Hemingway advised writers, write the truest sentence you can.

Here’s mine.

The No Kings Movement’s three huge mobilizations this year, each surpassing the other, is:

Outside our two homeland wars, the largest, broadest, deepest, mass collective action against fascism, tyranny, dictatorship, and christian nationalism ever in our history!!!

The protests of millions each were folks swarming, overwhelmed in joy and found freedom. They are actions of love and anger and frustration and hope and faith.

As one of those at the grassroots in a red state who was articulating this strategy as soon as the votes were counted, these protests are very strategic.

They are the organizers fail safe: face to face communication, on the street, side by side, sign waving together. Month after month, week after week, day after day we showed our neighbors that we would resist, giving many the courage to step out themselves. In fact, our pressure has helped those with much more power to start using that power to stop Trump.

I live in West Virginia. The GOP boot on our throats. But in this last year we have had unbelievable success creating Movement activity as small as 12, and as big as 3000. 

From a lifelong union organizer perspective, teaching people to act together in concert is the first, and hardest part of moving folks into action for change.

Early on, we rallied around the issues, targeting them strategically. One of our earliest was a rally at Harpers Ferry Park was to stop the park service from removing “unpleasant” reminders of slavery.

Immediately afterwards we raised the issue of the Musk Assault on Workers. We drew dozens of pissed off federal workers, raising worker and union rights.

When Stephen Miller got his way and ICE went ape shit everywhere, we mobilized to support our neighbors and immigrant families. Our protests were aimed at ICE, against cooperation, and part of the mass humanizing of immigrants and Brown people. 

I grew up in West Tennessee around folks who are now MAGA. I know them. I know they hate gas prices and inflation. But they love machismo.

This pedophile problem of the president is sickening his supporters, so we call out pedophile protectors. We never stop reminding them that their cult leader is the lowest level of man in their own cult judgement.

Now we’re focusing on the Iran War because it could be the most horrific abuse of power in American history.

We have focused on the issues that people were ready to move on — “Voting with their feet”, as we once said at ACORN.

We have cast the widest net possible to bring everyone we could to the fight. Although elders like me may outnumber younger people, we are in large part led by the youngest amongst us.

We strategically decided not to build longterm structure and organization in favor of allowing for the most possibilities for the explosion of movement.

Together we, everyone part of any of this, have created Movement that will protect, save and cover all our dreams for a just and loving homeland.

We are educating millions on the fundamental inadequacies of our current government and system. We are teaching solidarity, opening minds and hearts for other people based on that foundation.

Our presence as neighbors and loved ones on the streets of three West Virginia small towns challenging weekly, even daily the president they once loved and followed, could be the most revolutionary action possible.

Uniting beyond parties as people of action, justice, peace and compassion, in praxis on the ground where every conflict is settled, maybe making the most of opportunity while protecting our possibility for a just future.

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