I think the first time I saw a protest sign that said, “Things are so bad, even the introverts are here” was at the Women’s March in DC on 1/21/2017. It was funny because it was true.
This week I got another informal general distress-level indicator: Bill is coming with me to the No Kings protest! He’s never been to a protest in his entire life.
Now I have to make four signs — two for a pair of friends who are frequent protest buddies and two for Bill and me. (I’m the official sign-maker because my handwriting is fairly neat and I have lots of Sharpies.)
Signage ideas welcome! We’re trying to keep a positive spin, e.g., “WE ❤️ DEMOCRACY” rather than “FUCK TRUMP,” though, of course, “fuck that fascist prick straight to hell” is the subtext.
Open thread.
Mike
I’m going with ‘I voted for the smart black lady.’
Delosgatos
“Don’t Trump on me”.
snoey
“I Can’t Even …”
suzanne
I made one for Spawn the Younger for the Women’s March…. it read “TRUMP IS NOT INVITED TO MY BIRTHDAY PARTY”. I lettered it partially in big calligraphic script, like an invitation. She got a ton of positive attention.
Miss Bianca
“No Country for Old Kings”
Chat Noir
@Mike: I was thinking along those lines too: “Don’t blame me. I voted for Kamala!”
Elizabelle
Maybe a clever take on Humpty Dumpty? Will require a lot of orange.
“How about those eggs?”
dc
My local June 14 protest is called Liberty and Justice for All. I think that makes a good sign too. Underline All several times.
PaulWartenberg
Sign ideas:
“The Only Gas We Want Is From Tacos”
“Buy Two Get One Free”
“Tax the Rich”
“Papa Ooma Mow Mow / Papa Ooma Mow Mow / Well a Don’t You Know About the Bird? /
Well Everybody Knows That the Bird Is the Word!”
…what? that won’t fit on a sign?
Reverse tool order
“Just say NO to
wannabe kings”
Elizabelle
Some voted for cheap eggs. They got a Trade War and a Police State. Way to go, America.
suzanne
I want someone to draw FFOTUS sitting in a Tonka truck or something….. TACO TRUCKS ON EVERY CORNER.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
BCrack: I’ve emailed you a photo of one sign that verbiage can’t do justice to. And it would work perfectly for this rally.
Others I’ve photographed during the Denver rallies this year:
“The Only Minority Destroying America Are Billionaires”
“Hitler Dismantled Democracy in 53 Days. Trump’s Just More Incompetent”
“IKEA Has Better Cabinets”
“This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About”
There were others, some of which I’ve posted here that offended some not because they had NSFW language but for…reasons. But those also really aren’t on point, topic wise, for this protest.
Baud
Whoa. Protest virgin!
Mad king = bad king. NO KINGS!
Tarweed
MAGA = a destructive tantrum. How long we gonna watch this shit?
dc
A big heart outline with “Immigrants” on the inside. On the other side (if you have a two sided sign), a big circle with a line across over ICE.
Ohio Mom
For my sign, I’m deciding among disability-related slogans, brainstormed by Cincinnati’s new Arc chapter (national disability rights organization):
“I am not waste, fraud or abuse”
“Medicaid matters to me. Do I matter to you?”
“DEI includes ME”
“DEI includes disability”
“No Cuts to Medicaid”
“Kill the Bill, Not Americans”
I’m leaning toward “Kill the Bill, Not Disabled Citizens”
For some reason, I’m preferring “citizens” over “Americans” these days.
zhena gogolia
@dc: That’s good.
Elizabelle
We’ve seen this movie before. It does not end well.
No Kings.
NanaR
no Fascists
no aUtocrats
no Cheats
no Kings
no MAGAs
hedgehog the occasional commenter
Mine will be: Of the People, By the People, For the People.
Was also thinking Deport Elon to Mars, but I prefer the people one.
Baud
No Tsars
Or Tsar Puppets.
