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At last weekend’s “No Kings” protest in Washington, D.C., inflatable chickens bobbed above a crowd that, according to demographic research, was made up mostly of educated White women in their 40s.
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert said the “No Kings” protests were a snapshot of an era when emotional catharsis and civic activism have begun to blur.
“What we’re seeing is a kind of group therapy playing out in the streets,” he told Fox News Digital.
The protest, which drew thousands to the nation’s capital and similar rallies across the country, was aimed at denouncing what participants described as President Donald Trump’s “kingship” and blatant authoritarianism.
According to researchers at American University who track protest movements, and whose findings were first reported by Axios, the typical D.C. attendee was an educated White woman in her 40s who learned about the demonstration through friends or social media.
“The ‘No Kings’ movement allows people to feel belonging and community,” Alpert said. “Sharing grievances with like-minded people feels good, but it doesn’t necessarily change anything.”
Alpert, the author of his forthcoming book “Therapy Nation,” said “therapy speak” is everywhere in our culture.