To the Editor:
The recent opinion column by Dane Hicks published in Great Bend Tribune Nov. 6, titled “Fun-Loving Commies Spend Big to Sponsor No Kings” belongs in the fiction section of our local library. On Oct. 18, more than 7 million of us rose up at more than 2,700 events in all 50 states, to say: America has No Kings, and here Power belongs to the People.
My own experience began with organizing and speaking at the local Hands Off protest April 5, 2025, on the Barton County Square. When I spoke at the event, I was interrupted by a heckler when stating all people were entitled to due process under the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Then the heckler began yelling more loudly “illegal, illegal and illegal.” My response was that if the Executive Branch could deny “due process” to any group, no one was safe.
The first No Kings Rally on June 14, 2025, I was invited to speak at the event on the Pawnee County Courthouse Square. On my drive to Larned, I heard over the radio that former Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives had been shot and killed along with her husband in what appeared to be part of a larger act of political violence. The event went on after a short period of silence by those present.
This most recent No Kings Rally on Oct. 18, I was in Hays for another event and stood on the corner of 27th Street and Vine holding a sign with over 100 other Americans expressing our First Amendment Right of Free Speech. Prior to the event, Republican Politicians repeatedly called those who would attend paid protestors or worse, but this did not deter a record turn out of over 7 million across the entire nation.
I have come to expect our President to make false claims such as: “ In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.” However, that does not excuse Dane Hicks for attempting to pawn off fiction as non-fiction in his Nov. 5 column.
The false labeling of those attending No Kings Rallies as Communist also falls under the general category of inaccurate. Presumably Dane Hicks knows the difference between right and wrong, even if his understanding on fiction compared to nonfiction is lacking. The main difference is that fiction is based on imagination with made-up characters, settings, and events, while nonfiction is based on facts and real-life occurrences. Journalism has standards, primarily centered on accuracy, fairness, independence, and accountability. These standards guide journalists in seeking and reporting the truth, minimizing harm, being transparent with the public, and acting without conflicts of interest.
Dane Hicks is part owner of a conservative website created based on a false claim that “for too long mainstream media serving Kansas have presented news and editorial content not in keeping with those principles (conservative principles). Clearly Dane Hicks does not feel bound by the mainstream journalistic standards.
Communism is defined as State ownership of the means of production. Recently the second Trump administration caused our government to take part ownership in several private businesses some mining rare earth minerals and other such as US Steel, Intel and Westinghouse. To call others communist goes beyond being two-faced. Overall, the opinion column by Dane Hicks published Nov. 6, 2025, in the Great Bend Tribune, titled “Fun-Loving Commies Spend Big to Sponsor No Kings” is best left unread.
Kent Roth
Ellinwood
