A Protest Within a Protest

Today was another big “No Kings” protest, and I decided to participate.

Since it’s a bit shady, I want to go through the bits of the costume:

• Uncle Sam costume
• Bloodied shirt (clean suit)
• Skeleton mask and gloves
• Lapel flower made from $100 bills (fake, obviously)
• Combat-style boots
• Bullet sash
• Sign with different messages from the movie ‘They Live,’ as well as some add-ons of my own

The “Act”

I’ve never done anything like this before, but I tried to stay in character. Meaning: no talking, slow walking through the crowd, holding up my signs and flipping them from time to time. I did stop for pictures, because that’s part of what I wanted.

What I Heard and Learned

Listening to the crowd was interesting. Some people immediately liked the costume, which made me wonder the full symbolism of what I intended to represent. (More on that in a minute.) I overheard someone uncomfortable with not being able to see my face and basically stalking the crowd. A couple of folks addressed the messages on the card…

Messages on the cards, most from the movie ‘They Live.’

• OBEY
• CONSUME
• CONFORM
• STAY ASLEEP
• DISTRUST THOSE DIFFERENT FROM YOU
• NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT
• NO IMAGINATION
• DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY
• FEAR CHANGE

Their body language and voice got a teensy bit aggressive, suggesting I wasn’t welcome at the event.

I ran into a couple of characters that I tried to interact with. A person dressed as a high class French lady misunderstood my costume as being part of the resistance. A person dressed as Donald Trump sitting on a toilet said, “No. You are one of *them,*” when I asked if I could walk with him for a bit. I didn’t ask for elaboration, but kept moving.

There were definitely some who couldn’t place me. Was I a MAGA agitator? Was I “with them”? Honestly, with that response, I feel like my art piece met its goals. I wanted to get folks to think, and not necessarily the cars driving by…

Art in the Eye of the Beholder

So obviously, once someone experiences art their own filters and experiences begin to shape what they take away from that experience.

But sometimes artists do have an intention in their art pieces. And I did with this one.

Two comments from what I overheard today to illustrate:

• One woman said that Uncle Sam was jumping the gun. Again, I didn’t stop and ask for elaboration, so I’m not 100% sure what she meant.
• Another woman said, “I hope we don’t get there…” A little more clear.

Part of what I tried to portray is that, Uncle Sam has always been this. He’s soaked himself in the blood of others using tools of mass destruction. He’s encouraged obedience to some level or by some people, or else! And he’s built wealth off of (to start with) Indigenous and Black people while ignoring their exploitation and sacrifice.

To be a little more clear: The United States of America was founded with the blood of Indigenous people and from enslaving Black people staining the shirts of all who colonized and occupied Indigenous lands. And even those in the North benefited from slave labor, there is no question of that. The U.S. has stolen wealth from Indigenous and BIPOC people from the beginning (the $100 lapel flower). The U.S. has been happy to use force against its own when the need has come (the bullet sash). The U.S. has been happy to use force against other countries when the desire has presented itself. System upon system is meant to make residents of the U.S. do all of the things on the cards. And those systems have been working more and more, especially since the Ronald Reagan era.

No Kings!

So, sure, we can get together and yell “No Kings” together every few months. But if we do that while ignoring that every system and step of our history has led us here. That some of the politicians who came to this protest today in support of No Kings have enabled Uncle Sam to keep working just as he always has against working class Americans… Palestine… Congo… Sudan…

What does it mean for us to yell “No Kings” when people who are “on our side” will go right back to their offices and sign off on money for war but not to keep Americans, and our global working class siblings, alive?

So my costume definitely says “No Kings,” but by putting a mirror in its face. Ultimately, it’s unmasking a country that was built upon theft, genocide, violence, and lies from the very first colonizer that set foot on its soil.

It’s unmasking a country built by people who said “this is my land,” instead of saying “I’m so glad we are here. Can we be your neighbors and be in community with you? I’m sure we have so much we can learn from one another.”

It’s unmasking the politicians who take money from Israel and continue to vote for the annihilation of the Palestinian people and vote against Palestinians having self-determination in getting their homes back.

Next Steps

Since these types of mobilizations will surely continue to take place, I have a few ideas that could help us work us out of the fascist path we are currently on. If these don’t happen along with the more public demonstrations, we will keep getting what we’ve gotten

• If going to rallies, sign-waving, other public protests, add going to BIPOC-led actions to your repertoire. Find local BIPOC-led groups in your area, reach out to them, and go to their stuff with the intent of supporting them. (If you don’t know where to start: look for protests supporting our immigrant neighbors or actions fighting against genocide in Palestine or other areas.)
• Do you know your neighbors? Get to know them. Maybe get a street text chat going among neighbors for things you might need or to celebrate local neighborhood wins. Work with your neighbors to have a weekly or monthly community dinner together to further strengthen community bonds.
• Support your local mutual aid efforts. Donate money, food, clothing, supplies where you can. Don’t be a face in the crowd: actually get to know the organizers leading these efforts and volunteer with them when you can.
• When you see/hear racism, sexism, facist sentiments/symbols, especially from those you have relationships with: Let the person know right then and there that those things are *not Ok* in your presence or in our communities. That they *are not* allowed to harm our neighbors through their words or actions.