“Protest Is Just Group Therapy” – Sure, But You’ve Missed the Point.
Like a lot of you, I was at one of the No Kings protests that took place on October 18th across the country in all 50 states and our District of Columbia. I took one of my favorite protest signs stating, ‘No Kings, YASSS Queens’, alongside a picture of the acclaimed DC drag performer, Tara Hoot. About halfway through the protest, friends and strangers in my vicinity began causing a commotion and I turned around to see the gorgeous Tara Hoot towering above me yelling, “That’s my face!” I had met the portrait I had drawn in person! A wonderfully unforgettable meeting of two artists who had no idea their paths would cross that day.
Available as a digital download, a poster in 3 sizes and as a yard sign.
The No Kings Day of Peaceful Action mobilized nearly 7 million Americans in over 2,700 cities and towns, making it the largest single day nationwide demonstration in history. In the days that followed, some interesting commentary and observations emerged. The most striking findings according to a team of researchers from American University were that 86% of those surveyed in DC were white, 57% were women, and the median age was 44. In other words, it sounds like a lot of would-be-Karens used their powers for good that day.
This statistical nugget was immediately jumped on by conservative media who couldn’t wait to proclaim that this was proof that the ‘hate America’ rallies – as House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to brand them – were largely composed of one demographic group. They wondered out loud how an opinion can be representative or important if it’s held by a bunch of white women over 40. Suddenly diversity was a marker of authenticity and validity.
Being a white woman approaching 40 myself, I looked at home among the sea of Karens, so it’s not for me to say why people who don’t fall into my demographic didn’t attend. I would hazard a guess, though, that living in a place that is routinely disappearing non-white people from the streets, denying the existence of racism, and fostering a manosphere where misogyny and ignorance is applauded has something to do with it. But exploring the question of racial representation is clearly not the point of the commentary. The intention is to divide a group of people against authoritarianism and to stoke resentment and distrust.
One man touring the conservative media circuit with his observations was a psychotherapist named Jonathan Alpert. He appeared on Fox News saying such condescending gems as:
“Some protesters are equating the ‘No Kings’ movement with the Civil Rights Movement. In their minds, there’s an equivalency, but there really isn’t. They want to be a part of something historically meaningful, and that longing can distort perspective.”
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert appears on Fox News Digital on October 24, 2025.
This is a strange take as even the casual observer can see what the two movements share. Both focus on rights and democracy, a commitment to peaceful protest and nonviolent action, and coalition building. He’s right that they’re not the same, but that doesn’t disqualify what’s happening now from being historically meaningful. Jonathan goes on:
"What we are seeing is a kind of group therapy playing out in the streets. A lot of times people are unhappy in their own lives. They may have anxiety or anger, and they project that onto others. That’s partly what we’re seeing play out at these rallies.”
How lucky we are to have men such as Jonathan explain our mass hysteria to us in such ironic terms. We do have anxiety and anger, but what he’s witnessing is expression, not projection.
One purpose of group therapy is to provide a supportive network and that was certainly in big supply across the country during the No Kings events, but that’s about where the similarity ends. I doubt many of us came away with new coping strategies to deal with the living nightmare of this administration; we more likely felt a moment respite rather than recovery.
What this group therapy hot take has missed is that a supportive network is the basis of organization, which is a building block of political change. Electoral action, direct advocacy, economic pressure, and grassroots mobilization all require an organized network of people to be forceful and effective. Just ask NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani how he went from relative obscurity to the overwhelming favorite to win.
Protest normalizes and leverages a position, centers our voices, and further drives conversation. A point of confusion for some has been the prevalence of inflatable costumes and dancing where the expectation is anger and fear. That’s led to a discussion around the place of joy and nonviolence in resistance, especially as we grapple with how to face burnout and hopelessness.
Vagenesis, Tara Hoot, Ricky Rosé, and Mari Con Carne at Les Misérables. Photograph by Julian Applebaum.
My new friend and drag performer, Tara Hoot, may look familiar as she’s been in the news lately alongside her fellow entertainers Vagenesis, Ricky Rosé, and Mari Con Carne. The coalition of queens attended the Kennedy Center’s premier of Les Misérables the same night in June that Trump made his debut at the theater to protest his administration’s targeting of drag programming.
Drag is a threat to fascism not because government is scared that kids will ‘turn trans’ after a performer read them a children’s book. It’s because drag is a powerful combination of entertainment, artistic expression, self-discovery, and social and political commentary. All of that is dangerous to an administration whose purpose is control.
So, if you want to dismiss millions of people out on the streets as ‘just’ group therapy, then you are welcome to. But that’s like dismissing drag as ‘just’ dressing up. Not only have you underestimated the power of this joyful form of resistance, but you’ve severely missed the point.
References
https://www.nokings.org/
https://tarahoot.com/
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/20/washington-dc-no-kings-trump-protest-snapshot-survey-report
https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/06/12/drag-queens-kennedy-center-trump/