VeniceRiley
My Sharpie makes more accurate hurricane predictions than your Sharpie.
Belafon
Science not Seance
Ruckus
@hedgehog the occasional commenter:
Mars isn’t far enough away….
@Baud:
I’m crude:
One COMPLETE ASSHOLE
is one too many
Elizabelle
Voters: Pay more attention.
Cheap cynicism is wicked expensive.
No Kings.
Jim Appleton
“I’m not really a sign guy, but jeez…”
Ruckus
lowtechcyclist
Mine’s gonna be:
YES to US Armed Forces
NO to Kim Jong Trump
tobie
I’m so bad at catchy slogans. If I weren’t taking care of my mother after surgery, I’d do some version of:
We’re a nation of immigrants.
Proud of that!
Ruckus
@lowtechcyclist:
Kim Jong may be rightfully upset about using him as the lead in to shitforbrains.
Nelle
My last sign was:
No Kings or Tyrants
Part One – 1776
No Kings or Tyrants
Part Two – 2025
RevRick
I am always mystified by how the verb “fuck”, which means life and is often a part of healthy, committed, adult relationships has become a curse meaning “die!”
Can anyone explain?
Barney
“USA: No Kings for 249 Years” (maybe a box around “249”)?
brantl
NO KINGS.
EVER!
scav
Might be a bit subtle. Basically
Mo Queens, No Kings.
VFX Lurker
… emphasis on “ALL” with font color or size.
Thank you for doing this, Betty.
Thedeadcanary
Had this at a recent protest in Paris:
Lafayette, we’re sorry.
lowtechcyclist
@RevRick:
I remember George Carlin wondering about that ~50 years ago! I remember him saying that the real curse ought to be ‘unfuck you’ – IOW, may you never again have the pleasure of fucking as long as you live.
lowtechcyclist
@Ruckus:
That’s his problem – he never shoulda wrote those love letters. ;-)
tobie
“We are all Angelinos.
No dictators. No kings.”
lowtechcyclist
Just to inflict my earworm on the rest of you, I wouldn’t actually do this poster, but:
Blocking up the scenery
Breaking your mind
Melancholy Jaques
At the recent rally organized by my union (UTLA) at Space X, the signs were almost all positive. There were several riffs on the Make something something Again. Two I remember were Make Lying Wrong Again and Make Orwell Fiction Again.
I am going to a rally near my home this Saturday, but I don’t do signs nor do I chant.
Baud
Stupidus Rex
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Maximus Stupidus Rex
Melancholy Jaques
@lowtechcyclist:
That song immediately came to mind when I saw the title of this post.
Which version is your earworm, Five Man Electrical Band or Tesla?
Baud
Freedom, not Kingdom.
Lyrebird
@lowtechcyclist: Nice!
I want to make a sign that could be a chant.
Might miss some people, but:
NO GeStaPo,
NO Pinochet
ETA I love the ones @Melancholy Jaques: mentions,
and also, Make “disappear” instransitive again!
lowtechcyclist
@Melancholy Jaques:
Five Man Electrical Band. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you there was a band named Tesla.
Ruckus
@Delosgatos:
No Kings!
Don’t trump on me!
I never capitalize his name – he doesn’t deserve it, in any way, shape, or form. If/When anyone says I’m disparaging his name, I say – “Nope. He does that all on his own.”
Timill
@Baud: “No Trews With Kings”
Splitting Image
@Miss Bianca:
I like this one!
Trivia Man
Not Dead Yet
Not On My Watch (crown in a red circle with line)
We are still Here
United We Stand
Raoul Paste
@hedgehog the occasional commenter:
Superb
Melancholy Jaques
@lowtechcyclist:
Tesla is a hard rock (not hair metal) band from the 80s that covered Signs on their live album Five Man Acoustical Jam. It is a faithful cover.
Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)
ICE NAZIS RAUS! has a nice ring to it.
