No King Just Jesters

The illusion of optics.

Jun 16, 2025

Before I get into it let me warn you…this one definitely ain’t for the Pickmeshas, the Lucy Liberals, the Larry Leftists, the Karens the Kyle’s (well maybe one Kyle and he knows who he is), the Nosy Rosie’s, the Conservative Connie’s, the Right Wing Rays, the Sambos, the Rodney Kings who just want us to all get along, etc. Matter of fact, really this one might make all y’all a little uncomfortable and I’m perfectly okay with that because no amount of progress or growth comes from being comfortable.

So apparently there’s now some organization/foundation/coalition/movement or whatever called the 50501. Something about 50 protests 50 states one movement or whatever…🙄🙄🙄. Saturday was No King Day and early estimates indicate 4-6 million people were in attendance. I wasn’t impressed when the photo below appeared in our local paper and I’m even less impressed by 4-6 million figure.

I fully recognize impressing me wasn’t the goal but I’m also not understanding what the actual goal even was.

Lissen loves…my first act of activism that I can remember was 40 years ago. After a series of experiments that proved my point, I started a petition to get my 5th grade teacher fired for having a class pet. I also actually enjoy arguing my position, was taught how to effectively argue the opposing viewpoint, skipped school to protest the first Gulf War, protested the second one too despite my then husband being on active duty in the Army, and stayed in the streets after Floyd was murdered. I’ve effected corporate level change at two different companies, been featured in international publications twice, and made Oregon Parole and Probation decide something (and decide in my favor at that) in less than 45 hours when they had 45 days and lots if other things that don’t really matter. I say all that to say I am no stranger to activism or protest and still I’m unimpressed.

When interviewed by a journalist at The Independent back in 2020 I was asked if I thought protesting was important. He quoted me saying “I think that protesting is one avenue, it’s one thing you can do to create change. But I don’t think the most important. I don’t think it’s the only thing that could be done.”

In case you’re wondering, I still think this.

Roughly four to six million people gathered, held signs, chanted, marched, spoke, and posed for photos or had their photo taken candidly. They waved flags, some brought their children, hell some were even arrested. Awww that’s cute.

Saturday the streets in cities across the nation looked much like when folks took to the streets in the aftermath of Floyd. Can you tell me ten things that have gotten better for Black folks since 2020 though? Okay, maybe that’s too ambitious…what about five? What about one…what is one single thing that is better for Black people since millions were in the streets in 2020? You on the struggle bus trying to come up with something aincha? Hell if anything it’s gotten worse. We might get into that later we’ll see

Allegedly money and power is the universal language, I don’t agree but lemme try to keep my thought train on the rails.

If money and power are the universal language then you should understand my title. These four to six million are laughable at best.

Let’s split the difference and call it five million going forward. Five million people took time out of their lives to show up. On sidewalks, on streets, in parks, in front of state capitols and other buildings and the like. Let’s say half of those people also spent time and money making signs. I’m gonna assert those that made signs took at least one hour to do so from supply acquisition to final product. According to the info readily available online, in May of this year, Americans earned an average hourly wage of $36.24. Do you see where I’m headed?

Two million five hundred thousand people spent $36.24 in time to make signs. Let’s round that to $40 for time plus supplies. Somebody else can do the math but 2.5 million times 40 bucks is a lot. Okay fine…I had Miss Annie’s innanet do the math and it’s…

ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS

Can you imagine what kind of collective power that kind of money would have? This kind of money and power is where real enduring change happens. I’ve heard it said knowledge is power so lemme share some knowledge…

While I was born to be extraordinary, let’s just look at some ordinary averages:

Average price of a Bachelors Degree in the US: $40k-$180k

Average price of permanent resident card: $1,440

Average price of real identification: $50-$130

Average price of a passport: $130-$165

Average price of rent for 1,000 sq ft of living space: $1885

Average price of a car: $50, 968

Average price of trade school credential: $5k-30k

While we could create an endless list of average expenses, let’s focus on just a couple from my list above. If 2.5 million people donated just 40 dollars we could house approximately 4,420 people for a year. We could help 69,444 undocumented humans get a permanent resident card. At the high end, we could gift 555 people a bachelor’s s degree even more if we go low.

