Protest isn’t un-American — it is America. In this episode, we dig into the history of protest as a cornerstone of democracy, from the Boston Tea Party to the No Kings protests of 2025. We unpack why taking to the streets matters, how movements spark courage in others, and why not everyone has to resist the same way to make an impact. Whether you march, speak, amplify, or protect — this is how we remind power who it serves.
About your host:
Sonia in Cyber is a multicultural feminist voice, creative entrepreneur, and unapologetic truth-teller. With roots in education, tech, and product marketing, she blends data with empathy, humor with heartbreak, to expose the cracks in America’s “normal.” Through her podcast Somebody Pinch Me, she gives voice to the disillusioned, the outspoken, the overlooked, and the quietly furious — proving that truth doesn’t just survive in chaos; it thrives in it. Her mission is simple: to use her voice to inspire others to keep fighting, resisting, and moving forward — no matter what.
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Episode Transcript
You know that feeling when everything in the
world starts to feel too loud,but somehow not loud enough in
the places where it matters?
When you see one more newsheadline about rights being
rolled back, when anotherpowerful man gets away with
something you'd be locked upfor, when politicians start
speaking in the kind of law andorder language that history has
already warned us about, andyour gut starts whispering,
(00:22):
"I've seen this movie before".
Yeah, me too.
And that's the point whensomething in many of us begins
to shift.
The screaming into pillows ordoom scrolling on phones stops
being enough.
And we remember when powerstops listening, protest is
necessary, and just about themost American thing any of us
(00:43):
can do in response to it.
This is Somebody Pinch Me withSonia in Cyber, and today,
"Protesting Is As American As ItGets".
Let's get into it.
The myth that protest isunpatriotic is one of the most
dangerous lies in this country,because this nation exists
because a bunch of regularpissed-off people said enough.
(01:05):
The Boston Tea Party wasn'tsome polite suggestion box.
It was protest.
It was property destruction, itwas civil disobedience.
The American Revolution wasn'tborn in Congress, it was born in
the streets.
Fast forward a century and ahalf, the women's suffrage
movement.
Women chained themselves tofences.
(01:26):
They were arrested, beaten, andforce fed.
Not because they were violent,but because they dared to demand
rights they were told theydidn't deserve.
The Labor Movement?
Protests.
The civil rights movement?
Protests.
Stonewall?
Protests.
Vietnam Resistance.
Act Up.
Occupy Wall Street.
(01:46):
Ferguson.
Standing Rock.
Black Lives Matter.
Protests.
Strikes.
Those moments when the power ofthe people spoke loudly.
If you zoom out far enough,America's most profound leaps
towards justice were neverhanded down gently from power.
They were dragged intoexistence by people in the
streets who refused to shut up.
(02:07):
Our First Amendment of our U.S.
Constitution gives us all theright to peacefully assemble,
aka protest, advocate, petitionour government.
The right to assemble isn't anaccessory right, it's not
decorative, it's not there tomake us feel good about
democracy.
It's the emergency break on arunaway train.
It's the mechanism we use whenpeople in charge stop
(02:30):
representing us.
Authoritarianism doesn'tusually arrive overnight.
It drips in quietly, law bylaw, court case by court case,
and the easiest way for power togrow unchecked is silence.
The streets are where silencebreaks.
They are where democracyreminds itself that it belongs
to the people, not the other wayaround.
(02:52):
And that brings us to rightnow, 2025, a year that already
feels like a politicalearthquake.
In June, thousands across thecountry flooded the streets in
what came to be known as NoKings, Part One.
And every month since thebeginning of this year, people
are resisting.
The spark?
The growing fear that was onceunthinkable – centralized
(03:14):
king-like power in a moderndemocracy – was becoming
normalized.
People marched to say (03:18):
no kings, no dictators, no crown
for a wannabe strong man – nothere, not now, not ever.
And here we are again in Octoberwith No Kings, Part 2.
Bigger.
Louder.
Sharper.
7 million strong.
These protests aren't somefringe spectacle, they're a
(03:40):
public mirror, reflecting asimple truth.
Democracy doesn't protectitself.
People do.
Every banner, every drumbeat,every march down a blocked-off
street, is a refusal to acceptauthoritarianism as inevitable.
It's people saying, "you mayhave the power, but you do not
have our consent".
