Whether dressed in riot gear or inflatable animal costumes, holding an American or Mexican flag– both even, or holding low-effort or carefully-crafted signs with creative phrases such as “Anti Fascism is so fetch!”, thousands showed up to Downtown Los Angeles’ City Hall for the Oct. 18 No Kings protest.
Across the nation, millions gathered on Oct. 18 to protest against the Trump Administration’s charge on the country’s democracy as many call it a “dictatorship”. Overwhelmed by the unprecedented times, Americans found the No Kings protest as a time to have their voices heard.
“We’re not gonna be quiet no more, we’re going to open our mouths, we’re gonna take action wherever it belongs and I believe this is gonna prove it,” said Executive Officer Secretary of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) 721, Lillian Cabral.
“I’m here today because of such ugliness happening right now here in Los Angeles– people being taken from their families. We’ve never seen this, except back in the 1930s when they put everybody that was Mexican-American into the trains and sent them back to central Mexico,” said Cabral. “We thought we kind of went above that, right? But we’re back again,”
Cabral’s biggest worry under today’s government concerns the rights of the disabled and General Relief (GR) recipients as their accessibility to food, through the Department of Social Services (DPSS), has been restricted due to the government shutdown.
“That’s gonna bring homelessness, because are they gonna eat? Are they gonna pay their rent?” Cabral said.
Cabral also expressed concern for the difficulty in today’s job market.
“People have BA’s [Bachelor Degrees], Masters, all these big degrees– can’t find jobs. They gotta go to McDonald’s to find a job, they gotta go to the first level entry of the county as being custodial, or clerks, before they can find out if they’re eligible… all these degrees don’t mean anything.” she explained with frustration.
While Cabral acknowledged that she could have chosen to stay home, “It’s Saturday, [you could’ve] stayed home, kick your feet up,” she instead made the decision to reserve the day for fighting injustices through protest.
“I’m here [No Kings protest] because of history, I’m here because of the middle things that are happening, and I’m here for the future of our children– all races,” said Cabral.
Cara Dudley, who wished to be referred to as an “ally of marginalized communities”, attended the No Kings protest with her mom by her side.
“I’m here because I strongly dislike Donald Trump,” said Dudley. “That’s bottom line.”
Dudley continued to express that with being a woman, she worries for the future of women’s rights– but was then quickly frustrated when considering all other groups impacted by oppression.
“Of course not just women but immigrants and trans people and all these marginalized communities are all being attacked right now and they’re not even the problem, the problem is men with guns– well I mean, there’s a lot of other problems, but that’s what concerns me the most,” she remarked. “These people [marginalized communities] that are being targeted that shouldn’t be.”
Hopeful of the protest, Dudley believes that community will serve as a testimony to the future of the U.S.
“I just think the overall message is that everybody is on board, everybody is together… if nobody were to do anything then nothing would happen so that’s the whole point.” she said.
At 80-years-old, protestor William Joseph Miller, who served in the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969, carried a sign of condemnation to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on the front and “Trump, Musk and all other billionaires” on the back, both supported by a Christian excerpt.
“I go to church every Sunday and this is a form of Chrstian witness… you’re required to speak out whenever there’s injustice or hatred, or bigotry, so this is my form of speaking out.” said Miller regarding his presence at the protest.
A great concern for Miller in response to the Trump administration lies in American healthcare and education.
“I believe that we should have medicare for all regardless of your age– I think that that is important. I think education is important. When I went to UCLA I didn’t have to pay tuition, I think that we should go back to where students didn’t have to pay for an education. I think we need, especially, educators and doctors,” said Miller with compassion.
Through Miller’s lived experiences, he finds that today’s America is a disservice to the people of the future, “With Trump running this country, he’s gonna turn this whole world into an inferno far more terrifying than anything that Dante could’ve ever imagined,” he said.
While far into his livelihood, Miller continues to work towards the common good and “fight for what’s right,” he said.
“I’m doing it [protesting] also for future generations like you because I don’t want you to inherit that sort of horrible world.” Miller expressed.
