Thousands bang the drum for democracy at ‘No Kings’ rallies across San Diego
A man shared his message I Love America at a No Kings rally in San Diego County Saturday Oct Photo by Calista Stocker Times of San Diego The second round of No Kings protests proved to be a party on Saturday in San Diego Though Republicans in latest days have labeled the events across the country as Hate America rallies thousands of San Diegans bearing signs and donning costumes sought to tell a different tale No Kings organizers refer to the protests as a nonviolent day of action against the Trump administration Approximately people proved up in downtown San Diego alone according to police estimates with thousands more gathering at events across the region An estimated million people turned out in cities and towns across the nation Saturday organizers disclosed million more than the last No Kings protest on June I ve been protesting my whole life for America Everything Back to the s disclosed resident Bob Begin who attended No Kings in El Cajon In contemporary times s the preponderance critical one because it matters to our grandkids to our children It s up to us In late September President Donald Trump referred to Portland as war-ravaged and like living in hell In response Portlanders dressed in inflatable animal costumes while protesting against the federal governing body s deployment of the National Guard That response hurriedly went viral on social media and San Diegans were apparently inspired by Portlanders Saturday Marchers and their pets also donned costumes ranging from animals to mermaids to the Statue of Liberty And music was a part of the day with participants playing instruments and dancing lending a festive atmosphere to the rallies despite their serious purpose The crowd in San Diego Saturday Oct at the downtown No Kings rally Photo by Adrian Childress Times of San Diego There were No Kings events in San Diego County alone Times of San Diego visited four of them to observe and share protesters thoughts Civic Center and Waterfront Park In downtown San Diego people spread across three locations and converged to march up Pacific Highway A purple hippo and blue shark set the tone dancing in Waterfront Park to the beat of a drumming circle Along the way protesters enjoyed a DJ one-man band and even bagpipes Various of those without instruments improvised slapping out a beat on upside-down buckets Lashaan Crane and her husband brought their percussion instruments We are both musicians so it felt right to bring the pulse and the drum to the march And to spread the love A father-son veteran duo marched alongside each other Mario Posada Sr served in the U S Marine Corps in Vietnam As a -year-old I volunteered to peril my life to serve my country and defend our democracy he explained That s why I m here in the present day to defend our democracy His -year-old son served in Yemen with the U S Air Force As a queer Latino veteran Mario Posada Jr is concerned about Trump s attacks on marginalized organization members
