{"id":11999,"date":"2025-10-20T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/11999\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:39:16","slug":"column-this-boomer-went-to-a-st-pete-no-kings-protest-and-no-one-gave-him-an-antifa-black-bloc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/11999\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: This boomer went to a St. Pete \u2018No Kings\u2019 protest\u2014and no one gave him an Antifa black bloc"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

My check from Antifa cleared so I headed on out to the No Kings rally.<\/p>\n

My wife and I went to the St. Pete gathering last Saturday morning, held in the Tyrone area. It was my first-ever protest rally. Attending one had never been on my bucket list, but I\u2019m glad I went.<\/p>\n

We parked in the Tyrone Mall lot, where a woman asked me to zip up her green inflatable frog suit. I obliged, and asked her, \u201cAre you Antifa?\u201d She said no.<\/p>\n

It occurred to me that irony might be a tough sell in this environment, but I was determined. We walked a short way to 66th Street, where people were lined up holding an eclectic array of signs. I didn\u2019t see a single spelling error.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexa \u2026 Change the President<\/p>\n

Elderly Hippies Against Tyrannical Rule<\/p>\n

Girls Just Wanna Have Fundamental Rights<\/p>\n

No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land<\/p>\n

Dump Trump<\/p>\n

Symphonies of supportive car horns came in waves from the street. Two dump-truck drivers honked. So did a bus driver\u2014but maybe he just wanted people to get out of the way.<\/p>\n

I approached a few people and asked, \u201cAre you Antifa? Do you know where I can sign up?\u201d Most took a second to get the joke and chuckled. A few simply looked perplexed. I soon grew tired of my game.<\/p>\n

The St. Pete No Kings rally had no staging area, no marching, very little in the way of call-and-response chants. I saw one woman with a megaphone, which must\u2019ve been a Walmart model on sale. Her calls were faint, half-hearted, and generated no responses.<\/p>\n

The crowd was heavy on Boomers, white Boomers, probably 90%. (Disclosure: I am of that demographic.) It was a little disheartening not to have more young folks and people of color in the crowd. Let me now insert a disheartening statistic:\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a very reputable and recent poll, 62% of Baby Boomers \u201cstrongly agree\u201d that democracy is the best form of government. In the same poll, 27% of Gen Z \u201cstrongly agree.\u201d Twenty-seven percent. If that doesn\u2019t put a pang of worry into you about America becoming an authoritarian state, then I don\u2019t know what will.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So it was refreshing to run into Kristen, who was probably in her late-20s, clad in an all-red leotard. Her sign read \u201cThe Only Minority Destroying America is the Rich.\u201d Her husband\u2019s sign said \u201cGood Luck Trying to Silence My Wife.\u201d Strictly based on her appearance, Kristen looked more likely to be seen at a tennis club than at a No Kings rally. Good on her.<\/p>\n

I carried a small sign\u2014made by my wife, written by me: \u201cI Won\u2019t Bend the Knee.\u201d (Hey, it was off the top of my head, the night before.) It went well with my \u201cGulf of Mexico, est. 1550\u201d T-shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I left my water bottle and beach chair propped against a light pole and roamed around taking photos and videos. No one stole my stuff. A lot of American flags flapped in the breeze, which I found uplifting because it infuriates me that MAGA, and the right in general, have assumed ownership of the stars and stripes.<\/p>\n

I was disappointed to see no counter-protesters\u2014on the ground at least. Among the cars going by, I counted one middle finger, two thumbs down and a Trumped-out vehicle that slipped by into the parking lot (yes, it was a pickup truck). Was it too much to ask for a couple of MAGA-hatted boys exercising their 2nd Amendment right to open carry?<\/p>\n

I also did not spot any TV trucks or other media, for which you can draw your own conclusions. Mine? At least in part it\u2019s cowardice, fear of crackdowns by right-wing government. I\u2019ll give a smidge of credit to the Tampa Bay Times for publishing a (half-hearted) article listing the nine No Kings protests in the Tampa Bay area. (Will there be followup coverage?)<\/p>\n

For my protest-rally debut, I was part of an enthusiastic, well-mannered, not-angry, good-sized crowd of citizens who love\u2014don\u2019t hate\u2014America. Mike Johnson\u2019s branding of No Kings as a \u201chate America rally\u201d is laughingly weak, although no doubt there\u2019s a large contingent of the populace that swallows it whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We stayed about an hour\u2014and didn\u2019t get clubbed or tear-gassed by National Guardsmen. But I did slip on a curb while walking and snapping pics and almost sprained my ankle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I never did find a sign-up sheet for the local Antifa chapter. Too bad. I was looking forward to hangin\u2019 at the clubhouse, having a few beers and earning my official Antifa Black Bloc.<\/p>\n

\"TwoCredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Eric Snider \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

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This article appears in Oct. 16 \u2013 22, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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