So what form does the resistance take?

[Thermal]

I think it's weird that people (predominantly democrats) are protesting a democratically elected president of a democratic country who is in the first year of their democratically defined 4-year term under the banner of "no kings". These are largely the same people who opposed the removal of actual dictators.

They're protesting against democracy and supporting tyranny all while claiming to be doing the opposite.

Strange times.

As long as he walks in the door blatantly defying the Supreme Court and his other democratic flip-offs, yeah that tracks that people note he seems to think he is a king and not a democratically elected executive.

 

[Helen]

I think it's weird that people (predominantly democrats) are protesting a democratically elected president of a democratic country who is in the first year of their democratically defined 4-year term under the banner of "no kings". These are largely the same people who opposed the removal of actual dictators.

They're protesting against democracy and supporting tyranny all while claiming to be doing the opposite.

Strange times.

They are? All of them oppose the removal of dictators, are you sure? Which dictators would that be, then? As far as I know, the only thing you could call a removal of a dictator was the kidnappning of Maduro, a kidnapping that left the regime otherwise intact. I certainly hope you don't mean the cluster ◊◊◊◊ in Iran, which is not even close to removing any dictstors, and may in fact end up tippning the scales in the other direction.

And what about Putin, Orban, Erdogan and Kim Jong Un? Your president seems really fond of them...

 

[Emily's Cat]

As long as he walks in the door blatantly defying the Supreme Court and his other democratic flip-offs, yeah that tracks that people note he seems to think he is a king and not a democratically elected executive.

Do you conclude from this that Iran is a better ally than Trump?

 

[Thermal]

Do you conclude from this that Iran is a better ally than Trump?

We did not elect Iran to abide by the Constitution in our national interests, so I'm not drawing comparisons.

 

[bruto]

Do you conclude from this that Iran is a better ally than Trump?

I don't see that as either relevant or cogent, and the apparent comparison is nonsensical. A law defying dictator is what he is even if not everything he does is wrong. I happen also to think that the war on Iran is wrong and illegal, and that there is a difference between an elected leader and a country, and that there is something between being an ally and an enemy at war anyway. But....are you actually saying we should settle for the gutting of national health, the suppression of democracy, the lies, the corruption, the tariffs, the threats, and all the rest if we don't like Iran? That's what it sounds like.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Ford was, um... Speaker of the House, didn't run on Nixon's ticket? He applied to be naught but a lowly Representative?

Eta: Ford was tapped as VP in the months before Nixoms resignation, but Ford never actually applied for the job. He was one of three representatives from Nebraska, never running for an office in the Executive branch. Plus, I was kidding.

Rep. Gerald Ford was from Michigan.

Fun fact: Ford’s birth name was Leslie King. Which, in an alternate universe, would’ve given us President King.
.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

I think it's weird that people (predominantly democrats) are protesting a democratically elected president of a democratic country who is in the first year of their democratically defined 4-year term under the banner of "no kings". These are largely the same people who opposed the removal of actual dictators.

They're protesting against democracy and supporting tyranny all while claiming to be doing the opposite.

Strange times.

I think it's weird that you expect anyone to believe that that's really what you think the rallies are about.

 

[dann]

Growing a movement!

Good ideas from Parkrose Permaculture about how to recruit friends, acquaintances and strangers for the rallies tomorrow – and for the resistance:

Getting excited for No Kings 3?? Don’t forget these two things! (Parkrose Permaculture, Mar 22, 2026 – 9:59 min.)
Getting excited for NK3?? It's going to be the largest protest in American history. March 28, we'll be out in the streets!! But there are TWO CRUCIAL THINGS we need to do before NK3, so let's talk through them.

No Kings Might Be Bigger than Anyone Expected (The Bulwark on YouTube, Mar 26, 2026 – 17:22 min.)
Tim Miller talks with Ezra Levin—co-founder of Indivisible— about Saturday's “No Kings” protests. They get into whether protests actually work, how movements grow beyond a single weekend, and why discipline, nonviolence, and even humor can throw off an authoritarian playbook. Plus: the rising threat of political violence, how organizers are preparing for it, and what comes next if this keeps growing.

