The Big List of Protest Signs for #NoKings 10/18

Instead of talking to MAGA or each other, focus on winning the hearts and minds of the unaware and undecided.

We protest because we strenuously object to the illegal and unconstitutional actions of this administration, but we should try our best to frame our messaging in terms of what we are FOR instead of what we are against. It is more effective persuasion and it is safer for you as a protester.

No Kings protest at Washington Street/Clark Street in Chicago

Effective Protesting

The best signs tell people what we stand for and do it simply. Our goals are to show our numbers and our power, to generate images that portray us as the “good guys” to those who might not read the news, and to deny the opposition images they desperately seek to justify the use of excessive force, or worse, invoking the Insurrection Act.

Driven by the ghoulish Stephen Miller, the administration is now attempting to portray ALL political opposition and criticism as terrorism or incitement to violence. We know that this is a blatant violation of our First Amendment rights to freedom of expression, and that cracking down on protests violates our freedom of assembly and right to petition our government. Still, many people are starting to feel genuinely unsafe. People with dependents or those with disabilities or medical conditions may not be able to afford even a small risk of being detained. Fortunately, the most effective messaging and protest behavior is also that which makes it hardest for the opposition to discredit us or abuse their power against us.

Managing the Optics

In a previous post, Protest Strategy: Managing the Optics, I talked about how all confrontation benefits Trump, and how projecting safety and innocence works to our advantage.

“Trump has been looking for an excuse to declare Martial law since he took office. Don’t give him one. We need to make it absolutely clear that Trump is creating the chaos.”

“Our strategic goal should be to look so completely peaceful and harmless that calling out the National Guard look like the wildest kind of overreach, like calling them out to attack a family picnic. The fact of our protests being peaceful should be unassailable.”

In that post, I shared some excellent recommendations from actor and activist, Peter Coyote, for how to manage the “theater” of protest like, “dress like you are going to church,” “only protest in daylight,” and “no images of violence or vandalism.”

What We Are FOR

It might feel good to make snarky comments that get under MAGA’s thin skin or to share inside jokes with fellow residents of the blue bubble, but our strategic mission is to win the hearts and minds of those who are unaware now and undecided in the next election. We want people to see us at the protests or in images and think, “I believe what they believe. These people are just like me.”

To the extent possible, we should try to frame our objections in terms of what we are for. People talk about the motivating effects of loss aversion, but it doesn’t work by ratcheting up the alarm. It works by reminding people of how much the things they might lose matter to them. If we’re protesting against fascism, we’re protesting for freedom. Focus on what is happening now and why it matters. If you say, “Protect Freedom of Speech” or “Defend the First Amendment,” people might think to themselves, “I care about freedom of speech too,” and “Trump is clearly violating the constitution.”

Labelling and alarmism tend to trigger pushback or denial, even among people who agree with us. If you say, “Trump is a Fascist,” people might ask themselves, “Are they exaggerating,” “What do they mean by fascism,” “Does this technically qualify,” or “Are they just saying this because they hate Trump? And while “Trump is a Fascist” could be interpreted as incitement to violence in the fevered minds of some people in this administration, statements like “Defend the Constitution” are pretty darned hard to attack.

Keep it Simple

Remember that the people we need to reach the most have not been following the news. Stick to things they can understand without prior knowledge. In some cases, you may want to use a group of signs or two sided sign to include the “thing to care about” and the “basic info.” For example, you could have a sign that says “Hurricane Warnings Save Lives” on one side, and “Stop Cuts to the National Weather Service” on the other.

Avoid political jargon, academic terms and acronyms. I have been recommending that people use “dictator/dictatorship” instead of “autocrat/autocracy” or “fascist/fascism” and “rule by the rich” instead of “oligarch/oligarchy.” I was very pleased to see the new post from No Kings and @50501. My favorite chant for this protest would be, “No Dictators! No Kings!”

Learn more about No Kings

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The Big List of Protest Signs

You can also add, in many cases, “Democrats are for…” or “Tell Trump/Republicans to…” etc.

• NO DICTATORS, NO KINGS

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• PROTECT the CHILDREN

• RELEASE the EPSTEIN FILES

• STOP PROTECTING PEDOPHILES
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• FREEDOM!

• AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE

• IT’S (SUPPOSED TO BE) A FREE COUNTRY

• STOP THE CORRUPTION / OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT FOR SALE

• STOP THE ABUSE OF POWER (Not “power grab”!)

