Faces of the Resistance: A Beautiful No Kings Day in the Neighborhood

Some No Kings protests seemed likely to be more mediagenic than the 3/28 event in Alameda. But I'd already set the tone for my day by signing on with Live Oak Unitarian to prepare food for the homeless. That tone matches my sense of the mindset in Alameda writ large — call it determined niceness. So I made it a double-header in my genial hometown; in for a penny, in for a pound.

We gathered at noon at city hall to register our objection to unhinged violence and kleptomania at home and abroad. Despite the grim context the mood was festive. Mayor Ashcraft applauded the poetry and music enthusiastically, and when she spoke, she encouraged us to keep using our democratic rights to promote change. For example, by simply voting — mail in ballots make it so easy, and you don't need postage.

Her Honor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft

She was well received. Two reasons she's popular are that Alameda is one of the few California cities to meet its new housing commitments; and that bike paths have been extended across the island. She also has points in common with Zohran Mamdani. Both are Arab-American mayors; advocate human rights for Palestinians; and receive significant Jewish support. After she spoke, I asked her honor for her impression of the event. She said she was happy to see so many people protesting constructively. 

I also talked to Brian, who wore an NRA hat and carried a big sign proclaiming "Sanctuary Cities Kill People." He hadn't come to make friends and told me that someone in the crowd had said they wished he was dead. Hmmm. He seemed relaxed in the company of those his Führer calls "radical left scum" (I object only to "scum"), and chatted amiably with me about how he sees the world (per Brian, the NRA is the country's oldest civil rights organization). We exchanged emails and agreed to enliven each others Facebook pages with some controversy.

…  …  …

The homeless meal was provided at the warming shelter run by Christ Episcopal Church on Santa Clara and Grand. For the five coldest months of the year they coordinate meals every day, and provide laundry and showers once a week. They have approximately 25 beds, and when those are filled the homeless are directed to shelters in Oakland. No one could tell me what happened to the clientele during the 7 warmer months, or whether there was a welll-worn path to permanent housing.

Christ Episcopal Social Justice Coordinator
 with homeless guy applying for disability
after a job injury

Before serving, we Unitarians received a round of applause from the clientele for our lavish spread. After serv ing, we filled our own plates and ate with the homeless. I joined a half-dozen guys, one wearing a Raiders cap. The table talk was about why that team was perennially awful, and the prevalence of brain injuries in the NFL. A transcript of the conversation wouldn't show that the speakers deserve to be despised and ignored. Note to the resistance: they're relatable; part of resistance is acknowledging that they're part of us.

Unitarians bearing food

Faces of the Resistance: Standing Together with Indivisible

 

Trump's latest wars, and the protesters gunned down on the streets of Minneapolis, mean dark times for many of us. The echo chamber effect of social media has not helped. Even in Northern California you can feel like an oddball, lost in the crowd cheering on the carnage. But good vibes can still be found, just by waving signs on the I-80 Berkeley overpass on a Sunday afternoon — along with activists from Indivisible and kindred organizations. Honks of support from passing motorists can raise blue spirits.

I speak from two recent experiences. On 2/22 I went with five others from one of the kindred groups, SF Bay Area Friends of Standing Together (SF FoST). We displayed banners promoting peace and justice in Israel-Palestine (e.g., "From Gaza to Tel Aviv, All the Children Deserve to Live," and "End the Occupation to Free us All."). We were happy to get a honk of support about every 10 seconds, but in the Mid-East the results were not stellar. 18 Palestinians have been killed on the West Bank this year, many by settlers doing Netanyahu's bidding (that's equivalent to 1,800 Americans dying, or over half of our losses on 9/11/01). Worse, over 1,000 Gazans have died every month since the "ceasefire." Meanwhile, on 2/28 Trump expressed his frustration with Iran by assassinating its leadership and bombing its oil refineries. Black rain fell on Tehran, which could foul already drastically depleted aquifers.

And so on 3/15 SF FoSt came back with a new sign, "No War." We shared the overpass with Indivisible ("The GOP should get an Oscar for Gaslighting"). There was a small but noticeable uptick in the honk rate, and in the friendliness of passing pedestrians; this war, this President, is NOT popular. 

inspireresistance & me"

One of the sign bearers was the Bay Area influencer and Indivisible activist known as "inspireresistance" on Facebook . In 2025 she turned 50, lost her job, but decided her priority was to resist Trump 2.0. In years to come, she did not want to confess that she did nothing to halt our slide into autocracy. On a personal level it was a happy choice. She says she's more resilient now, and found a new job in HR. And on a political level the No Kings protests keep growing due largely to dedicated idealists like her.

G.

Another was G., who intended to spend the day resting, but realized the best place for him to feel recharged was on the overpass. He's involved with PushBackActNow.com, a web site providing a useful compendium of local and national resistance resources.

K.

And then there is K., who makes time for SF FoST despite a demanding professional life, and the little fact that she's still recovering from a concussion. She says there is an international progressive movement that is gathering strength — including in Israel, where over 90% of Israeli Jews line up behind Netanyahu's war on Iran. Bit by bit, mind by mind, she thinks can change even there.

Finally, the beautiful outdoor setting on a crisp, clear Mediterranean spring day does wonders for ye olde morale.  From the overpass you can see a panorama of our Bay Area home: the Port of Oakland, San Francisco, Tamalpais. Across the overpass come cyclists, parents pushing strollers, geezers like me. All somehow embellished by being together a a non-virtual space; a sample of who and what we care about, and want to save from disaster.