Trivia Man
@Thedeadcanary: or “Lafayette, we are here”
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Probably doesn’t qualify as positive vibes, but I’ve got two.
ONE NATION / INDIVISIBLE / DON’T LET HIM / SAY OTHERWISE
Or:
HAVE YOU PUNCHED A NAZI TODAY? / IT IS THE AMERICAN WAY (I can’t decide whether the best graphic to split those two lines would be Dwight Eisenhower, Captain America, or Sam Eagle)
Trivia Man
One Nation Indivisible
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m maybe 2-3 lifetime protests ahead of your husband, but I’m going to this one (at the Media, PA Courthouse). Last protest I went to was the March for Science in 2017, in Philly. My favorite chant fro that one:
“What do we want?” “Evidence-based policy!”
“When do we want it?” “AFTER PEER REVIEW!”
I’m not a sign person though, no idea what clever thing I’d write. The First Amendment maybe? I do like the idea of carrying a US flag.
What I didn’t know till the last time I was at a rally at the Courthouse was that this was the location where the Pentagon Papers case started. One of the speakers pointed at a nearby building and said “the FBI office that got broken into was right… there!”
Allen Henderson
Along those lines, and with reports of facial recognition in the field, reminder that there’s a way to help your favorite officials show up on those scans while protecting your own identity (posted on another thread last month or so)
DarbysMom
Thought about stealing this one for my sign: No Faux-King Way!
Archon
@Elizabelle: Are we sure people voted for cheap eggs or was that their excuse that didn’t make them sound like a fascist?
Bill Hicks
Make a sign that says “I am the Emperor!” and wear one of those long t-shirts people put over their bathing suit at the beach with a drawing of a naked person on the shirt. It sort of makes sense in a confusing way, but it would be funny.
Elizabelle
@Archon: The second. And they could hardly have missed the MSM bloviating over egg prices. Fuck those voters and the MSM. Look at the destruction they brought upon us.
Avalune
I was thinking of a simple Ann Telnaes style Trump drawing with dinky hands and a dinky crown crossed out. But we will see if I get that accomplished lol
Eyeroller
@RevRick: Quite a few languages use sexual terminology for cursing. Not being a linguist I’d have to do some digging, but my guess it is more about SA. The middle finger is pretty explicitly that.
laura
My sign will say unaccountable power is UnAmerican. This old white gal will wear my Sunday best and I’ll tote the american flag because optics.
leeleeFL
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: All three!
BlueGuitarist
Been thinking of
No Kings
No Kleptocracy
No Kakistocracy
Do I need to define Kakistocracy as
rule by the worst people?
Trollhattan
See what happens when the Weirdos are in charge?
WEIRDOS with superimposed red circle and slash graphic.
Geminid
@Trivia Man: Never Give Up!
Sister Golden Bear
If I can up-res this image, I’m thinking of bringing this California Bear Flag version of “Don’t of Tread on Us.”
(Sorry, the OP only made it available to signed-in BlueSky users, but it rocks.)
JoeyJoeJoe
At the rally for truth in 2018 or so, my sign read “Donald Trump can’t handle the truth! No truth handler, Donald! Bah, I deride Trumps truth handling ability!” This is a reference to the Simpsons episode where Sideshow Bob runs for Mayor, a parody of A Few Good Men.
Gvg
@Ruckus: too bad. Starving people when he and his family have everything for generations is not excusable.
brantl
@Melancholy Jaques: so you stand there and look like An accidental bystander?
Trivia Man
Co-Equal Branches IS American
Steve
My sign is going to read:
Pro Immigrant
Pro Science
Pro America
Anti-Trump
JoyceH
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: Last time we didn’t punch Nazis – we killed them.
