Instagram/@ananavarrofl
Internationally recognized political analyst Ana Navarro-Cárdenas attended the massive ‘No Kings’ protest in New York City, and although she was in the middle of the crowd, her sheer presence can be compared to not only a representative of the thousands of people who were concerned about the American democracy but also a magnet that attracted the still noise of the crowds. Her audience got her love for the city while she was inviting people to share their protest videos and photos.
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Amid the protest, Ana Navarro-Cárdenas made her love for New York City known and was taking videos of the protest at the same time. She posted, “View from #nokings in Times Square.” I ❤️ u, NYC. 🗽” The commentator welcomed her fans to send her their photos and videos of the protest hoping to be posted on her platform. More concretely she passed on the message “Stay safe and peaceful” which was very audible through the noise of the crowds.
Different reactions from all over the country were reflected in the comments on Navarro-Cárdenas’s post, showing the controversy around the demonstrations. One of the commenters pointed out the significance of elections being influenced by protests and wrote: “This is amazing but remember have this same energy when voting ✊” This mention made the political side of the protest one of the practical considerations in the background of the events.
Support for the United States protest came from worldwide sources, and certain Canadians, for example, expressed their support through messages of solidarity. A friend from the north said, “We’re with you good Americans! ❤️ from Canada,” and another simply stated, “👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 cheering you on from Canada.” This is a clear indication that the protest message was even heard outside the USA.
Although some people gave negative comments about the size of the protest prior to the event, a few people directly countered this viewpoint. A bystander, for instance, commented: “I thought he said only a few people were going to be there … WRONG AGAIN!!!,” alluding to an earlier underestimation of the expected number of participants. A different person remarked: “Ha! He said that hardly any people were going to show up. The joke is either on him or unfortunately him 🤭”
Both the people who went to the event and the ones that supported it were especially impressed by the peaceful character of the gatherings. “It’s beautiful, peaceful energy out here,” was one of the sayings. “We’re doing the work and just showing UP!” One more person commented on the atmosphere, that children were around and that it is indeed the future if you teach them how to protest non-violently: “Millions across America are going to anti Trump ‘No Kings’ protests, 2,500 protests Nationwide! All peaceful with children around, it’s teaching children how to protest peacefully!”
Ana Navarro-Cárdenas literally found herself in the midst of it all, supporting the troops again. The ‘No Kings’ protests coincided with Navarro-Cárdenas’ long-standing commitment to social issues that she had built up over time. The instant movement that she belonged to was born out of people’s fear of executive powers going unchecked and democracy going down the hill. At the same time, widespread protests were organized in the fifty states simultaneously.
The unexpectedness for the supporters might have been the number of the protest participants, and that was coming out in one of the comments: “WOW!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!! 🇺🇸” Public’s power to oust the government and political accountability was mirrored in the diversity of responses to the post of Navarro-Cárdenas.
The day progressed with reports from different cities stating that the protests were big but orderly which was in line with the peaceful spirit that had accompanied Navarro-Cárdenas and that she had been promoting. Mass participation plus nonviolence was a great victory for the protest leaders. Through social media, the monumental image of the protest was shared live to the mass through platforms like that of Navarro-Cárdenas’s, which also helped in spreading photos and videos.
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The ‘No Kings’ protest movement has now become part of the very long history of public protests in America that have been directed against the government and the denial of democratic rights. Yet again, the image of the massive public gathering in Times Square by Navarro-Cárdenas turns out to be the manifestation of the current political movements that are giving physical omnipresence to the digital outreach to further amplify their message. The rapid-fire comments on her posts illustrate the fact that public assembly is, nonetheless, a strong tool in American politics despite the changing ways of capturing and disseminating the events owing to technological advancements.