 

[dirtywick]

I don't see that as either relevant or cogent, and the apparent comparison is nonsensical. A law defying dictator is what he is even if not everything he does is wrong. I happen also to think that the war on Iran is wrong and illegal, and that there is a difference between an elected leader and a country, and that there is something between being an ally and an enemy at war anyway. But....are you actually saying we should settle for the gutting of national health, the suppression of democracy, the lies, the corruption, the tariffs, the threats, and all the rest if we don't like Iran? That's what it sounds like.

don't forget they were unprepared, it was done poorly, and it's going really badly on the whims of an election fraudster con man who's been stealing taxpayer money, breaking the law, and is going through a scandal of being heavily implicated in a notorious decades long sex trafficking ring and abusing the legal system to cover up.

this is all just like really, really bad. total failure across the board

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Edited by jimbob: 

quote of subsequently moderated content removed

I've reflected so much on what it must be like to be a MAGA cult member, especially recently. Imagine being so smitten with someone that you're in a literal cult for them, and simultaneously having to resort to strawmen, insults, and the most reaching whataboutisms whenever he's criticized. And it's been this way for 10 years. I would've been too embarrassed to keep that up after like a day or two. Of course they probably justify it to themselves by saying they're just trolling to pwn the libs, or just to make their presence known in a comment thread (did someone say virtue signalling?), derailing a discussion or deflecting criticism, but deep down I think it's really humiliating to them, too. Usually they're really good at replying to just about everything someone writes about Dump in a comments thread, even if it's just to throw out juvenile one-liners with laughing emojis at the end, but when I call them out on how they're never really able to defend Dump with anything but whataboutisms, strawmen, and insults, and ask if they don't get really embarrassed with themselves, they virtually never reply, and I find that incredibly telling.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I think it's weird that you expect anyone to believe that that's really what you think the rallies are about.

I think the rallies are because a narrative has been pushed that Trump is a dictator,and lots of people hate Trump enough that the truth of that assertion is irrelevant to them.

Plus a lot of people seem to view protesting as a bit of a hobby.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

I think the rallies are because a narrative has been pushed that Trump is a dictator,and lots of people hate Trump enough that the truth of that assertion is irrelevant to them.

Plus a lot of people seem to view protesting as a bit of a hobby.

I doubt you actually believe that story, either. And it's a different story from the one you told earlier.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I doubt you actually believe that story, either. And it's a different story from the one you told earlier.

Which part?

I think it's weird
-- I do think it's weird, and I'm pretty sure I know what I think is weird better than you know what I think is weird.

that people (predominantly democrats) are protesting
-- I assume you accept that the protesters are people, so... do you think the protesters are predominantly republicans?

a democratically elected president
-- Do you believe Trump cheated and the election system lacks integrity? You know - the thing republicans are always accusing democrats of doing, and democrats insist the republicans are lying about?

of a democratic country
-- When did the US stop being a democratic country?

who is in the first year of their democratically defined 4-year term
-- Okay, technically, I'll give you this. Trump is two months more than one year into their democratically defined 4-year term. Unless you're intending to argue that the terms are four years long? Or that the term length wasn't defined in a democratic fashion when it written into the articles?.

under the banner of "no kings".
-- I know you're not saying that the protest slogan isn't "no kings".

These are largely the same people
-- How big of on overlap do you think there is? I'm betting it's more than 50%.

who opposed the removal of actual dictators.
-- Meh. Slightly exaggerated perhaps... but generally speaking I do feel like painting Iran as a victim is opposing the removal of actual dictators.

They're protesting against democracy and supporting tyranny all while claiming to be doing the opposite.
-- I believe this to be true. There are a lot of contradictory beliefs

 

[Reformed Offlian]

Which part?