BethanyAnne
Kennedy / Polio 2028
Prometheus Shrugged
A direct French translation of “circus peanut” probably is ridiculous, but what about something like
L’État, ce n’est pas des cacahuètes de cirque
Could swap “sac d’Cheetos” of “mangue” for “cacahuetes de cirque” but I like the “caca” part of the word for peanuts…
Montanareddog
Vaccines not Bleach
dm
They want 1984 — let’s give them 1776
Elizabelle
@BlueGuitarist:
I think I will go with your sign. And you could put a * and define Kakistocracy in small print. Some people will be close enough to read it.
lou
At the big April 5 protest, a friend held a sign that said “Fuck Trump! But I’m not volunteering”. Her 80-something mother suggested the 2nd sentence. She got a lot of laughs from the crowd.
Joy in FL
I don’t have an idea for a sign– there are lots of good ones above.
I just called my MAGA Rep at his Wash DC office. The person I talked to is one of the nice ones. I said that what the president is doing in California is wrong, and I said I hope you are getting a lot of calls like this. The staffer said they are getting a lot of calls like mine, which heartened me. This is a very red district, and I think it is a safe seat for this Rep for as long as he wants to run. BUT, I think the prez* has upset a lot of people in this safe district.
The other reason I think that is because the Rep sent an additional email on Monday (he regularly sends a newsletter on Sundays) titled Fact v Fiction on Medicaid Changes. He wrote: “QUESTION: Did Republicans cut $880 billion from Medicaid?
ANSWER: No. The $880 billion number comes from the entire House Energy & Commerce Committee’s instruction to find $880 billion in savings…”
What a lie. There were more “facts” in the email about other areas they must be getting objections about. Here’s one more: “QUESTION: Did the Reconciliation bill cut aid to mothers, children, seniors, and people with disabilities?
ANSWER: Absolutely not….”
I called his office yesterday after hours and left a message saying those were lies, that the legislation did not protect Medicaid funds from being labelled “wasteful” and thus cut, for example.
That email and today’s phone call make me think an unexpected quantity of voters in this district are not pleased with the cuts.
Finally, there is a No Kings protest about 4 miles from my house, so I’ll be going to that on Saturday. I have my shirt, and I need to make a sign.
I’m posting here now because I was happy to know that my Rep is feeling the anger enough to feel he needs to lie to cover for his MAGA cruelty, and I wanted that share that happiness with some folks who will be happy about that, too.
Joy in FL
@Steve: I’m copying your sign (comment 78). I love it. Simple. Clear.
Elizabelle
And there is my sign. Thank you, jackals. Lot of good suggestions here.
I love that we show up with homemade protest signs with our own slogans. The opposite of astroturfed.
Melancholy Jaques
@Archon:
Eggs & inflation were the emails of the 2024 election. They know they aren’t supposed to say “I want a racist bully” or “I don’t think a woman should be president” so they say what the political media tell them to say.
Melancholy Jaques
@brantl:
No, I am one small drop in what I hope will be a sea of people. But I live in Trump Country so it could be a small, but nevertheless energetic gathering.
Geoduck
Whatever slogan you choose maybe include an American flag as suggested in the next thread.
RevRick
@Baud: Freedom, not King Dumb.
JoyceH
I saw a news report about the Trump parade and it said there would be a counter protest march to the White House. I wish our side would just abandon DC for the day. Trump is going to interpret any increase in foot traffic that day as support for him. And unless the march is massive it could be interpreted as showing little support to opposing Trump.
Betty Cracker
@Joy in FL: Haha, we have the same rep! (Or else they share newsletter content!) I talked to a nice lady in one of the local offices about all the whoppers in that newsletter. Same one I spoke to about the lies he told about DOGE in a previous newsletter. Our rep is always yammering on about protecting seniors and veterans. What a giant hypocrite. The only thing he cares about protecting is his damn job.
Archon
@Melancholy Jaques: I’m sure there is some political salience in publicly pretending that Trump voters weren’t voting for fascism and that they were fooled or lied to but I constantly wonder if most Democrats honestly believe that there was some huge cohort of voters that truly believed Trump would magically bring prices down and that was the only reason they voted for him?
