Seattle DSA was proud to march alongside an estimated 90,000 protestors in the streets of Seattle and 7 million across the nation during the recent No Kings Protest. The immense scale of this mobilization sent a clear message – millions of working people are demanding change. This massive turnout is a clear indicator of a deep-seated anger and a collective refusal to accept Trump’s authoritarian attacks on workers.
The frustration is a direct response to the relentless, multi-front war being waged against the entire working class. From illegal, vicious attacks on our immigrant neighbors to the unacceptable cuts to healthcare and the ongoing government shutdown, which threatens to plunge millions into food insecurity, the ruling class continues to make clear that they are perfectly comfortable sacrificing the well-being of the vast majority in order to further consolidate their power and wealth. The No Kings March was a collective refusal to accept the divide and rule tactics used to protect a capitalist system in crisis.
As socialists, we recognize that protests such as No Kings, can be a crucial entry to organizing for many, but it cannot be the final destination. As organizers, Democratic Socialists of America recognizes that to defeat the Trump administration, we must defeat the entire capitalist, imperialist system. We cannot wait until midterms next year or rely on the Democratic party to save us.To truly fight back and win, we must build an independent working class party and be prepared to escalate our tactics by building toward our most powerful leverage: a mass general strike. History has shown that our most significant victories are won through the collective power of working people withholding their labor. We need look no further than 2018, when air traffic controllers’ coordinated sickouts, which grounded flights and forced the government to restore funding. This is the kind of organized power we must build to provide the most effective fight back to win reforms that benefit working people.
The path forward is clear: We must channel the incredible energy from the streets into our workplaces and communities. Talk to your coworkers about organizing your workplace. Join Seattle DSA to become part of an organized socialist movement. Together, we can transform this collective anger into a lasting, powerful political movement that can shake the very foundations of capitalism and usher in a world that puts the needs of working people over corporate greed.