Signs of the Times!

It was a jubilant, defiant and CROWDED experience yesterday at the NO KINGS protest in New York City. Here are my friend Tos and I with our signs, which somehow survived the pouring rain from the previous march…

We were stuck for about an hour in Times Square around 47th Street, but there were very nice people all around us to meet and a drum section nearby to keep our spirits high. We were informed that, because there were over 100,000 of us assembled, the front of the protest had already reached 34th Street even though the back end had yet to move! We decided to go around the log jam and find the part that was actually progressing, which felt like a metaphor for how to solve seemingly intractable impasses.

At one point, a reader recognized me and we got a selfie with her friend and her cute doggo!

There were over 7,000,000 people who attended protests around the country, a 40 percent increase over March. The scale of it all can be appreciated in this video:

Buy beyond these huge crowds, another critical story is how many protests in small towns in the U.S. filled up with like-minded folks who aren’t going to stand for their country falling under authoritarian control. My brother John and my nephew Hartley went to the march in the town of Kingston, New York—which also saw thousands turn out!

Yesterday I asked readers on social media to post their favorite signs they snapped photos of from around the country (and world!) and here is a smattering. I’m saving some of the rest for next week’s Skeets and Giggles.

Berkeley, CA:

Whidbey Island, WA:

Notice the handle on the below sign. Talk about taking the plunge!

Johnson deserves this for saying we protestors were all Hamas-supporting antifa terrorists.

I started making a list on my head and it really needs a long spreadsheet…

From someone’s 12 year old child:

Great seasonal reference:

Encapsulating the current cabinet well:

A favorite popping up around the nation:

We should make this verb happen:

For the Trek fans…

And a new dad joke emerges!

In a time of worry, erosion and fear, yesterday’s No Kings protests were a resounding response, uplifting community, liberty and democracy.

They say there are few things worth fighting for that have ever been won without a fight. Yesterday we sent a collective message that we will not lay down our rights and go quietly into the fascist night. If they want to take our democracy from us, they will have to go through us.

All seven million of us. And growing!

I’m so proud to be a part of the best of America, on display for the world to see, and for the many who, because of the very worry, erosion and fear the regime has spread, dare not speak up and show up for themselves. On their behalves, we will carry the torch, and we will light the way back.

Have a great Sunday. Fill your hearts with hope, drink deeply of courage and conviction, and be ready to meet the moment.

Jay