll be able to do something after 5 more years of doing this once every 6-12 months on the weekends when businesses are closed. We can let him keep murdering people like every other president does in the meantime.”
If you think No Kings is the only resistance work happening right now in the U.S., you’re really not paying attention.
That’s the problem with protests since Trump was elected. It turns out you can just ignore protests, and this never occurred to politicians up until this point. Up until then, politicians acknowledged protests as a good-faith effort to represent their constituents.
Unfortunately with a population of almost 350 million people, it will take more like 12 million to hit the 3.5% (not 3%), so there’s still a ways to go. Each one has been bigger than the previous one so maybe it’s possible, especially if the consequences of this idiotic war get really bad for the average USian–and I don’t see how that won’t get way way worse.
The other thing about that paper with the 3.5% thing, it was talking about sustained protests, not just one every few weeks or months.
On the bright side I don’t see how trump will be able to pretend to be compos mentis for even another year, let alone the rest of his term. But on the dim side, his regime will remain in place even if he’s goes tomorrow.
Welp it’s happened, so what does his exit look like?
Give it until November since no one can really do anything until then.
And if November doesn’t change it because his administration creates it impossible to vote, wait until a bullet changes things.
The side that wants to advocate for guns better get ready when the other side starts using them. I’d say to ask Charlie Kirk but he’s a little quiet recently.
There might be alternatives to triggering a civil war.
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For starters, let’s disrupt during normal business hours. Hell, general strike for a week. A couple of weekend hours every quarter won’t do shit.
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From the looks of the comment history, they plan on writing “pedo” next to his signature on the cash and bugging out of the country. So, performative bullshit followed by running away when it gets too tough.
Defacing currency is easy.
What if they did a few 100s of other easy things? What would it add up to?
Hey now, we should all be writing rapist next to his signature! If course we can all do more too.
Maybe deface $20 bills that have as a portrait a man who not only owned slaves, but also traded them?
Agreed. I’m down for vandalism as a pastime as long as we recognize it’s pretty much the least one can do and changes nothing, compared to other efforts. It’s basically irl memeing, good for a laugh, good for pissing off the MAGAs, but at then end of the day the dude putting his name on the money still has more than us and will just print more if all we do is deface it.
will just print more
I can imaging TV news reporting the news of such, and then joking about it.
His acolytes have not just normalized what he is, they celebrate it because they’re so invested in “if libs hate it we love it”. This guy was at CPAC this weekend and I’ve seen similar, if not quite so explicit, messaging floating around. The news will downplay it and MAGA will get aroused by knowing their guy’s perversion offended someone.
I was thinking about regular people having a laugh.
MAGAts are a lost cause.
Don’t underestimate culture. Though I do agree with you to an extent
Nope, I’d be game for things that do ACTUAL harm to them rather than just standing around. As I just mentioned above, how about these things occur during normal business hours? How about a general strike for a week or more?
You can’t even be troubled to get off your keyboard and meet like minded people in real life, so I question your commitment to organize a general strike much less take any direct action against your enemies. How do you think the masses survive a general strike? It would take weeks and weeks to put a dent in the pockets of the oligarchs. We survive the hit to ourselves, which is far more devastating, by the support of our neighbors and the people in our community, the people we met at protests and rallies, the people you think are beneath you. You’re the leftist equivalent of a Facebook MAGA, loudly blasting your opinion and invoking the names/histories of those who did something in their time like you’re the second coming but hoping others will get the ball rolling. But you sit at home while others actually “do” and are contemplating bugging out. We could use your help, but if you’re just here to get famous, get your own, or duck out when it gets too serious, go fuck yourself.
Okay, let’s just hold hands and chant when and where they allow it, and hope shit gets better.
I provided concrete steps in response to your request; all you do is attack.
So I’ll ask you, what are your CONCRETE STEPS to fix this?
Step One: Sing kumbaya
Step Two: ???
Step Three: All better 🥰
You think a general strike is gonna be a problem for the masses, how do you think they’ll fare when striking is illegal and punishable by fines, jail time, or worse?
I’ve run for public office. I’ve called out this bullshit since 2015. When everyone was laughing at him as a joke candidate I was one of the few calling out how he kept amassing support, and him being elected would be really bad. Remember, back whenever was sure it wouldn’t happen until he started picking off the rest of the GOP one by one? I’ve supported candidates across the country with donations.
