This era of 'the resistance' feels different

June 14 dawned grey, cool and drizzly — not an inviting day for a march and rally. But I had agreed to meet a friend in Gloucester, on Massachusetts’ Cape Ann, to attend one of the 2,000-plus “No Kings” events around the country. And going to the demonstration felt like the least I could do to protest the actions of the Trump administration, which are too numerous (and too depressing) to list.

So, I went — and I’m very glad I did.

There were baby buggies and wheelchairs and teens. There were American flags everywhere and capes made of red-white-and-blue bunting.

And the posters people carried were outstanding and testified to the wit, anger and wisdom of their bearers. Nearly all were handmade. I darted around, taking pictures of my favorites — with permission, their bearers delighted to oblige.

At the rallying point, there were (mercifully) few speeches from a couple of local organizers, one from a minister, one from a poet, one from the mayor. It was hard to hear them, but it didn’t matter much. We all knew why we were there.

And it was good to be together. It was a relief. It was joyful. It felt as though something had shifted in the body politic. A return of hope. Of agency. Of energy.

I’ve spoken to people who went to No Kings rallies in other towns and cities, and they had similar stories and reactions.

I attended the Women’s March to protest Trump’s first inauguration, where the hand-made signs were equally creative and the air was also charged with the energy that comes when you are surrounded by “your people.” But this felt different. Back then, we gathered out of fear for what might happen. Now, we are reacting to the unmitigated cruelty and stupidity of an administration populated by sycophants and stooges, and the fact that the U.S. has become a global pariah and laughingstock.

I was delighted to learn about the number of us who gathered from sea to shining sea — somewhere between 4 million and 6 million people spread across all 50 states, according to organizers. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. population. Not even news of politically-motivated shootings in Minnesota and warnings to stay home kept Minnesotans from turning out.

Once I got home, I watched footage from Trump’s military parade and was delighted by the mostly empty grandstands. It was so quiet you could hear the squeaking treads of tanks as they drove by. Tee hee. I felt nothing but schadenfreude — an untranslatable German word that mashes up schaden (damage) and freude (joy). It’s not nice, but it is delicious.

The daily news in 2025 has been a relentless cluster-dump of outrages against science, intellectual freedom, art, privacy, human decency, kindness, America’s reputation around the world, and oh yes, the U.S. Constitution.

There have been fiery speeches in Congress, lawsuits, editorials and countless podcasts calling out the outrages of Trump and his Republican minions. But all objections have been overwhelmed by the Trump administration’s successful strategy of “flooding the zone,” deflecting outrage over one action by announcing yet more previously incomprehensible decisions.

I have tried to avoid broadcast news — tuning in only for commentaries and monologues delivered by Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, who help the latest disgrace go down with a shot of 100-proof satire.

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Other people I know have become addicted to video games, crossword puzzles, or are re-binging “Ted Lasso” and “Schitt’s Creek” (where all things turn out okay in the end). Before he goes to bed, my husband watches “The West Wing.” He just completed the 11th viewing of the series because, he says, “When I fall asleep Jed Bartlett is my president.”

And then there’s all the finger pointing by pundits, liberal voters and many elected Democrats, who have been blaming themselves and each other for losing the 2024 election (by the smallest of margins by the way) and lacking a unified, coherent response to the Trump tsunami, which is the deadliest of all natural disasters.

This has left those of us who bleed blue enervated, frightened and stuck.

Trump made the protests in Los Angeles the pretext for deploying members of the National Guard and the Marines, and it was a bust. And the endless rebroadcasting of the same few cars consumed by flames couldn’t hide the fact that the protesters were overwhelmingly peaceful, and that summoning National Guard and federal troops only made things worse.

The military’s presence did have one positive effect: it helped spark support for an epic, high-octane “No Kings” day of protest.

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