Sounds of the city were prominent as well as whistles, trumpets and voices on Saturday, Oct. 18 in New York City as the “No Kings” protest called residents out of their living spaces. Instead of the usual Times Square crowd, the streets were full of 100,000 protestors; 14th street to 47th street in Manhattan were completely packed.
The widely-renowned “No Kings” protests mean protesting a variety of things to citizens of the U.S., as seen in protest signs. The phrase “No Kings” means that citizens at the protest would like to see a democracy instead of what many described as an “authoritarian” rule. This is an umbrella term that can fit over several other policies that President Donald Trump has enacted that protestors did not like. Examples of these include the President’s immigration policies, gun laws, trans rights, and many more.
Regina Forlenza is a mother of two elementary-schoolers, and attended the “No Kings” protest in New York City dressed as the Statue of Liberty. She was protesting for different immigration policies, and other policies that the current president is enacting, such as limited press.
“I am very upset about the state of affairs in the world today,” Forlenza said. “I need to come out to protect my first amendment right[s] and hopefully for my children, so that we bring about a better future.”
Forlenza was born and raised in New York, and currently lives in Long Island. Her grandmother was Italian and migrated to New York through Ellis Island. She thinks that it’s important that we recognize that we are walking on stolen land, and also said that everyone should be welcome. Her daughter is in fourth grade and her son is in first grade, and they both know that she was there protesting that day. She stated that she was doing this for them.
At the same time, a few citizens were at the march to counterprotest. These people supported most of President Trump’s policies, and expressed their opinion using “Trump Won” and “Take America Back” signs.
One of these anti-protestors, Eric Johnson*, supports the current president. He has opinions that conflict with most protestors.
He also stated that the reason why there is gun violence in America is because there are people that want a higher level of gun control. “The reason why we have gun problems is because people want to take away your gun rights,” Johnson said. “If you’re a person who has gun control, and you go to the range and you’re trained and you know how to use a gun, the gun is not the problem. It’s the people who have guns illegally that want to come out here and cause trouble and just start shooting people for no reason, then we have a problem.”
Among the citizens siding against current government policies, Grace Eversight and Jane Smith were at the march to “protest against kings.”
“We live in a democracy, we’ve got to maintain that,” Eversight said.
“I’m a college student and I think that everyone has the right to exist, to safety,” Smith said. “People need their needs met, and right now, their needs are not being met, so they can’t live freely. What’s going on right now is not okay, not enough is happening.”
Protest signs throughout the crowd read messages such as “No kings, just jokers and fools”, “these fascists are losing, keep marching!”, “abolish ICE” and more. These were just a few among many different messages spread throughout New York City that day.
Many differing and irregular sounds were displayed at the protest that day: a trumpet player playing the U.S. national anthem, and a stringed instrument player, one resident was even shaking a tambourine. Citizens marched chanting the phrase, “Hey hey, ho ho, the president has got to go.” The NYC crowd made sure their voices were heard.
*Name is changed to protect anonymity
