This is a call for you—yes, you specifically—to organize an anti-authoritarian bloc in your community for the “No Kings” demonstrations on October 18. If you are willing to do this, skip directly to the how section.
Fascism has come to power in the United States. People around the world are horrified. But simply marching in the streets once every few months is not enough. We have to get out there and draw people into concrete organizing and activity. No one else is going to do this for us.
Far-right billionaires have bought up practically all of the media outlets and communications platforms. Our best chance to reach people is in the streets, through grassroots initiatives. “No Kings” is not our only opportunity to reach out to people, but as Trump consolidates control, we can’t afford to let a single opportunity pass us by.
Anarchists are known for our courage; we have gotten used to acting boldly in an array of contexts. What is needed now is the courage to take the first step to establish public positions around which a fighting movement can cohere. This both scarier and simpler than many of the things we have done in the past.
To face down Donald Trump’s power grab and his terror campaign targeting “antifa,” we need everyone, of all walks of life, to proclaim that opposition to fascism is both laudable and urgent. We must contribute to a ferment that brings together everyone from the fiercest participants in the George Floyd revolt to the retirees that protested at Tesla outlets last spring. This does not mean limiting ourselves to lowest-common-denominator proposals—that is no way to make a big-tent movement. Rather, we need everyone to show up with their own political analysis and objectives and organizing culture, but with an understanding that we all need each other.