So let’s flip the script: What have YOU actually done other than dress up in a funny costume for a couple of hours and attack those correctly pointing out the futility of your actions? We could use YOUR help, but if you’re unwilling to actually action YOU can go fuck YOURSELF.
Well, if we’re going to reduce this to a dick-wagging contest…
Battle of Seattle veteran. Lived in an Occupy tent for half a year. Been on the TSA’s no fly list for 20yrs because of associations with some folks who burned down a fur warehouse; no comment on whether that was valid or not. Being connected to doxxing some folks who were animal testing didn’t help (again, no admission whether that was true or not). I will admit I’ve had a Stormfront profile I’ve cultivated for years and said some pretty horrific things. But that helped get the trust to know the Hammerskins were going to rally and we ran them out of town when they tried to have a rally here. I once beat the ever-loving-fuck out of a Salt Lake City Nazi punk with a chain and padlock (I’m aware it’s cliche but, well…).
I’ve had the shit kicked out of me, I’ve had my nose busted, my two front teeth are fake, I froze my ass off in that tent, and I’ve been stabbed and shot at. I’ve lost a few years of my freedom serving time. I dress up in a funny costume for a couple of hours because I still, despite it all, have the hope democracy prevails and we can find a peaceful way out of this. I know what I’d do if that fails, and it’s what they would do to us. I don’t like that about myself, but I’m aware I’m capable of it.
You’ve got my help, you’ve got my history, you’ve got my actions. Got a plan and willing to live with doing it?
I’m willing to participate, not lead - that’s a young man’s game. At my age and stage in life the safety of my family (and getting them out if things go south) is far more important than sacrificing them because the country has too many morons with far too much power.
That being said, I think we are a lot closer than our first discussions made it appear, so perhaps our paths will cross someday.
Didn’t even know this was happening… I would have gone if I knew. How does one even get information on protests? They seem to be heavily suppressed.
You need to change your media diet. Here are a few recommendations:
- If you’re into news sites, then add a few that have a little more “independent” coverage: E.g., The Guardian.
- If you’re into social media, then you need to go out of your way to subscribe to local resistance groups and/or individuals that cover local protests.
- If you’re interested, get involved with your local resistance groups! Do a search for “Indivisible” + [name of your city] as a place to start. This could mean going to meetings or it could be as easy as keeping up with a Signal thread.
- Find sites that cover local protests. Example: Mobilize. This is also a good way to find local resistance groups; look for protests and then look for the groups that are organizing them.
The bottom line is that you’re going to have to do a tiny bit of work to get plugged in to the resistance. Once you do, the protests and actions you care about will show up on your radar.
It’s not too late to join - No Kings has more events coming up.
In the meantime, your wallet is your strongest voice in the eyes of this administration. Think carefully about where you spend your hard earned money. A single day of avoiding Walmart and Amazon is not meaningful if you give them your money tomorrow.
Find local businesses that deserve your money and spend your money with them instead. Buy less and buy better quality items that last longer. Reduce consumerism and give homemade gifts or experiences instead of more junk nobody needs. Use lending libraries, swap groups, and other methods to reduce your contribution to the economy, which is frankly the only thing your government cares about.
In Chicago, we have the Chicago Activism Hub where people post protests, gatherings, workshops, other activist events, etc. That’s usually my go-to for determining when large protests like No Kings are happening.
Maybe you have a similar website hosted by an organization(s) from your state’s largest city? Cities tend to be more Democratic and have more of that drive towards organizing.
Nokings.org ? You do have to look for it. Not going to show up on your Instagram feed…
As shitty as they are, you probably need an Instagram profile. Then you “like” the anti-maga posts. My feed was pretty much full of No Kings stuff. I knew about the protests for a few months.
Nokings.org is the site I went to. I just keep an eye on their site and check it like once a week to see if anything is happening in my area
I got a warning from uBlock when visiting your link. Perhaps you meant nokings.org ?
I did. I’ll fix the comment now
We seriously need a countrywide and also even individual online real-time communities for states and cities focused on getting things done together.
Especially to inform each other on when these events are
I know many people who would have gone including myself.
Keep getting more people active, and most importantly connected with each other in-person and online. We all got this!! First we need to better connect!
Edit: Stoat, and Matrix are ideal for the platforms to build up these online 3rd spaces
Big whoop. 70Million voted for orange Shittler. 8million is nothing. Meaningless. Weekend protests are useless. The US needs to shut everything down.
