No One Is Free Until Everyone Is Free

I ask not to be safe from my enemies, but dangerous to them -- Anarchist prayer

Saturday was something to behold, y'all. Thousands of folks made their way to Injustice Square Park in downtown Louisville, and around the country millions turned out in over 2000 'No Kings' protests. LMPD estimated more than 4000 took to the streets here, although my own estimate and everyone else I spoke to about it put it closer to double that.

Nationally, estimates range from 5 million to more than 13 million participants. No matter which estimate you go with, Saturday was one of the largest single day protests in this country's history. (If you don't count Earth Day 1970 as a protest, it was the largest protest this country has seen)

There's a concept in political science, the 3.5% rule, which is that when 3.5% of the population engage in sustained nonviolent protest and civil resistance, autocratic regimes are likely to fall. That's more of a rule of thumb than a hard and fast rule, but with Saturday's turnout, this country is flirting with that threshold if it hasn't exceeded it already.

'No Kings' was the title and theme of the protests, but it was the coming together of a broad range of struggles that filled the streets. Ending the genocide in Palestine, protecting trans rights and the queer community, stopping the wars on the planet and bodily autonomy, stopping white supremacy and standing up for your neighbors, organized labor and battling police brutality were just some of the movements that found common cause in standing up to tyrants.

No one is free until everyone is free. One thing that was emphasized time and again Saturday was that this wasn't a one time thing, that this would keep going and growing until everyone was free.

Until that happens, I'll see you in the streets. Stay safe out there y'all.