September 25th or October 9th
In preparation for our big event on October 18th for No Kings 2.0, I would like to ask everyone to try and attend the online webinar.  Even if you don’t want to volunteer as a marshall for the event, it’s important that we have as many people trained on safety and de-escalation as possible.

Click Here to sign up for Safety and Security Training:

October 18th March/Protest
Starting at Freedom Park
100 W California Ave. Ridgecrest, CA

• 9-10am Guest speakers at Freedom Park Gazebo
• 10-11am March
• 11-12pm Protest at China Lake & Ridgecrest Blvd.

Click Here to sign up for the March and share with your friends.

📰 Previous March: During the BLM march in Ridgecrest in 2020, there was a group of 5 men with flags standing on the lawn about 500′ away while people were speaking at the Gazebo.  The group started inching towards the Gazebo and a couple people walked over to talk to them.  A woman who had marched with us greeted one of the men with a hug.  Another man went to talk to the group and was successful in de-escalating the situation.  You can read in detail about the march and incident from this news article.

👿Trolls: When people are yelling at you from their cars, these people are trolls trying to initiate a conflict.  Best practice is either to not engage, or respond positively by smiling and waving, cheering, or telling them to have a nice day.  Authoritarian regimes know how to respond to anger and violence by deploying force to control the people.  They do not know how to respond to peace.

🕊️ Have compassion for people: Over the course of our protests we have had a dozen people approach us to ask questions.  These are the people we are here for.  These people are already starting to question their own beliefs and will be open minded for a conversation.  Try to have sympathy.  People do better when they know better.  Fox News and InfoWars has done a very good job in feeding off of people’s fears to get viewership and push the right wing agenda.  Attempting to argue or push a list of facts will likely not be productive in having people be receptive to information you’re trying to share.  In the age of the internet and misinformation, people will not trust 3rd party sources.  Share personal stories and ask people what they care about.  People will be the most invested in talking about themselves.  You may be able to find some common ground: i.e. wanting the best for their family.  From there, ask about what they fear and how that impacts them or the people they know.  “Do you know someone who has been impacted by ___?” Your goal is not to convert them in one conversation.  This is something that is going to take time and their own willpower.  If we can have a conversation where people don’t feel threatened by us, you might earn their trust and they will take this home with them.  Ask them who they trust and encourage them to ask questions to experts in the community (doctor, child’s teacher, CPA, etc.)  I recommend checking out the website leaving MAGA to hear people’s testimony and journey in realizing they were being lied to.

❓Does non-violent protesting work?  We can use the Civil Rights Movement as an example for strategic methods that were successful in change.  They did consistent protests, marches, and sit-ins that were non-violent over the course of 14 years.  It doesn’t just take numbers- the movement also needs to have obtained goals with a realistic ask.  Our ask is that our representatives do their job to maintain checks and balances.  With Republican states redistricting mid-cycle is accelerating the timeline in which we must act to maintain our democratic republic.  If we lose the mid-terms because of this GOP redistricting power grab, undoing the damage to our government as an institution may be irreversible.  We need to act now.  Vote Yes on 50 and take to the streets.

When we protest, it gives Governor Newsom, Senator Padilla, and Senator Schiff the courage to push back and fight for us.  Because we protest, it has made Rep. Fong (R) so uncomfortable that he didn’t have any announcements that he would be in the Parade of 1,000 Flags, he refuses to have a town hall, and his office calls the cops on us every time we protest outside his Bakersfield office.  However, the police have never seen us as a problem and have worked with us instead every time. We are on the right side of history. Join us.

Note:  The No Kings March/Protest is being hosted by Ridgecrest 50501 and Ridgecrest United.  You can connect with us on BlueSky at Ridgecrest-50501 or on Facebook at Ridgecrest United.