What the “No Kings” marches taught us: the antidote to tyranny isn’t fury - it’s laughter, clipboards and muscular decency (and there's probably a Gantt chart somewhere).
Agree totally, I think the day also allowed a lot of people to look around and realise, ‘I’m not alone’ in the way I feel about what’s going on and consequently there will be so many that formed new friends they never realised they had.
The ‘silent majority’ have been awoken and are standing, dancing, singing and signing their displeasure together…..
Surely they weren’t referring to the Fuc-king orange misogynistic-douchebag-idiot-buffoon-megalomaniac-racist-asshole-shithead with Wotsits for brains were they?
Due to the horrifying lack of violence MAGA supporters on the "Hellsite" have been reduced to claiming that anybody opposing the Orange one must have been paid. They have been posting what looks like a spreadsheet showing what Soros and other communist/marxist/socialist/Antifa people have donated to fund these protests. They cannot understand that people would actually do this for free.
I think the people in Portland(?) have hit on a brilliant strategy of dressing up in dinosaur, giraffe, mickey mouse costumes etc. to shake their paws at the National Guard.
Any violence meted out will look unwarranted and ludicrous.
The day after Farage was ripped a new one in the US Congress recently, Polanski was interviewed and he said "Farage had his arse handed to him".
Not a phrase media trainers are likely to approve of perhaps.
But is using it he perhaps showed a way of undermining Farage and Reform. Gently bursting the huge bubble of pretentiousness Farage carries around.
The mainstream media give way too much attention to Farage without, generally, engaging in critical questioning of his assertions.
Public derision and there was plenty of it on those marches undermines the whole concept and practice on which the Trump Government and MAGA rely for authority.
Although nasty pieces of work in and of themselves their weakness is that they take themselves seriously. And although there will be pain in the meantime their misplaced self belief will be part of their downfall.
Jo (my wife) was recounting her walk yesterday with Obi our Border Terrier. Specifically, how she'd decided she’d say, “Hello” or “Good morning”, with her infectious smile, to everyone she encountered.
One of her ‘victims’ was a young lad of around 12 in his football kit obviously going home from his Sunday morning football. She said he looked really sad as he ambled along but once she’d said her chirpy, “Good morning” his face lit up and his whole demeanour changed…
We’ll never know what caused that lad’s long face, but we do know the world today seems to wish to do no more than bombard us all with endless energy sapping negativity leaving us feeling like there’s little hope, that no one values us, that life’s not worth much anymore. The truth though is very different, and perfectly exampled by the No Kings march, yet gets zero exposure as happiness doesn’t sell! Happiness does not whip up the angry.
A well understood carry over from having been around for millennia is that, via the painstakingly correct route of evolution, the DNA for human beings carries an in-built prioritisation to any perceived threat - some 5-7 times more importance is given to even a perceived issue than, say, something that actually makes us happy. On the face of it, it’s questionable, even a little daft, but, thinking a little deeper, you quickly realise that in the last 1200 years of our existence our ‘advancement’ has been so mind blowingly swift that poor Mother Nature (evolution) simply hasn’t had time to keep pace. From a species survival perspective, it makes absolute sense to ensure threats take centre stage.
However, as we are now supposed to be better, more intelligent, instead of just ‘reacting’, as we all, all too often do, perhaps it’s time we all did what the organisers of this march obviously did and stopped, considered, questioned our ‘instincts’ a lot more to redress the imbalance and help evolution to catch up.
There exists in all of this a disgusting, hidden irony. In the 21st century a core tenet of our humanity, our DNA pre-programming against potential threats to our existence, is now being very deliberately and increasingly weaponised against us. Very specifically it is being used to manipulate us politically and to make money from us by overriding logical judgement doing us both very real harm and, ultimately, undermining our species very existence.
At the root of this manipulation lies the creation of perceived threats by the likes of Trump and his band of a holes and using the fears generated to leave us increasingly unhappy, increasingly lonely, increasing isolated and feeling like we have zero value in the world - broken from a mental health perspective. The current antidote is for those who manipulate us into this awful state is to proffer the classic ‘rock and a hard place’ choice all deliberately couched as ‘reasonable’ but with the one seeming the 'most' reasonable being the one that benefits the manipulators most either politically or fiscally.
