Yesterday and the day before and today I have spent a good deal of time, online and in person, with devastated people. We cry. We hug. We shake. We are exhausted. What, we ask, what are we going to do?
Make no mistake, we need to be answering that question. There are people who desperately need to hear an answer. As a friend reminded me, people of color don’t need white liberal tears. They don’t need white liberal squabbles. They need to know what white liberals are going to DO so that people of color can live. Queer folk like myself need to know that straight progressives will DO something to keep us safe. Women need to know, now, what Democratic men will be DOING to defend our basic bodily autonomy. And on and on.
We do not have the luxury of wasting time on bullshit. This was driven home to me today when I learned that an acquaintance had committed suicide. She suffered from chronic illness and, on Tuesday night, had spoken with despair on social media about her prospects under a Trump presidency. She is now gone because of despair and hopelessness. A student of mine talked down a trans friend from suicide. There are so many so desperate right now. This is real. The despair must be addressed.
It is scary that Barack Obama’s legacy has been left to Trump. This is not fearmongering. It is reality. What can each of us do, individually and collectively, to slow the rollback of progress, to defend our vulnerable neighbors and selves? My thoughts have taken me back to the Bush years.
Somehow, we survived. We resisted. And if you are in a headspace where you want to start planning and strategizing, this is for you. (If you’re not, that’s totally and completely valid, of course… I know you will get there eventually.) For me, it’s part of how I am coping. I am thinking about using the experiences of 2000-2008 to plan my actions for 2016-2020.
First, to acknowledge the obvious. Trump is worse than Bush. For all his many many many flaws, George W. Bush was at least a decent husband and father. To my knowledge, he is not a serial sexual assaulter. In his dim little way, I think he cared about doing the right thing, even if he was always horribly, terribly, disastrously and fatally wrong about what the right thing was.
By contrast, Trump has no such compunctions. He seems to be a truly bad human, one whose moral compass points only towards himself, to his own enrichment and aggrandizement. Bush sowed death and destruction and was a disaster for the nation and the world. But we know that Trump is probably going to be worse.
Deep breath. Okay.
Under Bush, what did we do? First and foremost, we found communities in blogs, mailing lists, and other online spaces, where we commiserated, organized, and kept the faith alive. With the mainstream press acting as Bush lapdogs, we became our own journalists and pundits. We marched. There were lawsuits, petitions, and protests of all kinds. We worked to elect progressives to the House and Senate. We gave money to progressive causes, to keep them alive. We Gen Xers listened to the Baby Boomers who had done this in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We adapted. We learned.
We loved and supported each other. Financially and emotionally—we used Paypal and other tools to help those in need, those who, thanks to Bush’s policies, became homeless, needed medical care and couldn’t afford it, who went bankrupt.
I’ll be honest: we also fought amongst ourselves. We squabbled over big things, and over little things. Those with privilege often silenced and marginalized those without. We were really shitty sometimes. We were imperfect, sometimes very wrong, and often not well organized.
But we had rare victories, and we cherished them. We fought back Bush’s attempted gutting of Social Security, for one. We looked for bright spots where we could find them. In 2000, one of my small comforts was Hillary Clinton’s election to the New York Senate. Breaking boundaries, a talented and smart First Lady launched a political career of her own. I desperately needed to see that. In 2004, I had the pleasure of voting for a guy called Barack Obama as my Senator. Amid the rubble of the Bush win, I clung to Barack’s success. I never imagined then that 4 years later he would lead the Dems to victory as the first black president, but I sure knew he was going to be a star.
So, applying the lessons of history, what can we do to survive under Trump? Here are some things that I think I will do. Maybe you can start your own list. This is far from comprehensive or complete.
I’ll start with finding new, successful, progressive politicians to support. It’s vital for the country that the Dems cultivate new blood and create a diverse bench. Elizabeth Warren is fantastic, but she is 67. Fortunately, there were a few bright spots Tuesday night, that Melissa McEwan highlighted the other day. Could Tammy Duckworth be the next Barack Obama? Or Kamala Harris? I don’t know, but I plan to find the good ones and support their efforts with all my might.
