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On Saturday 18th October, as one does, I dressed up in a giant inflatable frog costume, and joined a local #NoKings protest, part of a nationwide series of demonstrations, against the Trump administration's cruel and increasingly authoritarian policies. The #NoKings aim is to call out Trump's imperial behaviour and remind Americans that America's democracy was founded in opposition to monarchy.
My frog costume was in honour of the protestors in Portland, who have been mocking Trump's decision to send National Guard troops to that city by dressing up in absurd costumes, such as inflatable frogs, unicorns, and pink ponies, and prancing around to music in front of an ICE detention facility, to disprove Trump's allegations that the city is rocked with violence. My costume was a hit. Dozens of other protestors lined up to take selfies with me; people cheered as I walked by; and cars hooted as they drove past.
Everyone was on their best behaviour - to avoid giving any pretext to Trump officials to accuse the participants of disorderly, unpatriotic or hateful conduct. There were lots of American flags on display. The overall atmosphere was good-humoured, and fun. A couple of policemen were on standby, but at a discreet distance. They told me they were just there to make sure no-one got hurt.
The turnout for the event, in the middle of the day when many families are busy driving their kids to events, or doing household errands, was also pretty good. I estimate there were almost two thousand attendees during the period I was there. I eventually had to retreat after - like the proverbial frog in boiling water - I became increasingly over-heated in my airless garb. According to the organisers, almost seven million Americans took part in over 2,700 similar protests across the country - with particularly large turn-outs in major cities such as Chicago, New York, and Washington DC.
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This is a meaningful increase on the estimated five million people who participated in the first NoKings protest in June. The deliberate ridiculing of the administration with witty slogans, funny costumes and satirical memes is also a highly effective way to get under Trump's skin. The organisers are trying to sustain momentum by circulating guidance on new ways to challenge the administration, such as lobbying members of Congress, canvassing in upcoming elections, and helping register new voters.
And yet, I can't help feeling that this is not yet enough to make a difference. Seven million is barely two per cent of America's roughly 347 million population. Even in my neighbourhood, a highly educated, professional suburb just outside Washington DC, filled with federal workers, many of them working unpaid or on furlough during the current government shutdown, I came across people who literally had no idea the protests were taking place. One extremely well educated acquaintance of mine, whose business will potentially be seriously affected by Trump's ongoing trade wars, told me she simply had "no idea" who to believe these days, and felt "both sides" were equally to blame for America's current dysfunction.
At our event, it looked like almost everyone there was over 50 years old, many of them perhaps veterans of the civil rights movements of the 1960s, or of the anti-Vietnam war protests and women's rights movements of the 1970s. I saw very few young people, or people of colour, though the latter is perhaps understandable given the fear of ICE harassment. One participant told me she felt younger generations simply didn't understand what wa...