What Just Happened?
Ordinary People Building an Extraordinary Movement
On October 18, 2025 about 7 million people decided to take to the streets in over 2700 towns and cities across our nation as a sign of solidarity and love. The peaceful rallies were joy filled celebrations of America as well as a rejection of the bullies and billionaires who have seized control of this nation. We the People are paying attention and we don’t like what we are seeing. ‘Frog guy’ has become an international symbol of resistance to American fascism. On November 4, 2025, the elections that occurred were a blowout for democracy. MAGA 2.0 has awakened a sleeping giant.
Did You Know:
By all accounts, the No Kings Day rallies were a huge success. The day after the rallies, Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, explained the metrics of successful anti-authoritarian protests. He reminded us that our measure for success is not whether we are immediately successful in toppling a dictator; we measure success by the following:
Is the movement growing, in size and breadth? Are the protests more multi-racial, multi-class, and multi-generational?
Participation has grown from 3 million at the Hands Off rallies, to 5 million at the first No Kings to 7 million in October. The last No Kings protest was significantly more diverse and more wide spread than the first two. Voter turnout last night broke records!
Is the regime loosing popularity and showing signs of weakness?
A recent poll suggests Trump’s approval rating at an all time low; 63% of those polled disapprove of how he is handling his job, only 37% approve. The recent polling also indicated that 147 million Americans support No Kings (42%) as compared to only 30% who support MAGA. A successful anti-fascist movement only needs 3.5% (11 million) of the population engaged in a sustained, noncooperation civil disobedience movement. We have a deep bench.
Is the movement unified?
The people engaged in the protests and yesterday’s voters are clear about their message—we rejected kings in 1776 and we reject them in 2025. We support our country, our founding documents, and the rule of law. We cherish our hard won freedoms, and we believe in justice for all people. There is more that unites us than divides us.
Is the movement doing new things.
This is our growing edge. As we move toward the 2026 midterms, we need to become more unified, more coordinated and more integrated in large scale efforts of non-cooperation, boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience. Black Friday and cyber weekend will be a bell-weather as to the degree we can stand in solidarity in boycotting the enablers of this morally bankrupt regime—that means standing strong and not buying from the tech bros and corporate billionaires. Stay tuned for more information about how to be in solidarity during Thanksgiving weekend. Let’s make it a historical event of mass noncooperation. This can be our Rosa Parks moment.
Why It Matters:
Our government has been shutdown for the longest time in history. The Speaker of the House has the House of Representatives in a suspended recess to prevent swearing in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, the newly elected Democrat from Arizona. Once she is sworn in, she would be the needed yea vote demanding the release of the Epstein files. Elected officials are on an extended paid vacation with full salary and benefits, refusing to govern just to protect the disclosure of additional sexual predators named in the files. Meanwhile, people we know and love are facing food insecurity, loss of health insurance, loss of paychecks and loss of jobs.
The East Wing of the White House is being demolished and renovated by private funds (unconstitutional and illegal) in full ‘dictator-chic’ interior design. (Yes, that is a real thing!) Children in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs are being zip-tied by violent masked men serving as I.C.E agents. Cruelty is the point, propaganda is the game.
Prices continue to rise and there is growing unemployment. There is a litany of more reasons, but it isn’t helpful to keep listing them—we are living them.
The point is that we have everything to lose if we don’t continue to grow this movement and reject this authoritarian coup. After the events of the past two weeks, Trump will become more desperate which means he will become even more dangerous and unhinged. That is to be expected. We must fight for fair elections and win our country back.
What We Can Do:
Resistance grows at the grassroots level. If you don’t already belong to a local group or a community of concerned citizens, start one. Build community and connection, they are the antidote to tyranny. Share information, support mutual aid resources that addresses local need, create local examples of social proof that there is a vibrant pro-democracy movement happening in our neighborhoods. We don’t have to do everything all at once, each of us just has to do something, sometime.
Stay connected, informed and engaged. Subscribe to as many independent media platforms that you can and support the activist groups that are showing leadership in the movement. Donate directly to campaigns and the local INDem groups that are showing courage, leadership and creativity (caucuses, county parties, elected leaders). Take inspiration from the wins in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California.
Participate in national boycotts during the holiday season. Watch this space for Black Friday and cyber-weekend boycotts. Indivisible, MADVoters , Chop Wood Carry Water and Red, Wine & Blue are trusted sources for current calls to action.
The growing pro-democracy movement is made up of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We have momentum. Let’s keep going.
In Solidarity with Frog Guy,
Debbie and H4D team
Wonderful content, both inspiring and helpful….thank you!
May Indiana's democracy heartbeat revive and follow suit. It's wonderful to see the heartbeat of life in the US.