No kings 2

We participated in the second 'No Kings' protest this past Saturday. I kind of thought this was at least the third one in Fort Wayne, but apparently it's the second nationally(?). Either way, this was our second (both in FW).

Some random thoughts:

• The first one we attended had an estimated crowd of 5,000 locally; this one was estimated at 8,000. I have no idea how they do this, because there were people coming and going throughout the 2-5PM time, but I'm sure someone has it figured out. This one definitely seemed larger though.
• The first one actually seemed louder. We could hear the noise as soon as we parked our car, and we were 4-5 blocks away. However, I suppose we were more used to it for this one.
• It was weird, because there was a 'Zombie Walk' in the same general area. As we were walking to the courthouse (site of the protest), we saw all these people walking down the streets. Apparently lots were there for the Zombie Walk too. Kind of funny seeing people who did both. :)
• We saw several people we knew, most of them from our church.
• Almost everyone seemed genuinely happy. Lots of smiles, people chatting. I suppose, for most people (us included), it's just nice to know we're not alone. There's a comradery. 
• The first one had a small stage and several people spoke; this one just had a dj playing music. I was glad they made that change. Less organized seemed better.
• Lots of signs. Some were pretty funny, most were fairly serious. We did not have a sign at either one.
• I am no more a fan of the "F*ck Trump" signs than I was of the "F*ck Biden" signs. Just... why? Why do people need to do that?
• Personally, I did not feel this was an anti-Trump rally, and definitely not an anti-America rally (there were a lot of flags, veterans, and other pro-America people there). In fact, I don't even consider it being about republican vs. democrat, or right vs. left. It's more simply: wrong vs. right. But maybe that's just me. I'd like to think people could peacefully protest anything the government is doing that is wrong. Which is not the same thing as being anti-government in general.
• One of my favorite things is watching the cars drive by. I think it's a one-way four-lane road... and lots of people were honking and hanging out windows. That usually got the crowd stirred up. Of course there were a few trump supporters flipping people off. Whatever. 
• I did not see any protestors protesting the No Kings protestors. There was one big pickup truck with trump flags (go figure) driving around, but... so what. 
• As to whether it did any good: I don't know, but it made me feel good, so... I think that should count for something. 
• All in all, I feel like this is one of the more patriotic things I have done. We participated in an event speaking out against government injustice, and there seemed to be a shared spirit of unity among everyone there - young and old alike. I was glad to be a part of it.

Meh, so there's some thoughts off the top of my head on this chilly Tuesday morning...