• DEFEND the CONSTITUTION

• I BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION

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• Democrats are for FREEDOM OF SPEECH

• FREE SPEECH for EVERYONE

• ACADEMIC FREEDOM

• FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

• NO THOUGHT POLICE / NO CENSORSHIP

• PROTESTING IS PROTECTED by the CONSTITUTION

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• NO SECRET POLICE / EVEN POLICE HAVE TO OBEY THE LAW

• NO SECRET ARRESTS / EVERYBODY DESERVES THEIR DAY IN COURT

• EVERYBODY DESERVES a FAIR HEARING / DUE PROCESS

• NO ARRESTS WITHOUT WARRANTS / NO ARRESTS WITHOUT CAUSE

• NO “SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS” STOPS / NO SEARCH WITHOUT CAUSE

• NO SOLDIERS IN OUR STREETS / NO MILITARY OCCUPATION

• NATIONAL GUARD: THIS IS BULLSHIT DUTY!

• NO WAGING WAR on THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

• IMMIGRANTS are ESSENTIAL / DON’T DEPORT OUR NEIGHBORS

• NO ICE RACIAL PROFILING / 40+MILLION US CITIZENS ARE HISPANIC

• NO SECRET ARRESTS / WHERE ARE THE ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ PRISONERS?

• The CONSTITUTION applies to EVERYONE / INCLUDING IMMIGRANTS

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• SAVE OUR HEALTHCARE / STOP the PREMIUM HIKES

• MEDICARE FOR ALL / Get the GREED out of HEALTHCARE

• SAVE MEDICARE / EVERYBODY deserves HEALTHCARE

• DEMOCRATS believe in HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

• FUND RURAL HOSPITALS / Tell Republicans to STOP THE CUTS

• FUND CANCER RESEARCH / Tell Republicans to STOP THE CUTS

• SAVE CANCER RESEARCH / FUND THE NIH (National Institutes of Health)

• SAVE OUR NURSING HOMES / Tell Republicans to STOP THE CUTS

• EVERYBODY deserves FOOD / KIDS DESERVE FOOD / STOP THE FOOD STAMP CUTS

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• DEMOCRATS are for ECONOMIC FAIRNESS

• SAVE THE FARMS / STOP the TARIFFS

• TARIFFS are a SALES TAX on IMPORTS

• WE ARE ALL CASUALTIES OF TRUMP’S TARIFF WAR

• TRUMP’S TARIFF WAR is KILLING OUR ECONOMY/JOBS

• TRUMP’S IMMIGRANT RAIDS are KILLING OUR ECONOMY

• HOUSES are for FAMILIES, not FINANCE BROS

• EVERYBODY deserves a HOME

• I CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY A HOUSE

• The RENT IS TOO DAMNED HIGH

• People WORK HARD. They deserve FAIR PAY.

• Democrats are for HIGHER WAGES

• GOOD JOBS FOR ALL / WAGES YOU CAN LIVE ON

• TAX the RICH / TAX the BILLIONAIRES / MAKE THE RICH PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE

• TAX EXPLOITERS, NOT WORKERS

• SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES

• PROTECT SMALL BUSINESSES from MONOPOLY POWER

• MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

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• IT’S OUR GOVERNMENT / THE GOVERNMENT BELONGS TO US

• FEDERAL WORKERS SERVE THE PUBLIC / LET THEM DO THEIR JOBS

• TELL REPUBLICANS: STOP CUTTING FEDERAL WORKERS

• TELL RUSS VOGHT: STOP TRAUMATIZING FEDERAL WORKERS

• FEDERAL EMPLOYEES DESERVE UNION RIGHTS AND WORKER PROTECTIONS

• KEEP OUR SKIES SAFE / WE NEED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS

• KEEP OUR FOOD SAFE / WE NEED FOOD INSPECTORS

• TORNADO/FLOOD/HURRICANE WARNINGS SAVE LIVES / SAVE the NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

• NATIONAL PARKS belong to EVERYONE / Tell Republicans: STOP THE CUTS

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• STABILIZE THE CLIMATE / THE WEATHER IS FREAKING ME OUT!

• INVEST IN OUR FUTURE / UNLIMITED CLEAN ENERGY / SUPPORT SOLAR AND WIND

• JOBS are for HUMANS / DON’T LET A.I. STEAL MY JOB

• STOP the AI DATA CENTERS / MY POWER BILL IS TOO DAMN HIGH

• WATER is for HUMANS / STOP THE AI DATA CENTERS

• PROTECT OUR PRIVACY / DON’T GIVE TECH LORDS OUR PRIVATE DATA

• PROTECT OUR PRIVACY / NO SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

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• FREEDOM FOR UKRAINE / END THE WAR OF RUSSIAN AGGRESSION

• PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS DESERVE TO BE SAFE

• BOMBING CIVILIANS / CHILDREN / DOCTORS / JOURNALISTS is NOT OK

• BLOWING UP BOATS without a trial IS ILLEGAL / A WAR CRIME

I am sure I have missed important statements, if not whole categories! I will add more as I think of them and please contribute your ideas below!

See you in the streets on the 18th!

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