3/28/26

A GREAT BIG ‘YEA’
FOR NO KINGS DAY

PART OF THE NO KINGS crowd as the protest took shape on West Main Road, Middletown. PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Jones

SATURDAY’S NO KINGS RALLIES were a huge success. I got to witness one of them.
     The demonstrations took place in every state, in thousands of communities, and a bunch of foreign countries.
     Size matters and, indisputably, there were millions of participants.
     Some news sites reported that the “organizers” claimed that the total reached 8 million, up 1 million from the second edition last October, and 3 million more than the first during last June.
     You can’t trust insiders’ counts, but what’s important is that lots of Americans cared enough about their country to do and say something about it and the multiple ways that Donald Trump is tearing apart democracy, decency and economy.
     That’s huge.
     Imagine if just a few people, or worse, no one, bothered to protest the evil that an unhinged president is attempting to impose on our impressive, if imperfect nation.

 THE NEXT DAY QUARTERBACKING of the pundits was whether the  demonstrations will translate into something practically and  politically important.
     One noted that there didn’t seem to be a single theme, policy or politician favored by the demonstrators that could counter the enormous damage Trump already has done.
      What did the protesters protest against? The economy? The war? Mass deportations? Anti-democratic move?
      All of the above, and more,  of course. Trump has done a lot, meaning that there’s lots to complain about, to reverse, rebuild and reform.
      The point is that substantial numbers of people were and are concerned about lots of things, and we should be grateful that do.

I WENT TO A DEMONSTRATION that drew people from Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth,  the three communities that make up Aquidneck Island, which is the “Island” part of the State of Rhode Island.
     I’m terrible at counting crowds, and I left early, just as the protest site on both sides of four-lane West Main Road in Middletown was filling up. I put the number at 500 to 1,000 and wouldn’t argue if advocates puffed up the numberto 2,000 and maybe more.
     What I found just as heartening as the big numbers was the spirit of the participants. It was joyful event. People praised each other’s hand-drawn signs. Most were strangers, but didn’t act like they were. 
     It’s a cliché, but it really felt like family,  probably because everyone knew why they were there, and it was the same reason everyone else was.
     It was a sunny, but not a “nice” time to be outdoors. The National Weather Service put the temperature around the freezing mark, and the 10-mile-an-hour wind produced a windchill of 26 degrees.
     But rather than discouraging folks, the cold seemed to give participants one more thing that they could agree on.     

      There are weekly protests at the on and off ramps to the Newport Bridge, and those participants skew old – really old – probably because retired people don’t have jobs or kids and other routines that take up lots of time.
     The No Kings rally in Middletown surely did have lots of oldsters like me – I’m headed for 84. But they were a cheerful, resilient cohort. One lady raced her walker up a hill, and when she fell, lots of hands reached out to get her and her  contraption to the top, with laughs all around.
     There were also college students, “regular” Mom, Dad and the Kids nuclear groupings, and the lines stretched  on both sides of the highway, from the Middletown Public Library to the Two Mile Corner, where West Main and East Main Roads intersect.
     Sign carriers waved at cars, whose drivers honked approval. Thumbs up vastly outnumbered middle fingers.
     One thing you have to remember about Newport and its neighbors is that they may comprise a world-famous tourist center, but a big part of the area’s hidden economy is military. The island is home to Navy education centers, including the national Naval War College, and there also are  major big naval research activities.
      What impressed me about the occupants of the cars and pickups who passed the No Kings protesters is that they seemed so supportive. I’m thinking that some were military folks, who have little taste for frivolous wars and a clownish Secretary of Defense. (Maybe, too, they keep their thoughts to themselves).
     One thing that worried me was that demonstrators edged closer and closer the cars zipping by, making sure their signs were visible. But a No Kings monitor politely, but firmly, patrolled the sidewalk, moving the line back a few inches to safety. 
     It all worked, logistics and purpose.

THAT'S ME before my early retreat. CREDIT. C.B. Jones

 I LEFT EARLY, only after about a hour. Despite three layers and an L.L. Bean parka with an insulated hood, I felt the cold felt like it was making me sick, down to my bones.
     Later at home, it took me hours, with the help of a woolen cap, an Irish sweater, a bedtime comforter and too much hot chocolate to  start to feel warm.
     I cursed my aging body that could not seem to tolerate an even moderately New England winter-like day, even for a patriotic cause.
     But I was also grateful that the old thing at least took me back and forth, to witness one of the landmark days of the country’s crusade for freedom and democracy.

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If you want to see some of participants and their clever signs at other R.I. No Kings events, go to the Substack site of Steven Ahlquist, who does an impressive job of covering progressive local politics. Here’s the link: https://steveahlquist.substack.com/

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