They're protesting against democracy and supporting tyranny all while claiming to be doing the opposite.
-- I believe this to be true. There are a lot of contradictory beliefs

I agree that there are contradictory beliefs. There are also contradictory claims presented by people who may not particularly believe any of them.

You have gone from suggesting that the "No Kings" protestors are supporting tyranny while claiming to do the opposite. to suggesting that they really *are* protesting tyranny, albeit their protest is somehow insincere and/or misdirected. A purportedly insincere protest of x is still a protest of x, and not its opposite.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Edited by jimbob: 

quote of subsequently moderated content removed

I've reflected so much on what it must be like to be a MAGA cult member, especially recently. Imagine being so smitten with someone that you're in a literal cult for them, and simultaneously having to resort to strawmen, insults, and the most reaching whataboutisms whenever he's criticized. And it's been this way for 10 years. I would've been too embarrassed to keep that up after like a day or two. Of course they probably justify it to themselves by saying they're just trolling to pwn the libs, or just to make their presence known in a comment thread (did someone say virtue signalling?), derailing a discussion or deflecting criticism, but deep down I think it's really humiliating to them, too. Usually they're really good at replying to just about everything someone writes about Dump in a comments thread, even if it's just to throw out juvenile one-liners with laughing emojis at the end, but when I call them out on how they're never really able to defend Dump with anything but whataboutisms, strawmen, and insults, and ask if they don't get really embarrassed with themselves, they virtually never reply, and I find that incredibly telling.

I notice someone is completely ignoring this post.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I agree that there are contradictory beliefs. There are also contradictory claims presented by people who may not particularly believe any of them.

You have gone from suggesting that the "No Kings" protestors are supporting tyranny while claiming to do the opposite. to suggesting that they really *are* protesting tyranny, albeit their protest is somehow insincere and/or misdirected. A purportedly insincere protest of x is still a protest of x, and not its opposite.

I think the organizers and the emphasis behind them is insincere, and that a whole lot of people have been sold a narrative that meshes well with their dislike of an unlikeable person and a decades long messaging apparatus inciting hate of republicans. I think the effect of that results in inadvertent but nonetheless real support for actual tyranny.

 

[bruto]

I have not heard any protestors of the No Kings variety protesting the election that put Trump in power, demanding a recall or an invalidation of ballots. Trump and his minions are doing that, and threatening to suppress more votes next time. Disparagement is not invalidation and dissent is not revolution. Objecting to someone's behavior is not the same as objecting to his election. That's also, after all, why the Constitution itself allows impeachment, and once upon a time at least, free speech and freedom of the press.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

I think the organizers and the emphasis behind them is insincere, and that a whole lot of people have been sold a narrative that meshes well with their dislike of an unlikeable person and a decades long messaging apparatus inciting hate of republicans. I think the effect of that results in inadvertent but nonetheless real support for actual tyranny.

Can you think of any valid bases for thinking that Trump's policies and approach to government are objectionably autocratic, tyrannical, unconstitutional, and norm-eroding? Because I can.

 

[kookbreaker]

I think the organizers and the emphasis behind them is insincere,

Why would you think such a thing?

and that a whole lot of people have been sold a narrative that meshes well with their dislike of an unlikeable person

Sold what exactly? That he has been acting like an autocrat? literally thinks he can do anything because "he is President"? Insisted that has thin margin victory and sliver-thin hold on the House was a "mandate" allowing him to take drastic measures? Because all of that, and much more is completely true.

and a decades long messaging apparatus inciting hate of republicans.

"inciting" implies there is a false narrative being used. That is not the case.

I think the effect of that results in inadvertent but nonetheless real support for actual tyranny.

Do you think this protest is entirely about Iran?

 

[Regnad Kcin]

I think the rallies are because a narrative has been pushed that Trump is a dictator,and lots of people hate Trump enough that the truth of that assertion is irrelevant to them.

Plus a lot of people seem to view protesting as a bit of a hobby.

Sure, Jan
.