Protesters form a human banner on Ocean Beach during a protest against President Donald Trump, part of the „Hands Off“ rallies held nationwide, in San Francisco, Saturday, April 5, 2025. Stephen Lam/AP
Scrolling through the photos of US demonstrations I saw signs with „immigrants“ and „fascism“ misspelled, backwards swastikas, Trump labeled „Putin’s pawn“, one reference to „class war“ and one to Gaza, though since the photos were journalist-chosen there is no way of knowing how representative they are. Really curious however is simply the phenomenon as a whole: „By standing in a circle on a Pacific beach I will further the cause of democracy.“ Here „democracy“ is obviously not Donald Trump as US president. To Ocean Beach protesters would democracy mean Yemen and Gaza bombed by Kamala Harris instead of Donald Trump, US diplomacy conducted by Antony Blinken rather than Marco Rubio?