Thomas Zimmer

Forget all the “Protests don’t matter” and “No Kings is just silly” nonsense.

Protests matter. Societal resistance has been hardening. It’s a massive problem for the MAGA regime.

And “No Kings” is crucial as part of an effort to dispel the idea that “real America” stands behind Trump.

https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/a40ac673-b42b-4108-9756-feeae62ca5e8

America As No-Longer-Democracy and Not-Yet-Dictatorship

Where does the country stand after the largest day of protest in U.S. history? Putting “No Kings” in perspective

Steady
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Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
The No Kings protests in the fall of 2025 did not change anything in any immediate, tangible way. It was a highly symbolic affair. But that doesn’t relegate the protests to the status of an ephemeral blip. I believe they mattered for three main reasons:
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
First of all, the Trumpists’ key assertion is that they represent “real America,” that the November election was a referendum that installed Trump as the tribune of “the people.” Anything that helps to dispel such notions – especially in the minds of mainstream elites – matters.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
Secondly, a broad coalition is needed to defeat Trumpist authoritarianism. In thousands of places, Americans are coming together with their neighbors in a communal effort that creates a shared experience beyond strategic or ideological disagreement. That matters.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
Finally, the No Kings protests can be part of an effort to, as cringe as that may sound, reclaim patriotism from the Right. Too long have rightwingers been allowed to drape their grievances in the nation’s collective symbols and present themselves as the guardians of the national mythos.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
This is where the slogan “No Kings,” in all its simplicity, is effective. It is a reference to a founding myth – but mobilized in defense of democratic self-government, as an affirmation of democratic aspirations, even if America has certainly never fully lived up to them yet.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
This is also how the (perceived) “normie” character of the No Kings protests becomes an asset. Too long have rightwingers been allowed to present themselves as “real Americans” and deride everyone who dares to dissent as “abnormal.”
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
But all (small-d) democrats in America must dispute this claim of “real American” normalcy and replace the repressive norm of white Christian patriarchal dominance with a promise that the expected norm is an acceptance of pluralism and diversity in all spheres of life.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago
The chasm between the traditional Republican assertion of representing “normal” America and the assortment of extremists, fraudsters, and weirdos in positions of influence and power has become brutally stark. It is time to pounce.
Show threadThomas Zimmer9h ago

Will it work? I don’t know. But it is certainly better than preemptively conceding ground to the Right’s claims that they deserve disproportionate power as representatives of “the people.”

It is time for (small-d) democrats to assert their right to define what “real America” should be going forward.

Show threadcognitively accessible math8h ago
@tzimmer_history Yes, even while purity testers mock doing protests without boycotts. Oh, what if they go to Target for supplies?
More important is "no, the normal people are saying this is wrong."
Show threadcognitively accessible math8h ago
@tzimmer_history We can also talk about the shopping choices at teh protest....
Show threadAnne Ominous5h ago

@tzimmer_history

i'd say 'good idea,' but most democrats seem to represent corporations

i dont think Chuck Schumer has any right to make assertions about America. he thinks his fictional Bailey family are important. the john oliver segment on him really just crushed any hope i have that dems can meet this moment.

i love my Rep, Delia Ramirez. but my 2 dem senators? lol -- Durbin?? Duckworth? they might as well be Israeli lapdogs

meanwhile, Newsom out here shittin on trans folks. SMFH

Show threadSeth Richards8h ago
@tzimmer_history I don’t think this is cringe at all. Huge swathes of Americans are fundamentally patriotic- they want their country to be something they’re proud of. I think it’s been a huge strategic error for the Left to allow the Right to define what that means over the last 40+ years. Reclaiming that is a critical part of building something lasting.
Show threadSarcasm is all I have Left7h ago
@tzimmer_history History proves these demonstrations help to provide a catalyst for change. MLK Freedom marches and women protesting for the vote in front of the White House are two examples. History also shows those in power inevitably describe them as smaller than they were, delusional, and ineffective.
Show threadGailen7h ago
@tzimmer_history
I'll be heading my local protest today. You can't form a resistance without getting organized and protests are the breeding grounds for organization.
Show threadDemian7h ago
@tzimmer_history great thread! Very clearly and compellingly conveys how these protests matter.
Show threadNazani7h ago
@tzimmer_history
A great way to meet other people who share your interest in saving the planet & civilization.
Show threadSune Auken6h ago

@tzimmer_history

Brilliant thread. Thank you.

Show threadluca6h ago
@tzimmer_history The article's title makes a point. But what if everything remains as it is right now, half-way?
Show threadThomas Zimmer6h ago
@luc0x61 That is indeed a distinct possibility - a sort of hybrid regime, best described as a form of “competitive authoritarianism”
Show threadjz.tusk5h ago

@luc0x61 @tzimmer_history

More importantly, what are *you* doing?

Show threadluca5h ago
@jztusk @tzimmer_history That's a legal question to US citizens. However, I understand they live in a complex society, as we do everywhere else.
Often there hasn't been a change perceived as "immediately dangerous", the rhetoric often presents some changes as necessary for a future better living. This makes me think that many (too many) in reply to your question, are just "waiting to see". We all know that when some waits are over, well, everything's over.
Show threadjz.tusk5h ago

@luc0x61 @tzimmer_history

Plenty of fascists around Europe. Are you waiting to see about them?

Show threadluca5h ago
@jztusk @tzimmer_history I already see them here: they run the government.
Show threadTía Tula4h ago

@tzimmer_history 👍 and NoKing - protests have to extend all over the world.

#NoKings

Show threadScott D. Strader 😐3h ago
@tzimmer_history It's simple: if there were no protests, people would say "well, I guess everyone's ok with this..."
Show threadDennis3h ago
@tzimmer_history I recently learned a pretty good saying, "Knowing the truth alone isn't enough, people should know that others know the truth as well". So protest, show your resistance, let more people know that they are not alone. Resistance is NOT futule.
Show threadTheKillShot2h ago
@tzimmer_history
It matters. We aren’t sure today how/why, but fucking matters.
Show threadNu Modular1h ago
@tzimmer_history Although it pains me to see persistent left-right swings; the principal is sound.
Show thread(^^)1h ago

@tzimmer_history They do matter, but they need to be more sustained efforts. The protest hits every few months are not useless, but we need indivisible to call for a general strike where we turn off the economy until Trump is gone and the wars are ended, that would be more effective. Right now, Trump can easily ignore these protests.

They are good for bringing people together so they know they're not alone.