“Our movement shows the world that the American working class will not sit idly by as plutocrats rip apart their democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law” is the claim made on the 50501 website but I got questions. Soooooooo sooooooo many questions. I’ma gone ahead and keep alluh dat to myself for now…

I could also make a really good argument for the fact that standing on a sidewalk, field, street, or wherever holding a sign is actually tantamount to “sit[ting] idly by” because it’s basically the act of being inactive and taking no action when action is needed.

Lemme ask it again…what one thing has happened to make the plight of Black Americans better since 15-25 million or more people (myself included) took to the streets after Floyd was killed? It was police reform right…oh wait. It was the expansion of DEI initiatives ooooh but I forgot Target’s boycott determined that is a lie. Wait I know it had to be reparations right...nerrmind. Maybe it was…damn. I. Got. Nothing.

Jesters. Fools really.

It’s foolish to think that a protest is action. Action looks like policy change. It looks like blood, sweat (from work not weather) and tears. It looks like understanding that “unalienable rights” in this country change based on the color of our skin. It looks like using any degree of privilege we have to stand in the gap for the most marginalized among us. It looks like calling elected officials demanding they do the job you elected them to do, it looks like mutual aid, it looks like pounding the pavement to help get eligible voters registered. It looks like teaching history accurately even when some of the chapters are dark.

Real action versus "sit[ting] idly by” is not always neat and clean. It’s examining our own biases and unpacking ignorance so that both can be overcome. It’s inconvenient sometimes; it can be lonely too. It’s rolling your sleeves up and getting to work without caring about going viral or looking so much cooler online or whatever Brad Paisley said. It’s giving up your triple mocha caramel espresso machilattechino one day a week and using that money to make a meal for someone who is hungry, to buy a houseless person a tent or blanket, to donate to a worthy cause that’s actually effecting change. It’s recognizing that we rise by lifting others because together everyone achieves more. Yes…I know it’s cliche af but that doesn’t make it less true.

No king, just jesters because commuting to work this past Saturday had me surrounded by apparent fools who don’t even understand the dichotomy present between the US flag they are so proudly waving or wearing and the ideology their signs portray. Like this lady for instance:

But failed to explain what tyranny or fascism was when asked.

We’re not even going to address the background person with a trans flag directly above what appears to be a star of David because wtf? No really…what in the actual!

These ladies below…I can’t decide what is most cringeworthy. Maybe it’s the fact that one of their shirts says “equal rights for other does not mean fewer rights for you, it’s not pie” while she holds a flag that has never actually been a symbol of a nation that is “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” or is it the “fuck the broligarchy” the lady with flags plural over her shoulder or the lady with the shirt who’s message is so important she’s got it obscured by her jacket. It might be that none of them are wearing masks or making any attempt to shield their faces or that there’s one of them with her phone out or one with what looks like an apple watch on her wrist. Then again it could also be that two of them are carrying bags on their body and I’d bet inside their bags is id, house and car keys, money, credit cards etc. too.

Are you gagging yet? Laughing hysterically? Maybe you’re rolling your eyes…if so, you’re my kinda people for sure. I was so annoyed by the time I got to work and had rolled my eyes so many times I’m pretty sure my unborn great grandchildren felt it.

Some people really LOVE to feel like they are doing something and then literally do nothing or at best do the least important thing. In case you didn’t know…this is almost always performative. How things look (optics) will never be more important than how things are (action). I need the Pickmeshas, the Lucy Liberals, the Larry Leftists, the Karens, the Nosy Rosies, the Conservative Connies, the Right Wing Rays, the Sambos and the Rodney Kings to act or move. Oh and if you were one of the estimated 10’s of thousands in the streets in Portland on June 14th, two things…maybe don’t look to 505051 for ideas on how to organize (sitting down is very dangerous and no one I saw was prepared for that kind of smoke/heat plus so many other things their website is wrong about) and maybe donate a dollar or forty to organizations like:

Faith’s Substack

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