Perhaps the No Kings rallies are the new alternative for the disaffected to be acknowledged as a human being by another human being by being waved at, just as the young lad was by Jo or the millions of people willing to stand up and be counted in the rallies. Much as we cannot know that young lads circumstances we know that he shares much with the rally marchers in that he to wanted to be seen as an individual and acknowledged rather than be usurped by an awful alternative.
Just week ago I would have said it was time to accept that we normal folk are today simply performing marionettes of those who have the money to hire string pullers, that it was time for each of us to take responsibility for no longer blindly accepting our fate, that it was time for us each to move to our own tune. Thank God for the silent majority, decency and the power of good. The light at the end of the tunnel has had its bulb changed to a rather large mother....
I think your lovely wife raised that young boy's spirits exponentially. Perhaps his team had just lost and he was the goalie? He may have fallen out with a friend? Whatever it was, he went from sad to happy, all down to Jo. I have a real aversion to seeing children sad, a lady who can make a sad child happy is an angel in my book.
Completely agree. The marchers in the US remind me of those of us who went on the NO TO BREXIT ones in those end days before the Referendum. Lots of jolly, friendly, positive people, listening to polite positive speeches from people who knew what they were talking about. In fact we marched with our dear French friend who had lived in the UK for many years, but who sadly returned, disillusioned, to France not long after. Sadly we lost last time but next time... because the 'winners' proved to be liars and charlatans. Who does that remind me of?
Great piece Bear, boosted my mood. Seeing the ‘No Kings’ marches yesterday gave me hope for the US & so hope for the UK too. I would love to have been a fly on the wall as the MAGAs, Fox, the Orange one & his lackeys tried to get their narrative, about the danger Lefties & Dems pose, back on track.
Agree totally, I think the day also allowed a lot of people to look around and realise, ‘I’m not alone’ in the way I feel about what’s going on and consequently there will be so many that formed new friends they never realised they had.
The ‘silent majority’ have been awoken and are standing, dancing, singing and signing their displeasure together…..
Surely they weren’t referring to the Fuc-king orange misogynistic-douchebag-idiot-buffoon-megalomaniac-racist-asshole-shithead with Wotsits for brains were they?
*Other Orange snacks are available.
Due to the horrifying lack of violence MAGA supporters on the "Hellsite" have been reduced to claiming that anybody opposing the Orange one must have been paid. They have been posting what looks like a spreadsheet showing what Soros and other communist/marxist/socialist/Antifa people have donated to fund these protests. They cannot understand that people would actually do this for free.
I think the people in Portland(?) have hit on a brilliant strategy of dressing up in dinosaur, giraffe, mickey mouse costumes etc. to shake their paws at the National Guard.
Any violence meted out will look unwarranted and ludicrous.
The patriotic frogs of Portland are the very best of the subversive, ironic resistance. Got to love them!
"... “order” is not men in black body armour barking threats at all and sundry, it’s citizens choosing decency and tidying up after themselves."
Mr Bear, for this phrase alone, I love you!
Superb piece.
Excellent piece and I endorse your conclusion- a bit more positivity could help create the mood for changes we need here too. 👏🏻
The day after Farage was ripped a new one in the US Congress recently, Polanski was interviewed and he said "Farage had his arse handed to him".
Not a phrase media trainers are likely to approve of perhaps.
But is using it he perhaps showed a way of undermining Farage and Reform. Gently bursting the huge bubble of pretentiousness Farage carries around.
The mainstream media give way too much attention to Farage without, generally, engaging in critical questioning of his assertions.
Public derision and there was plenty of it on those marches undermines the whole concept and practice on which the Trump Government and MAGA rely for authority.
Although nasty pieces of work in and of themselves their weakness is that they take themselves seriously. And although there will be pain in the meantime their misplaced self belief will be part of their downfall.
Jo (my wife) was recounting her walk yesterday with Obi our Border Terrier. Specifically, how she'd decided she’d say, “Hello” or “Good morning”, with her infectious smile, to everyone she encountered.
