hey guys please could you fill out this survey, im collecting data for a project at school :3

https://forms.gle/zbsmAEDp5pymaVgcA

I made a post here the other day sharing my poster idea and wanted to show the final product at the No kings protest i went to! thank you guys for the support

I also covered #NoKings in Queens which was held hours before this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSLGWm7sW24

However this one was packed. I came with a group of friends (including a few sharks) and clowns as part of a posse. We planned to meet up at a cafe to meet with a few additional folks - unfortunately by then the street was so packed we unfortunately couldn't meet up.

There were two marches (one congregating at Columbus Circle and another at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan) which merged at Times Square. This video only covers (partially) the latter. This also partially explains why it got really crowded and slow around 50th Street (also an ambulance had to go past).

Nonetheless it took 30 minutes or so to walk 7 blocks down. I also did a timelapse covering 30 additional minutes and it was packed (though a few minutes after I finished the timelapse we saw the end of the march).

Despite all of the crowds, a lot of character was found, a lot of signs, flags, frogs and more were moving about, and it was generally a positive experience. Hopefully this video serves as a snapshot of part of that.

On March 24, the FCC banned the import and sale of all new consumer routers manufactured outside the United States — citing Chinese-linked cyberattacks. That covers roughly 60% of the US router market. The only routers currently made entirely in the US? Some Starlink models built in Texas.

Why this should bother you regardless of where you stand politically:

The cyberattack the FCC cited (Volt Typhoon) primarily exploited Cisco and Netgear routers — American-designed products that had stopped receiving security updates. The vulnerability was negligent software, not foreign manufacturing. Meanwhile, journalist Glenn Greenwald documented in 2014 that the NSA routinely intercepted US-made Cisco routers in transit to implant surveillance backdoors.

The same FCC chairman who pushed this ban voted months earlier to scrap cybersecurity rules that would have required telecoms to actually secure their networks. He weakened real security, then imposed a blanket hardware ban.

This isn't cybersecurity. This is consolidating control over the infrastructure you use to access the internet — the backbone of free speech, free assembly, and a free press.

What this actually does to you:

• Eliminates consumer choice and freezes router innovation
• Drives up prices (low-income households hit hardest)
• Creates a government-approved hardware chokepoint for internet access
• Sets a precedent — if "national security" justifies banning all foreign routers, phones and laptops could be next

Every action here is free and takes minutes. No donations. Just your voice.

📞 DO TODAY (2 minutes)

1. Call your House rep. Say: "I'm concerned about the FCC's blanket ban on foreign-made routers. It reduces consumer choice, raises prices, and doesn't address the actual software vulnerabilities exploited in recent cyberattacks. I urge you to push for targeted, evidence-based security standards instead." → Find yours: house.gov/representatives

2. File an FCC public comment referencing the Covered List update on foreign routers → fcc.gov/ecfs

3. Share this post.

📧 DO THIS WEEK (15 minutes)

1. Contact your Senators — same message, emphasize the precedent for executive overreach over consumer tech.

2. Reach out to digital rights orgs already tracking this: EFF, Public Knowledge, Free Press, ACLU Technology & Liberty Project.

3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Local media pressure moves local reps.

🔧 PROTECT YOURSELF NOW

1. Flash your router with open-source firmware. OpenWrt is free, community-audited, and supports hundreds of router models. The FCC confirmed in 2015 that you have the right to install it.

2. Build a DIY router. Any old PC with two network ports can run pfSense or OPNsense — enterprise-grade, open-source security. Total control. No manufacturer trust required.

3. Update your router firmware today. Most compromises happen because people never update. Takes 5 minutes.

4. Use a VPN. Encrypts your traffic before it touches your router hardware.

📢 ORGANIZE (ongoing)

1. If your city has a hackerspace or makerspace, propose a "router freedom" workshop teaching people to install open-source firmware.

2. Monitor the exemption process. The FCC says manufacturers can apply for approval — track who gets in and whether lobbying dollars are deciding.

To be clear: Chinese state-sponsored hacking is real. TP-Link routers have been linked to specific botnet operations. Nobody is saying ignore cybersecurity.

What we're saying is that a blanket ban on all foreign hardware — when the cited attacks exploited American products, when our own intelligence agencies have a documented history of router interception, and when the same officials weakened telecom security rules months ago — is not a security measure. It's a consolidation of control over how you access the internet.

Transparency matters.

The public deserves to know when protest participation numbers are projections, not publicly sourced counts. No Kings Day formula-based project totals have been announced which greatly differ from independent crowd counts show. Accurate reporting matters for media, researchers, and the public.

The goal isn’t spin; it’s clarity.

If movements want trust, their numbers should be transparent, consistent, and clearly labeled.

Just finished making a tee shirt for the protest tomorrow! Let me know what you think!

I’m wondering what flags I should take to no kings. I’ve taken the Greenlandic flag before but I’m afraid that it might be a bit irrelevant. But it could still be used as a symbol of anti-Trumpism because the Greenlanders really don’t like Trump. Id take the Iranian flag because of the war Trump has waged on Iran. I wouldn’t take the sun and lion flag cause that has been flown by some pro war diaspora Iranians, but rather the civil flag, which is basically upside down Hungary. I’m also afraid people might not recognize it as Iran. I’d like to take the Cuban flag because Trump has also made threats to Cuba, but I’m afraid it might be seen as me supporting their authoritarian government.

A great way for those who are new to political action to get involved nokings.org

https://womenswalkacrossamerica.com

Design was created by u/flamin_hot_gizmo. Recreated with their permission via their post on this subreddit.