And here's why it matters: authoritarianism doesn't always (04:00):
undefined
kick down the door wearingboots, sometimes it walks in
with a smile and a slogan, or asuit, or shakes hands, it waves
a flag, it tells you it's savingyou from "them".
And while some people staycomfortable, others start
disappearing.
Rights, protections, andeventually people themselves.
(04:22):
History has taught us from NaziGermany to Chile, from Jim Crow
to Putin, silence is the oxygenauthoritarianism breathes, and
the streets are where thatoxygen gets cut off.
Protests are inconvenient,they're loud, they block
traffic, they disrupt businessas usual.
That's the point, becausebusiness as usual is often what
(04:43):
injustice hides behind.
And they tried so hard to spinNo King's protest into something
negative.
"It's a hate America rally.""It's a divide America event."
"It's just angry liberalscriticizing the best president
this country has ever seen."Sure, MAGA.
We don't march because we hateour country.
(05:04):
We march because we love theidea of what it could be.
We march because our ancestorsmarched.
We march because our silencewould betray every person who's
risked their life so we couldeven stand there with a sign in
our hands.
And the marches are beautiful,filled with the diversity that
is America, from90-plus-year-old veterans in
(05:26):
wheelchairs to eight-year-oldchildren fighting for their
future.
And even those who couldn'tmarch, protest or support the
cause in other ways, donatingfunds, amplifying voices,
protecting neighbors, showing upfor the community, cutting back
on consumption, voting.
Resistance has always had manylayers, but it needs every
single one of us.
(05:47):
You know what's wild?
People often talk aboutprotests like they're powerless
because they don't always seeimmediate change.
But here's what they forget: protests don't just move (05:53):
undefined
governments, they move people.
They make the invisiblevisible.
They turn a private rage into ashared roar.
They remind us we are notalone.
They help us remember that loveand hope runs deep and hate
never wins.
(06:14):
Every massive movement startedwith a few people realizing they
weren't the only ones screamingin their heads.
So if you're someone sittinghere thinking, but does it even
make a difference?
Isn't this just noise?
The system's too big, themachine's too strong.
I want you to hear me clearly.
No protest is the finish line,but every protest is a
(06:36):
beginning.
Change doesn't erupt fullyformed overnight.
It grows like a crack inconcrete, quiet at first, then
unstoppable.
Every march, every chant, everyraised fist is a signal flare
in the dark.
It's how one person standingalone becomes ten, then a
hundred, then thousands whorefuse to be invisible.
(06:58):
When you show up, even when itfeels small, you become proof
that someone else isn't crazyfor caring.
You become the permissionsomeone else was waiting for to
speak, to act, to rise.
Movements don't just shiftpolicy, they shift people.
They make silence feel lesscomfortable, they make injustice
(07:19):
impossible to ignore.
Protest isn't aboutguaranteeing the outcome, it's
about refusing to surrenderbefore the story's even
finished.
This is not the final chapter.
This is the prologue.
And courage, your courage, ourcourage, is contagious.
And we don't talk about thisenough.
Not everyone resists the sameway, and that's not just okay,
(07:42):
that's necessary.
Some people will be on the frontlines, marching until their
voices give out.
Some people will be behind thescenes – donating, amplifying,
protecting.
Some will be storytellers.
Some will be medics.
Some will be caretakers holdingit down so others can march.
Protest isn't a uniform, it's atapestry, a thousand different
(08:02):
threads woven together intosomething too strong to break.
The point isn't how you showup, the point is that you do.
Because every single act ofresistance, big or small, loud
or quiet, stacks.
It builds.
It fuels the next one.
It tells those in power, we arenot going away, we are not
(08:23):
backing down, and we areeverywhere.
So if your protest looksdifferent from someone else's –
good.
That means the movement isalive.
That means we're harder tosilence.
Protesting isn't just an act ofresistance, it's a declaration
of ownership.
This country doesn't belong tokings or crowns or parties or
(08:43):
tyrants.
It belongs to the people whorefuse to give up.
And as they come for democracy,we show up even louder,
prouder, together.
Because the story of Americaisn't written by the powerful,
it's written by those who dareto rise up against them.
If you're feeling that pull inyour chest, follow it.
Join a protest, support aprotest, protect a protest, be
(09:08):
the echo someone else is waitingto hear.
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