No Kings Day In Ukiah

The third nation-wide “No Kings” Day of Protest was last Saturday, March 28th. Arriving at the County Courthouse in Ukiah we were swallowed up in a sea of thought-provoking protesters with signs. My favorite protester held a modest hand-lettered sign with multiple red balls attached (appropriately I think they were light-weight foam rubber clown noses). The sign read, “Free Balls for members of congress who have lost theirs.”

The wit and wisdom of Mendocino County residents was everywhere. The signs speak well for themselves; “My Monarch is a butterfly,” “You can’t bomb your way out of the Epstein files,” “Satan always asks, ‘What would Trump do?’” “Love our military, impeach the Commander in Chief,” “Are we great yet? Because I just feel embarrassed,” “Respect my neighbors or expect my resistance,” “Melt ICE,” “If not us- who? If not now- when?,” “There is no such thing as other people’s children,” “Why protest? Because it’s much better than hiding a family in an attic,” “I have the right to OBJECT, I have the right to INSIST,” “The president is a disgrace,” “Defund the Gestapo,” “No Faux-King Way,” “Shamussolini (picture a whale with the Trump blond wave of hair),” “Our children are watching,” “Boycott Billionaires,” “I knew it was going to be bad but…,” “If Kamala was president we’d be at brunch now,” “No dick (picture of Trump) taters (picture of Mr. Potato Head),” “No crowns for clowns,” “Our only king is the constitution,” “Wake-up, fascism is evil,” “Protest is not dangerous, silence is,” “Lock him up- Trump #1 felon,” “Operation Blind Fury (picture of Trump with military helmet over his eyes,” “Hands off: Medicare, Vaccines, Universities, Private data, The Kennedy Center, Education, Science, medicine and Medicaid. The Courts, Immigration and Social Security,” “Their greed is destroying us,” “Whatever you allow your government to do to others they will eventually do to you,” “Hitler didn’t start with camps, he started with banning books, targeting the press, blaming immigrants, creating enemies from neighbors, controlling the courts and judges, attacking workers rights, spreading lies and conspiracy theories, using religion as a weapon, replacing truth with propaganda,” “Warning signs of fascism; extreme nationalism, disdain for human rights, scapegoating minorities, controlled media, rigged elections, militarization of society, corruption and cronyism- stay vigilant.” “Speak out. Resist,” “I prefer my ICE crushed,” “Not fit for America- Impeach,” “I have friends everywhere, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

There were also three large banners reading, “No War for Israel,” Indivisible Ukiah http://inukiah.org and No Kings with a picture of crossed out crown.

Demonstrators congregated tightly in front of the courthouse on State Street between Perkins and West Standley. Three “patriots” dressed in colonial costumes with fife and drum representing Indivisible Ukiah exhorted the crowd. Several times songs broke out which were immediately joined by many people. More than 1,000 people showed up including representatives from the SEIU union, most of them with signs, some with costumes and all of them determined to stand up to what is happening in the United States. There were people in orange vests designated “peacekeepers” and there were no unpeaceful incidents.

A wide cross-section of people came out. There were old people, young people, mothers with infants in their arms. Some signs were barely readable, roughly and hastily painted and others were slick and computer generated. People looked serious and determined. A few hid their faces behind their signs — afraid of being identified?

It was estimated that around 4,000 people demonstrated throughout Mendocino County — in Fort Bragg 1500; Willits 1,000; Boonville 100; Village of Mendocino, 200; Ukiah 1,000-plus. Numbers for other locales like Laytonville were not included. So probably 5,000 is closer to the mark which would be over 5% of the County’s population, an impressive number.

May 1st is scheduled to be another day of protest. No school, No work, No shopping. There are several places where information can be found #nokings, www.mobilize.us.event, and maydaystrong.org.