No Kings and far too Many Strawmen

Introduction:

The third “No Kings”[1] protest is now behind us. Even before it occurred, and certainly after it, sectarian critics on the left have continued to denounce it. Here are some of the more frequently heard examples (in no particular order):

• The protests are controlled opposition;
• The protests “sheepdog” or funnel the attendees (back) into the Democratic Party establishment;
• The protests are purely performative;
• The protests have no clear objectives or demands;
• The protesters are predominantly “middle class” (i.e. bourgeois) “liberals”;
• The protesters will just return to “having brunch” once the protests are over;
• Nonviolence just a form of white privilege;
• The Protests just funnel demonstrators back into electoralism;
• Protests aren’t enough; more organized, militant action is needed;
• The protests are a start, but they’ll amount to nothing without real organizing.

In truth, such arguments are nothing new. I’ve been a militant, radical organizer for well over 32 years, and I speak from experience: such claims from sectarian leftist critics of them are as stale and hackneyed as the critics accuse the mass protests of being.

Why does this keep happening? While the sectarian critics will stubbornly and obstinately claim that the reason is because their criticisms are correct and “nobody listens to them”, or “the liberals keep co-opting them”, I’m convinced the critics are dead wrong, and are stuck in a codependent feedback loop which actually makes it harder for them to realize the goals they allegedly seek.

1. The Overly Liberal Use of the Word “Liberal”
2. “Controlled” Opposition or Stolen Thunder?
3. From Where are the Protesters Being “Funneled” or “Sheepdogged”?
4. The Sectarian Critics (as well as many Supporters) of Mass Protests Don’t Understand or Appreciate their Purpose and Function
5. Chasing the Unicorn of the Ideal Revolutionary Agent
6. Thy Doth Protest the Protests too Much
7. …Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

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Footnotes:

[1] It could be argued that this is actually the fourth “No Kings” protest, because prior to the first one, held in June 2025, there was a smaller, yet significantly larger mass demonstration organized by many of the same organizations and coalitions called “Hands Off!” in April 2025. The reason for the original branding was opposition to Elon Musk and DOGE’s rapid takeover of the institutions of the administrative state, a takeover which threatened the privacy and wellbeing of millions of Americans. Due to the toxic unpopularity of MUSK and DOGE—due, in no short measure, to these mass protests and #TeslaTakedown—Trump washed his hands of them. The organizers of “Hands Off” rapidly rebranded to “No Kings” to shift the focus onto Trump’s autocratic fantasies, so in a very real way, all four compose a single movement arc.