One of her ‘victims’ was a young lad of around 12 in his football kit obviously going home from his Sunday morning football. She said he looked really sad as he ambled along but once she’d said her chirpy, “Good morning” his face lit up and his whole demeanour changed…
We’ll never know what caused that lad’s long face, but we do know the world today seems to wish to do no more than bombard us all with endless energy sapping negativity leaving us feeling like there’s little hope, that no one values us, that life’s not worth much anymore. The truth though is very different, and perfectly exampled by the No Kings march, yet gets zero exposure as happiness doesn’t sell! Happiness does not whip up the angry.
A well understood carry over from having been around for millennia is that, via the painstakingly correct route of evolution, the DNA for human beings carries an in-built prioritisation to any perceived threat - some 5-7 times more importance is given to even a perceived issue than, say, something that actually makes us happy. On the face of it, it’s questionable, even a little daft, but, thinking a little deeper, you quickly realise that in the last 1200 years of our existence our ‘advancement’ has been so mind blowingly swift that poor Mother Nature (evolution) simply hasn’t had time to keep pace. From a species survival perspective, it makes absolute sense to ensure threats take centre stage.
However, as we are now supposed to be better, more intelligent, instead of just ‘reacting’, as we all, all too often do, perhaps it’s time we all did what the organisers of this march obviously did and stopped, considered, questioned our ‘instincts’ a lot more to redress the imbalance and help evolution to catch up.
There exists in all of this a disgusting, hidden irony. In the 21st century a core tenet of our humanity, our DNA pre-programming against potential threats to our existence, is now being very deliberately and increasingly weaponised against us. Very specifically it is being used to manipulate us politically and to make money from us by overriding logical judgement doing us both very real harm and, ultimately, undermining our species very existence.
At the root of this manipulation lies the creation of perceived threats by the likes of Trump and his band of a holes and using the fears generated to leave us increasingly unhappy, increasingly lonely, increasing isolated and feeling like we have zero value in the world - broken from a mental health perspective. The current antidote is for those who manipulate us into this awful state is to proffer the classic ‘rock and a hard place’ choice all deliberately couched as ‘reasonable’ but with the one seeming the 'most' reasonable being the one that benefits the manipulators most either politically or fiscally.
Perhaps the No Kings rallies are the new alternative for the disaffected to be acknowledged as a human being by another human being by being waved at, just as the young lad was by Jo or the millions of people willing to stand up and be counted in the rallies. Much as we cannot know that young lads circumstances we know that he shares much with the rally marchers in that he to wanted to be seen as an individual and acknowledged rather than be usurped by an awful alternative.
Just week ago I would have said it was time to accept that we normal folk are today simply performing marionettes of those who have the money to hire string pullers, that it was time for each of us to take responsibility for no longer blindly accepting our fate, that it was time for us each to move to our own tune. Thank God for the silent majority, decency and the power of good. The light at the end of the tunnel has had its bulb changed to a rather large mother....
I think your lovely wife raised that young boy's spirits exponentially. Perhaps his team had just lost and he was the goalie? He may have fallen out with a friend? Whatever it was, he went from sad to happy, all down to Jo. I have a real aversion to seeing children sad, a lady who can make a sad child happy is an angel in my book.
Thank you Carolyn. She is indeed and I tell her so too.
Thank you Bear, I feel calmed after reading that. An excellent piece which restored hope.
So many pithy phrases, can't chose. I so needed a laugh, and pick me up. Fab.
Completely agree. The marchers in the US remind me of those of us who went on the NO TO BREXIT ones in those end days before the Referendum. Lots of jolly, friendly, positive people, listening to polite positive speeches from people who knew what they were talking about. In fact we marched with our dear French friend who had lived in the UK for many years, but who sadly returned, disillusioned, to France not long after. Sadly we lost last time but next time... because the 'winners' proved to be liars and charlatans. Who does that remind me of?
it was a joy to see those crowds.
Makes it clear that mocking and laughing at this ridiculous regime is far more powerful than using violence.
Great piece Bear, boosted my mood. Seeing the ‘No Kings’ marches yesterday gave me hope for the US & so hope for the UK too. I would love to have been a fly on the wall as the MAGAs, Fox, the Orange one & his lackeys tried to get their narrative, about the danger Lefties & Dems pose, back on track.