Looking at your comment history I see you work tirelessly to destroy morale of activists and discourage Americans from taking any action. The maga regime thanks you for your support.
Americans are not doing enough. 70 million voted for this fash.
Protests have a lot of very concrete benefits besides just the signal. You meet people who are on your side and can form large and small networks. People internalize the political opinion and you have a shared experience to talk about later. You get pictures to use in campaigning. You maintain the practice of protesting. Etc.
It’s not just about counting the number.
Good luck then.
“Shutting everything down” would do untold harm to many low income people.
Riiight cause the for profit healthcare and for profit prison is so good for poor people.
/s
It isn’t! But “everything” is a wide net, and destroying it all would be indiscriminate in who it hurts.
From a quick google search, USA population is ~341,784,857 as of July 1, 2025. 8M ±15% margin of error gives like ~2% of the population.
It’s kinda funny how you included a 15% margin of error, but then the percentage is off by an order of magnitude
15% eror of 8M. I was assuming a 15% tolerance in observation not total population
I think your math might be off by a decimal there…
Still nothing to turn a nose up at.
Ah whoops. My bad
Margin of error goes both ways… How could there be a margin of error of 15% and not end up with a range of values that goes to (at least) 15?
15% of 8M. I’m assuming a 15% err in observation not 15% of population
I dunno. It feels like copium/ hopium to me.
I mean it’s great and all that people are protesting and getting organized but I don’t feel like it matters much if it just lasts for 1 day every 3-4 months as it doesn’t disrupt anything when people are just chanting boos.
It feels like the recent protests are more of a symbolic ritual / public vent and that for this protest to be successful, there has to be a main body organizing it (like the black panthers or martin Luther king in the 1900s).
and as much as I don’t like to say this, like the estimates of numbers those who attended Pride parades in Toronto past, I think the 8 (wasn’t it 9?) million figure is exaggerated.
OTOH, spring equinox happened 10 days ago, and unless Trump does something good in the Middle East, I presume protests will repeat and get larger.
(OTOH, there were protests in Minnesota in winter.)
I’m actually starting to have hope for the future of the Untied States
Over 3000 protests in the US plus sixteen countries, according to The Guardian. We’re here.
Oh, and in respect of your instance I saw a Canadian maple leaf sign that said “Elbows up!” in a picture of the Portland, Oregon demonstration (tenth down, near the bottom of the frame). I miss the goodwill and friendship of Canada so much. Keep boycotting!
makes you wonder why french used guillotines when they couldve done just no kings protest
The French Revolution did not have a good ending. It ended with the first Nationalist Emperor in modern history: Napoleon.
I’m begging y’all to actually read some books.
Apparently the creation of the First French Republic, which abolished feudalism and monarchy, created a declaration of human and civil rights that was foundational for a century of liberal democratic revolutions all across Europe and is still celebrated today as a national holiday, wasn’t a good ending because the forces of reaction managed to get back in power for a few years. Unbelievable…
Maybe the first republic would have lasted longer if they dressed up in frog costumes?
Thank you! The poor/working class were just as repressed after the revolution. It’s a dumb comparison.
Ok but one instance is not a good sample size.
I do understand that revolution allows authoritarians to swoop in and take control, but my only question is, HOW MUCH TIME WILL REFORMS TAKE? Because if it is more than 1 year, we don’t have the time. Sorry. It’s that simple. Thermodynamics is a real bitch sometimes and WE DONT HAVE TIME to be dicking around for the next 10 years while the people in power claim they are working on changing things.
Edit: please everyone go read some climate science data and tell me we can afford a few more years of this shit.
It had long lasting effects tho
No kings does nothing, its funny how they organize it on sunday so their work week doesnt get disturbed lmao
It was on a Saturday.
LMAO. Books? How would I even share a good quote from a book??? Like just remember it and then tell it to someone like a caveman???
At least Napoléon got the trains to run on time!
Also he reformed the justice and fiscal system in ways that were sorely needed. He did do a bit of wars on the side, but everyone needs a hobby.
That feeling when protests stimulate the economy.
We did go for beers after so. Not wrong.
Exactly, these protests are having the opposite effect of hurting the ruling class and the rich, because they are benefitting from this economically and financially.
I thought the last one had an 8-digit turnout? What am I missing?
Sad that I didn’t hear about this until after the fact. :(
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