Day of Suffering Night, 21st of Summer, 525 M.E. (Electra): A U.S. Senator wrestled to the floor and handcuffed. Minnesota politicians assassinated in their homes, along with their spouses. A mad president, sitting in the rain among a paltry crowd, watching a squeaking tank roll down a Washington street, imagining it to be some great display of military strength. Goose-stepping forces on the streets of L.A., with foodheated faces, sweating helmets, patting their truncheons. The Hebrews and the Persians exchanging missile barrages over Israel and Iran. 

There were well over 2,000 events during yesterday's No Kings demonstrations. The vast majority of the events were peaceful and most of the non-peaceful actions were from counter-demonstrators or the police. A demonstrator was shot and killed in Salt Lake City in crossfire between the so-called peacekeeping team and a man who allegedly drew a pistol and fired. In Virginia, a man intentionally drove an SUV into a crowd of protesters, injuring at least one person. Police in Los Angeles hit protesters with batons and fired tear gas as they ordered a downtown crowd to disperse. Tear gas was also used in Seattle and Portland. Here in Atlanta, members of the Proud Boys walked through a crowd of protesters near the State Capital in an unsuccessful attempt at provocation. And a group of protesters were tear-gassed and arrested near Doraville, Georgia after they tried to march onto Perimeter Highway I-285.

Scrolling through pictures of the local No Kings events on social media, I noticed there were a lot of comments posted and almost all of them were negative, mocking the event or outright hostile. The pro-MAGA comments outnumbered the No Kings comments by at least ten to one, probably closer to twenty to one, and many of them said the same things. It looks like the snarky remarks were either posted by bots, or were a coordinated effort by the Trumpists, or both. 

"We already have a day to celebrate no kings," many of them said, "it's called the Fourth of July," as if Independence Day addressed the same concerns as yesterday's events. "I'll be at home celebrating the American military today," many boasted, as if we didn't already have an Armed Services Day to celebrate the military. And a Veterans Day. And a Memorial Day. And opening ceremonies at most major sporting events. Halftime shows, too. Not to mention a college football Military Bowl and a separate Armed Services Bowl. But yeah, let's co-opt Flag Day and make that a celebration of the military-industrial complex, too.  

Another recurring theme in the comments focused on the word "King." Some tried to suggest an anti-Christian bias to yesterday's protests by pointing out that their Jesus was the King of Kings, and that their (white) Christian nationalist country did indeed have a King and his name is "Jesus." (What? A Mexican is king? Do tell.) Maybe that's why the Westboro-Baptist types were out at the Atlantic Station event yesterday.      

The comments protesting the protests were so frequent and so ubiquitous that it tells me yesterday really got under the skin of MAGA Nation and we must be doing the right thing.