WHY NO KINGS?
With the most violent implications of United States imperialism unfolding rapidly in the Middle East, and a worsening economy threatening the livelihood of working families, it is crucial that we continue to march alongside our local organizers and anti-war allies if we are to affect real change. While our political stances and demands may differ in part from those of the No Kings organizers, it is essential that we, as socialists, bring our voices of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism to the masses wherever they are.
No Kings is a representation of potential even in the least likely population centers. While it may not cast storms like a hurricane, it blows sentiment in our favor. When the Democratic party fails to meet the moment, it presents an opportunity for the left; a place to teach and educate our neighbors on the material failings of the Trump administration, connect these failings to the long standing policies that made Trump an inevitability of capitalism, and to advocate for protests that would serve to disrupt the flow of capital, such as a general strike.
HARRISBURG:
On March 28th, the Central PA Party for Socialism and Liberation attended the No King’s rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a windy morning, we were fighting the wind with our signs, but the crowd of over 1,000 was not deterred. Although Harrisburg is a smaller city surrounded by a largely conservative suburban sprawl, the people showed up to the state capital to voice their dissent and dissatisfaction with the current state of the American empire. There was lots of good chanting, creative signs, and even a few musical performances. While the rallies did not have direct demands or threats of disruption of capital flow, it was an opportunity for people who otherwise consider themselves to be apolitical or have been let down by corporate politicians to voice their anger with the system and meet their local community organizers.
Throughout the protests, multiple organizations urged the crowd to continue their protest beyond No Kings Day, by joining political organizations, by helping out their local communities, and by preparing for the May 1st general strike. In a time of chaos, the choice to get involved with your community is the most important step an individual can make to bring about material change for themselves and their neighbors.
YORK:
Hundreds of residents in York City attended the No Kings Protest at Continental Square, joining the entire nation in a historic show of public unrest. York County is not typically a bastion of Democratic party support; the county voted for Donald Trump by over twenty percentage points in the 2024 Presidential Election. In the time since the election, none of the nation’s material concerns have been met, and the working class of York is beginning to feel the reality at their feet. Thousands of disaffected voters will be present during the midterms. It would be the perfect opportunity for the Democratic establishment to address the material concerns of their constituents and appeal to the growing unrest. But if their past decade of capitulating to the right has taught us anything, it is that the Democratic party will once again sell out to their donors and fail to capture populist sentiment, allowing the right to breed fascistic rhetoric and birth a new age, post-modernist, MAGA cult.
WITHOUT MATERIAL DEMANDS, WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE?
Deep red counties around the entire nation are seeing massive double-digit swings to the Democratic party. Furthermore, Democratic primaries are being pulled further to the left due to discontentment with party politics as usual, as well as the discipline of organizers and popular grass roots support for candidates that speak to the material conditions of the working class. If the mayoral election in NYC has shown us anything, leftist policies that address the cost-of-living crisis are wildly popular ideas even in spite of the mass propaganda campaign put forth by both parties. We must continue to integrate ourselves into a multitude of political spaces in order to give the people the opportunity to see themselves as capable of creating meaningful political change outside of the two party system if we are to bring about a greater class consciousness to central PA.