Democrats need to be clear eyed about where the median voter is and its not good.
Baud
@RevRick:
Like.
Redshift
If you suck at freehand writing (like me) but you have access to a good printer (or are willing to pay for one at a copy shop), there are some nice graphics available from the organizers:
https://brandfolder.com/s/vqbb79z4p6hhkgkrxwp9nh
Some are templates with spaces to add your location or other customization. (Some are posters to recruit participants rather than signs, but it’s not hard to tell the difference.)
ljdramone
I have a vintage Dead Kennedys “NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF” button in my well-aged punk rock button collection.
It’s now proudly displayed on my laptop bag/backpack.
WTFGhost
A four sign procession:
Trump Hates Justice
Trump Hates the Constitution
Trump Hates Decency
Trump Loves HURTING PEOPLE!
(You could include “Immigrants” or “workers” or “non-billionaires” or “other people” to the “Trump Hates” list.)
OOOH! “Trump ***@HATES@***” (picture of an American flag) – there’s a good protest sign.
In fact, if I could, I’d rather blanket “TRUMP HATES (American flag)” through the crowd than American flags; only the former would help cement home the point that Trump is a big, fat, liar who dry humps the flag to show his “respect” for it and the people who care for it, the way any serial rapists grabs women to show how much he loves and respects them (which is to say, not at all, he just uses them for his own purposes).
Then, for a political cartoon sized sign, I’d have Lady Liberty holding a cat, with Trump chasing the icon, and a Republican elephant saying “grab her by it!”
Melancholy Jaques
@Archon:
I agree with you. The various excuses may have had some validity for some voters in 2016, but not 2024.
WTFGhost
Lessee:
Dummy Donny Loves His
TARIFFSINFLATION!Sorry MAGA: Trump is a MORON
We told you Trump was evil….
What about “they’re eating the dogs” made you think he LIKED you?
WE LOVE TPS MIGRANTS!
TRUMP HATES THEM!
“He’ll only deport the criminals!”
“One day, like a miracle, it will go away”
400,000 DEAD BY TRUMP!
“The world’s RICHEST man (the prime Muskovite pic)
The world’s POOREST kids
The world’s CRUELEST man (trump pic – get an ugly one for this)
=
DEAD CHILDREN! MAGA!!!! (can you do this one in dripping red paint? What, you’re not taking custom orders for a gimp who wouldn’t last twenty minutes marching?)
Redshift
@Archon:
I think we need to grapple more with the fact that people who aren’t engaged with politics aren’t thinking the same way we are. I don’t believe there were a lot of people who affirmatively voted on “that guy says he’ll fix everything and I believe him,” but I do believe there are a lot of people who voted on “a lot of things sucked in the past four years, I think we need a change.”
That’s why I’m against the broad-brush “they definitely voted for this and deserve what they get.” For hardcore out-and-proud MAGA types, sure. But for people who just voted for him, if any of them are already saying “this sucks we need a change” we definitely need them and should try to make them welcome enough that we have a shot at keeping them.
Betty Cracker
@Redshift: I think you’re right. I struggle to internalize that myself sometimes, even though I know it’s a fact because I have talked to people who think that way. Another thing to keep in mind is that people marinate in information bubbles where they absolutely do not hear the same stuff we do.
Michael Bersin
A personal favorite:
“Resist Now. Because it’s easier than hiding a family in your attic later.”
March – Clinton, Missouri – April 26, 2025
tam1MI
“When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.”
– Thomas Jefferson
Another Scott
“A republic, if you can keep it.” – Ben Franklin
Shall a band of ten or twelve thousand robbers […] conquer America, or subdue even a single state? The thing cannot be, unless we sit down and suffer them to do it. – Thomas Paine, “The Crisis”
Forward!!
Best wishes,
Scott.
dexwood
My sign has been stolen from a bumper sticker I saw yesterday –
We the People are pissed.
