While Alaska buzzes with speculation about where President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Aug. 15, one thing is certain: The anti-peace protesters are already mobilizing in Anchorage.
The “No Kings” movement — a loose coalition of Democrats, radical anarchists, the Occupy movement, and members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation — is organizing what could be the largest protest in Alaska history. Others, such as the MoveOn group and the new 50501 alliance will likely take part.
Their aim is not to welcome peace talks, but to disrupt them and make them fail. Communists, evidently, do not support dialogue.
On social media, the group is circulating a bright-red flier calling for people to “Fight Back Against Trump” and oppose what they call his “far-right billionaire agenda.” The rally is scheduled for 2 pm Friday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in downtown Anchorage, just blocks from the city’s worsening homeless encampments. Downtown may be a place that regular citizens want to avoid on Friday for all kinds of reasons, since it’s not clear Anchorage police are equipped to handle the crowds.
Despite the No Kings movement’s claims of standing up for “the little guy,” their opposition to Trump and Putin even meeting exposes a deeper hypocrisy: They are willing for the war in Ukraine to drag on indefinitely, with ordinary people paying the price in blood. Rather than support a chance for dialogue, they are aligning themselves with endless conflict and with the powerful war industry that benefits from it.
The “No Kings” name reflects their rejection of any strong leader, but in practice, their protests have become more about spectacle than substance. They crave attention, and with international media descending on Alaska, they will get it.
Since reporters from around the globe will not be allowed inside the actual Trump-Putin meeting, wherever it is being held, they will have to look for something else to send back to editors and producers, if only to show that they are working.
Media consumers from London to Moscow to Tokyo will be fed the images of angry signs, bullhorn speeches, and choreographed outrage of a small but loud faction.
And while the protesters occupy the stage, another image will define Anchorage for the world: the vagrants and drug-addicted Alaskans encamped across downtown. Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has shown little effectiveness in addressing the crisis, leaving it to fester just in time for the biggest influx of foreign press the city has seen in decades. There may be a big cleanup this week, with the sides of buildings being pressure washed and painted to cover the urine, poop, and vomit that festoons them.
The result? The international narrative about Alaska could end up being less about history-making diplomacy, and more about a city in disarray and a state whose most visible citizens are shouting “No” to peace.
Here’s a small sample of what Must Read Alaska’s lens captured on Monday morning we walked the downtown Anchorage business and entertainment district:
On Friday, the world will be watching. Whether it sees an Alaska that embraces diplomacy or one that rejects it outright depends not on the location of the summit, but on the protest scenes playing out in the streets for the enjoyment of the New York Times, Washington Post, and the BBC.