#NoKings is Part of Revolutionary Times

Around seven million people reportedly turned out in the streets today for the #NoKings protests. Pretty incredible turnout. And in every video I saw, not only were the crowds massive; they were filled with a cheery atmosphere, clever signage, and authentic diversity in age, race, gender, and dare I say class.

The significance of such a massive protest is utterly indeterminate. The police arrested protestors in every major city. Trump will not care. And MAGA policymakers will keep hoarding wealth, making everything you buy more expensive, gutting your healthcare, jailing brown people, and illegally killing folks abroad.

But what materialized as #NoKings in America is part of a global movement (often led by Gen Z) against growing wealth inequality, austerity, government corruption, and authoritarianism. In the global South, where modern state functions have fewer resources, these uprisings are leading to major change. Whether they do in America remains to be seen, and I’m at once pessimistic and hopeful.

Pessimistic because, as I said recently:

in the US especially, two major trends suffocate the prospect of progressive transformations of society. One is that Gen Z boys in the global North have been disproportionately captured by the violent, racist, mysogynistic far right…

The other suffocating trend in the West is the overwhelming power of its national security states. Rich governments have proven all too willing to surveil, police, and strangle anyone demanding peace, democracy, or equality.

So it’s obviously too early to tell the full meaning of #NoKings, and there’s reason for skepticism.

But hope springs eternal because, I mean seven million people and shit is going to get a lot worse over the next 12-18 months. Guaranteed. But already the people are mobilizing like this: