No Kings 2 Has No Downside, and Negligible Risk

[Tom Rinaldo]

Trump and his lackeys will bluster, and threaten, and smear everyone involved, but they are powerless in the face of massive non violent No Kings 2 nationwide protests. It is what they are least prepared to counter: a massive outpouring of non violent citizens converging in every corner of this vast nation; in small towns and major cities, rural and urban, red and blue, everywhere at once.

Trump can not manipulate the playing field when it encompasses the entire nation. He can not control the narrative when reality itself plays out mere miles away from where every American lives. Trump has his playbook of course but it wasn't written for an event like No Kings 2, and it can't be adapted to successfully respond to it.

Trump deploys federal agent provocateurs in targeted city blocks, be they in LA, Portland or Chicago, seeking to generate images of unrest with "rioters" "clashing" with "law enforcement officers." Then those premeditated, prefab images are spoon fed to his base through right wing broadcast and social media networks. Cities are said to be "burning down", though mothers stroll with their infants in baby carriages a mere block away. Most Americans live hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from where non violent activists are actually confronting ICE agents on the streets. There are relatively few eye witnesses to the truth as it really plays out.

Not so with No Kings 2. Though decidedly national in scope, 2500 distinct rallies will each be local in nature, near to where all Americans live and work. Each of the many millions of protesters who will be participating are personally known to another dozen or two friends, family members and acquaintances, who will be hearing directly from them about what actually went down. Regardless of whatever out of context footage FOX News or Newsmax tries to package for their viewers, virtually every local media outlet in the nation will be reporting live from their local scene themselves. And they will be reporting on massive peaceful protests in opposition to Trump's agenda.

Trump's proto-fascist forces do not have the capacity to simultaneously disrupt and/or intimidate millions of Americans gathering at one time in thousands of places throughout the entire nation. They know it and they won't even try They have no stomach for being outnumbered a hundred to one or more. That's why their strategy is to try to intimidate us in advance, to keep us from attending in the first place.

They are incapable of shaping the narrative on Saturday, even if they do manage to stage a few instances of supposed "conflict" and "civic unrest." They would stand out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of millions of peaceful protesters, obvious isolated instances of staged provocations. Will there be absolutely no risk to any protesters on Saturday? Of course not, there is always some risk. Back in the late 1950's and early 1960's, could Civil Rights leaders promise their followers that actively opposing racism came at no risk to those who did so? But where would our nation be today had risk adverse supporters of justice and human rights huddled at home behind locked doors rather than taking the fight for equality to the streets?

Compared to what they faced, the risk to anyone who attends a No Kings 2 event this Saturday is virtually non existent. The risk to any Trump goon who tries to disrupt our peaceful protests, on the other hand, will be high. Not because of any physical danger they could face at the hands of protesters. Our strength is in non-violence and we know it. The threat to the Right comes from the danger of being exposed to the nation in broad daylight for who they really are should they attempt to show their true colors on that day.. Let them try. we've got this.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Don't take provocateur bait. Make wide circles around them or walk far away. Do not sit down! . . . . nt

[Shellback Squid]

2. this!!!!!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Fun day for good people, almost without exception, but maintain situational awareness at all times

Network, make friends, pass out extra signs.

[AdamGG]

8. Networking

It would be nice if there was an organized campaign to get the millions of attendees to join into a coordinated organization to take further action in an orchestrated way and GOTV in record numbers.

[Tom Rinaldo]

9. Indivisible is a primary sponsor of No Kings 2

That is pretty much what they do. Here is their website: https://indivisible.org/

[gab13by13]

4. Great Post Tom,

Let the authoritarians complain about rallies supporting No Kings.

Throwing out the billionaires rests with us, the people.

[KitFox]

5. Absolutely, Tom! Thank you for posting. Collective joy in defiance is not only effective, it is exhilarating. At a

rally in April, I saw a tiny, frail elderly woman inching her away along. Her sign on the front of her walker said: Courage can be found in unusual places. This is truly a movement and it is growing and strengthening daily. I was part of it in the late sixties and here I am three quarters of a century old and still at it. Be well and safe DU family and keep on insisting, resisting, and persisting whenever and however you can!😊🧡

[BlueWavePsych]

6. Kick

[littlemissmartypants]

7. ❤️ RESIST!! ✊️

[pecosbob]

10. I envy your certainty.

Personally I'd prefer a national day of strike to one of protest. Attack their bottom line and you'll get their attention. I believe that in the current environment marching in the streets is a lot more likely to result in the Insurrection Act than any change in policy.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. National protests build base for strikes. You may get your first national strike ever in the not-too-distant future.

https://generalstrikeus.com/


https://nationalstrike.us/

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. If marching in the streets is all it takes to trigger the Insurrection Act

then it is inevitable that Trump will attempt to use it, if not now than soon enough. If he is that dead set to use the Insurrection Act the only thing that would keep that from happening is a totally passive and non engaged public willing to let him get away with anything he wants. And that would indicate his total victory. Personally I think Trump would be less likely to use the Insurrection Act if we can turn out massive non violent protests throughout the nation. That could well make him rethink that tactic, realizing it would more likely "poke the bear" into even more massive resistance than "club it into submission."

Trump trying to use the Insurrection Act does not equate with him getting away with doing so. There are still Courts to be reckoned with, and ultimately; We the People. His preferred scenario is to incite a few hundred activists somewhere into clashes with ICE agents which he could then label as "a riot". If Trump is dead set on using the Insurrection Act he will manufacture a pretense to do so. But if he knows that ten million Americans are already ready to take to the streets against him, he just might think twice about it.

I have nothing against a National One Day Strike, if we can produce the numbers to pull it off. That could be next.

[Mountain Mule]

11. A most excellent post!

I'm 74 and have a heart condition, but these things won't stop me from showing up at my small town's no kings protest rally. I have a feeling that the city park will be over flowing with people holding signs! I was a protester against Vietnam and Nixon back in the 70's and now I'm a protester again. Trump is destroying our democracy.

GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSES AND INTO THE STREETS!

[BigmanPigman]

14. Common sense...avoid the instigators.

They want to get a reaction from you. Do NOT give them the opportunity to pull any of their BS. They thrive on getting attention. If I see or hear any BS I will put my stone-face on and march right past them. I'm 5' 11/2" and I have no fear of MAGA!!!

[yellow dahlia]

15. This is why I think the multitudinous rallies all over the country are so great.

Grassroots - everywhere...all at once.

And Indivisible has focused on keeping it peaceful, and offered plenty of de-escalation webinars.