We’re read by dozens.
To date in 2025 this is the 484th post on Show Me Progress.
Public protest in the time of Trump (r) 2.0 is definitely a thing. We try to cover as much as we can.
These are the top ten posts in reader traffic in 2025.
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1. March and Rally – Warrensburg, Missouri – March 29, 2025 (March 29, 2025)
The resistance.
As in other towns and cities across America today people in Warrensburg, Missouri showed up.
Starting at around 11:00 a.m. people gathered on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in downtown Warrensburg for a noon march and rally protesting the continuing shitshow which is the second Trump Administration. By the time the march started there were close to 300 people marching….
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2. Patriot demonstration in Sedalia, Missouri – July 4, 2025 (July 4, 2025)
The sights and sounds of freedom on our national holiday.
This afternoon around twenty individuals with signs gathered along the right-of-way near the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 in Sedalia, Missouri. On summer holidays and weekends there’s a considerable amount of traffic passing through the city at this location….
“Freedom, Democracy, Justice, Tolerance”
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3. Jess Piper (D) – Marshall, Missouri – October 12, 2025
Jess Piper (D): ….It takes three point five percent of Americans to stand up, to get in the streets for our government to say this isn’t working, we’re going to have to do something different, the people are noticing.
We have to keep the faith. We see things bad happening all around us, but I can tell you this. The sent the National Guard and ICE into Portland. How’s that working out? They got dancing frogs standing in front of them, right? You know you can’t buy a frog costume if you wanted to right now, right? You know how many frogs are gonna be at No Kings protests on [October] the 18th? [laughter] Right?…
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4. Pride Festival – Warrensburg, Missouri – May 31, 2025 – It was a good day (May 31, 2025)
The annual Pride Festival in Warrensburg, complete with the usual protesting bigots.
….Before the venue opened, unbeknownst to everyone but them, a group of allies set up a pair of rainbow umbrellas and camp chairs in the historical marker public park across the street from the venue. They had a lot of supportive signage. Apparently, there was some upset on the part of anti-LGBTQIA+ protesters who showed up later and wanted to claim the already occupied space for themselves. A sense of entitlement, perhaps. Throughout the day the anti-LGBTQIA+ protesters and counter protester/allies were lined up with their signs on both sides of the road….
“Hate has no home here”
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5. Clinton, Missouri – No Kings – June 14, 2025 (June 15, 2025)
….I can’t overemphasize how good they are. Before the march they signed in participants at their starting location. They’ve pulled in/included young and old. They planned for every detail, passed out straightforward written instructions (“rules”, de-escalation, rights, route), and arranged for an escort by the Clinton Police Department (albeit a single officer). They had an individual pulling a cart in the march for any trash, so that no one could later complain. There were no issues.
The Clinton march organizers had a post-march picnic, grilled hotdogs and and hamburgers, side dishes and desserts to pass, in a celebration of Pride. I had a nice conversation with a charming and bright 96-year-old Clinton resident at the picnic. She grew up during the depression, her late husband had been through all of the European battles in WW II. I asked her if this was the worst time she had witnessed in her lifetime. ‘Oh, yes, absolutely, this is the worst.’….
When cruelty becomes normal, compassion become radical”
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6. “D’oh!” (February 15, 2025)
Mark Alford (r) steps on a rake, yet again….
Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].
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7. In the rain (November 8, 2025)
One person.
“Food is a fundamental RIGHT”
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8. Warrensburg, Missouri – No Kings – June 14, 2025 (June 14, 2025)
….By the end of the rally there were approximately 500 in attendance, with people with signs facing Holden Street. The sky was sunny, the temperature was in the 80s, with many seeking the shade.
There was no march (it was too hot), there were speeches. There was no sound system.
There were several Warrensburg Police officers keeping watch. There was a significant amount of supportive horn honking from passing vehicles. There was one passing “smoker” truck displaying the frustration of an owner who was probably upside down on his payments….
“No Kings”
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9. People’s March – Kansas City, Missouri – January 18, 2025 (January 19, 2025)
….individuals gathered at Mill Creek Park at 47th and Main in Kansas City for a rally and People’s March. The temperature was in the low 20s. After listening to speakers in the park the crowd marched through the Plaza….
“Protect Our Democracy”
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10. Didn’t think this one through (January 26, 2025)
When dogma meets reality.
Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].
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10. March – Clinton, Missouri – April 26, 2025 (April 27, 2025)
….We drove thirty minutes south to Clinton, Missouri on Saturday morning for an 11:30 a.m. gathering near the town square. For the past several months a group of concerned “non-partisan” citizens have been meeting weekly to figure out what they can do to oppose the current authoritarian administration. They decided to organize a teach-in (they didn’t call it that) and a march around the downtown area at noon. Clinton, Missouri is a town of around 9400 people and is the seat of Henry County. It is touted by the locals as the gateway to the Lake of the Ozarks.
We showed up at the appointed time. These folks aren’t the usual suspects for this type of activism. I’ve known some to many of the Democratic Party people around these parts, off and on, for over thirty years. This ain’t them.
The organizers used social media to promote their event. They told me that they had been planning this event for a long time and that none of them had ever organized a public protest before.
Long story, shorter: around forty people showed up (with signs), they had their teach-in (Fascism is bad, Fascism is happening here now), there were donuts, there were march marshals, the local gendarmes were notified that this was happening, and there was a march.
Here’s the thing. This was a big undertaking for them, they were thorough, they did it right (no major incidents). This was their first, they’re doing it again on (gasp) May Day. In Clinton, Missouri….
“Prejudice is not Patriotism”
Previously:
The Year in Pictures – 2025, part 1 (December 28, 2025)
The Year in Pictures – 2025, part 2 (December 28, 2025)
