No Kings Day from a Neighborhood Rally in North Seattle

A man with his guitar serenaded the crowd.

He stood on the corner of a busy Ballard intersection, singing a protest tune that mixed humor and heartbreak, Spanish and English—“I like the lima, I like the lemon, but I like the Constitution.” It was the perfect soundtrack for a gray Seattle afternoon that couldn’t decide whether to rain or rally.

I’m a terrible judge of numbers but I joined maybe a thousand fellow Seattle folks who descended on the main corner of this north Seattle neighborhood for No Kings Day, Seattle’s answer to a country that feels increasingly allergic to democracy. The main rally was downtown, but Ballard showed up with kids, dogs, and hand-painted signs that said things like Poo-Poo on the Cuckoo and Monarch? Only One We Need, with a hand-dawn butterfly.

My daughter and our dog, Kira, wandered beside me. She rolled her eyes at the livestream, but I think she dug the inflatable dinosaur costume crossing the street and the Santa with Trump et al on the naughty list. And I hope she understood—it wasn’t just for fun. I hope she understood: this is what democracy looks like, as we chanted.

Someone asked if there were counter-protesters. There weren’t. Just songs, chants, drizzle, and a thousand small acts of belief that showing up still matters.

Thank you Beth Cruz, Musings on Interesting Times, Carter, and many others for tuning in!

View the original