Mary Phillips<\/p>\n
A Native American originally from the Omaha tribe in Nebraska and Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico who now lives in Washington DC<\/p>\n
Mary Phillips at the No Kings protest in Washington DC on 18 October. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are brilliant minds who are here today who know what bad legislation, bad policies, can do to our entire country, and what the future looks like if we continue down, not able to stop what\u2019s happening and proceeding. These are all people from different walks of life, different skills and and levels of masteries in their own disciplines.<\/p>\n
It feels like [Democrats] are sticking to the old rules. But we have a set of new rules<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the [leaders] who are vocal are definitely making waves and doing what they\u2019re supposed to do, but I think there are others who are still on the fence. [There are] key issues that we need them to be 100% towards democracy, and it feels like they\u2019re not. It feels like they are sticking to the old rules. But we have all set a set of new rules right now and they need to look at what those rules are to make up their decisions in their backrooms. And then speak on the floor what those are, what we are fighting on the streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo No Kings, I think, is the pinnacle of what we\u2019re so close to right now, having a king. Once martial law goes into place, we would be under that threat, and we don\u2019t know what the end of it looks like really, other than changing the constitution, which I think is easier done than we thought ever could be. This movement may turn into more than No Kings. It may turn into saving lives, period \u2013 saving our life, saving our freedom to be United States citizens because anybody right now can be told you\u2019re<\/a> not a<\/a> citizen<\/a> any more.\u201d<\/p>\n Laura BuckwaldLaura Buckwald at the No Kings protest on 18 October. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are waking up because right now, it\u2019s affecting people immediately in their day-to-day lives. It\u2019s affecting our health insurance. It\u2019s affecting our ability to just live our lives as we choose to live them. The government is trying to tell us how to run our lives, and that\u2019s just not acceptable in the United States. As far as leadership is concerned, we\u2019ve been disappointed on the leaders that we should have, particularly in Congress, and we\u2019re hoping that this gives them the courage to stand up. We\u2019re proud of what they\u2019re doing now right now, not opening up the government until we have proper healthcare covered. But they need to do a lot more doing that, so I hope they do.<\/p>\n \u201cJust yesterday, I got a notice from my health insurance company about my premiums going up \u2013 they\u2019re almost doubling. They put straight out that they are not going to cover any healthcare that is for transition purposes, so our transgender Americans will not have coverage<\/a> under the plan that I have. That is totally unacceptable. I teach young people and I\u2019ve encountered trans youth, and they have told me that without this healthcare, it makes some of them want to commit suicide.<\/p>\n \u201cI think [what Republicans have done has] been despicable. They have cut so many programs just so that they can give tax breaks to rich people<\/a>, make billionaires trillionaires … Our taxes aren\u2019t going to go down. We\u2019re not going to see any benefit from it and we\u2019re going to have the same taxes, if not more, and we\u2019re going to have less in benefits that we have paid for. This is a tyrannical regime in office right now and they need to resign. They can\u2019t handle the job. They\u2019re incompetent and they\u2019re mean. They\u2019re cruel to people in the United States and that is anti-American. It is un-Christian and it\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Reid<\/p>\n A former Republican from Maryland who switched parties during Bill Clinton\u2019s administration. He said he hasn\u2019t voted for Trump in any elections<\/p>\n Mike Reid at the No Kings rally on 18 October. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Reid was holding up a sign of the founding fathers with \u201cNo Kings\u201d on it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually my wife\u2019s idea, but these were the original No Kings gang and they\u2019re the ones who first had said \u2018no kings in America.\u2019 And then on the back we have the original Bill of Rights, which has the part about freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion and the right of people to peaceably assemble. So we and the people here are standing up for what America is supposed to be \u2026 We\u2019re the ones who represent what real America is. Those rightwingers and the White House and Congress \u2013 they are betraying everything this country was supposed to be about, and that\u2019s why people, common people, have to stand up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that some Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom [in] California and JB Pritzker in Illinois are doing very well. They\u2019re standing up. And I mean, there is a limit to what they can do with the bloc, they\u2019re totally out of power right now. But state government, Democratic state governors, some of them are standing up \u2013 not all unfortunately, but some of them.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in a Republican family. I was Republican up until about 20-some years ago, back when the party was about limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual rights. They have betrayed all of that. And the party that today calls themselves Republicans \u2013 they\u2019re not Republicans, they\u2019re fascists, and they\u2019re betraying my great-great-grandfather who served in the Union army in the civil war.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Stone, 35<\/p>\n Identifies as an independent and said most of his family are Republican Trump supporters<\/p>\n Eric Stone of Oklahoma at the DC No Kings protest on 18 October. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cMy family is Maga; my family is Trump supporters. I grew up in a small town where they didn\u2019t want a dictatorship. They didn\u2019t want people who were disrespectful to women. They didn\u2019t want people who were racist and all these hateful things. And yet here they are supporting and cheering on this man like they want him to be the second coming of God. And now that I\u2019m out here protesting this, it\u2019s like \u2026 everybody in that circle drank the Kool-Aid. <\/p>\n We\u2019re standing right next to the Capitol building. Go do something about it<\/p>\n