Marcopolo
Think one side of my sign will be “United States Monarchy Free since 1776; No Kings” & the other side “Immigration Makes America Great: Always Has Always Will; Support Immigrants; Support Immigration.”
frosty
I’ve got to make one for Saturday. I think it will be:
We Told You So!
No police state
No tyrants
NO KINGS!!!!
Miss Bianca
@Redshift: but going for Trump *wasn’t* a change. That’s the thing that kills me
japa21
@Miss Bianca:
To those that voted based on that, it is what they thought that mattered, not what is now.
The fact is there are a myriad of reasons why people voted for Trump or chose not to vote for Harris.
A lot were motivated by racism and hatred. But nowhere near all of them, possibly not more than 60% of them.
I sad after the election, and I repeat it here again, people have not given the Trump campaign credit enough. Their main mission was not necessarily to drive up his vote count, but to depress Harris’. It was a death by a thousand cuts. Drive away 1% on transgender issues. Another 1% on economic issues. Another 1-2% on subtle racial issues. That last one is more important than most people realize.
A lot of people honestly don’t see themselves as racist, and a blatant racist , or misogynistic attack would turn them off. But subtle ones cause questions in their minds and might turn them off of Harris.
The problem is these are hard tactics to counter without coming across as whiny.
Interesting Name Goes Here
@Redshift: On the contrary, they have proven repeatedly that they will vote against their own self-interests again and again with little if any provocation, and that it takes great personal distress, pain, and loss for them to reconsider their choices. 2016 and the first Trump administration should have been enough to prevent a repeat from now until the end of time itself, but clearly these people felt it necessary to run it back.
So, yes, I hope they get what they voted for, they deserve what they voted for, and I hope it hurts, because that is the only way they’ll listen and maybe even learn (temporarily, sadly).
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
My favorite recent sign – someone posted it here several weeks back, just said “Not normally a sign guy, but jeeze!”
Could maybe adapt that for Bill as not normally a protest guy but jeeze.
Wapiti
@Eyeroller: @RevRick:
Yup. I’d guess “Fuck you!” is just short for “I fuck you!”, based on context.
scav
Thought of another one — or at least the heart of it.
Another?
dww44
@Interesting Name Goes Here: I’m sorta with you there . I have educated extended family members and I’ve thought several times since 2004 that they just might be so opposed to what their party is supporting and not vote for the R candidate. But I’ve been proven wrong again and again. One of them, a generation down from mine, recently responded that we on the left were going to suffer like they’d suffered for a couple of decades. Years of conservative media consumption have turned them into extremist idealogues, no matter how nice they are on a personal level.
bjacques
ICE IN MY DRINK
NOT IN MY HOOD
FAREWELL TO KINGS
(Drawing of bright orange peanut with bright yellow wig)
NO CIRCUSIZED PEANUTS
Nix Besser
I will be wearing my “Only You Can Prevent Fascism” shirt. I’m thinking about “This is Not an Insurrection” for my sign.
Timill
@Nix Besser: Add a pic of a pipe, or maybe the Bastille: “Ceci n’est pas un soulèvement”.
Jimbales
”I’m not anti-Trump, I’m pro-US!”
“I’m Standing up for Freedom”
”Protect the Constitution, dump Trump”
“Uncle Sam wants you! Let’s stop Trump”
”It’s Time to March for Our Freedom — Again”
I hope these spark a thought or two!
Best, Jim
bjacques
We’re Marching For Freedom Today…HEY!
MinuteMan
Keep Your Republican Mitts Off My Medicare!
Support the Troops: Send ‘Em Home
Cadet Bone Spurs to DUI Hegseth: Chain of Confusion
Gloria DryGarden
We The People Matter.
No Fascism
ascap_scab
Toss off you Cheetos-faced Wanker!
Where is Melania? On Epstein Island?
You are not a King, We are not Pawns!