Locally, we have little in the way of Democratic candidates in my slightly purple red state and very red county. I will work harder than ever to change that. I’m going to remind my white liberal friends that local offices like sheriff and prosecutor need to be monitored for racial and other discrimination. I’ll try to stiffen the spine of and encourage any Dem who’s willing to stand up to the awful legislation and policies that will doubtless come from the right, locally and nationally. I’ll cheer them –and DONATE-- if they use every trick in the political book to slow the harm and stop the hate.
Speaking of donations, I plan to find organizations to support that will help resist Trump’s evil and support those he victimizes. The ACLU will be filing lawsuits, I’ve no doubt, and I will help them with my donations. Planned Parenthood is going to be in a fight for its life, and for the sake of every woman relying on their services, I will give money and time. The NAACP will need support (and you do not have to be African-American to join). I will show up and/or financially support protest movements like BLM and the anti-DAPL protestors, wielding my white privilege to increase their visibility if I can. I’m going to participate in Moral Mondays as much as I can, and I’m already trying to get my teaching schedule for the fall altered so I can do so more frequently.
I’ve criticized and withheld support from organizations like NOW and the HRC for not being as intersectional, or as radical, as they should be. But to be honest, I think I will be a bit more forgiving for the immediate present, because it’s all hands on deck now. I won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good in these dark days. I resolve not to give the enemy ammunition. I will give those fighting Trumpism every weapon I can. Trumpism must not win.
We have so much more media than we did under Bush, and we have more and more ways to organize and connect every day. There will be petitions. There will be protests. There will be Tweetstorms. There will be actions of many kinds, offline and on. If one venue is shut down, we will have to create or find another. I will be there for that. I will be visible. I will wear my gay rights t-shirts, my BLM t-shirts, my feminist t-shirts. I will wear a safety pin. I will let Trump’s targets know I am on their side.
On a personal level, I am going to hug my friends and family closer than ever, as well as take good care of myself. I will remember that self-care is a feminist act, and in Trump’s America, it’s going to be a downright radical act. I will defy him by valuing myself when he and his movement try to convince me I am less. Not all of us will be able to march or sing or lay down on the ground. But simply surviving in our queer bodies, in our brown bodies, in our black bodies, in our Asian bodies, in our fat bodies, in our disabled bodies, in our female bodies, in our Muslim bodies, in all of our “lesser” bodies, will be a rebuke to Trump and Pence. Take that, you hateful asshats.
I hope to pool resources with those hurt most by his policies, try to keep each other going physically, mentally, and economically. I will give food to those in need, and I will give shelter in my home to friends who may become homeless under Trump. I’ve already spoken to a Muslim friend about what I can help her with if worse comes to worse. If we need an underground railroad, I’m prepared to help with that.
I’m going to find inspiration where I can and use it to nourish my soul. I will be the light when I can. I will be clinging to my Unitarian community to ground my healthy spiritual values, defying the call to hate from the Trumpeters. I will keep talking with my Trump-supporting neighbors, family and friends. I will never stop trying to persuade them away from prejudice and towards tolerance and compassion.
Very, very late last night I received a message from a former student on Facebook. He is a Republican and an evangelical Christian who genuinely did not understand why people are rioting in the streets. I tried to help him understand why there are people who fear their very lives are at stake under a Trump presidency. The conversation ended with him pledging to push Republicans to keep abortion legal, to address the reasons women have abortions, and to keep same sex marriage legal. I will keep up these conversations.
Let me strategize for a moment Is there anywhere where we of the resistance might have the upper hand? Well, one thing is: we know Trump. We have his number. He’s made no secret of his plans and he has years, YEARS, of history to guide us as to his moves. George W campaigned on “compassionate conservatism,” and we really didn’t have a full picture of how badly he would govern. With Trump, we know what we’re getting. Small comfort, I am sure. But it’s better to see the storm coming, to strengthen the area it’s going to hit, than to be taken by surprise.
We can predict at least some of his awful moves. We know he will try to roll back the legality of same sex marriage, that he will be coming for immigrants, that he will try to silence the independent press (such as it is), that he will try to end the ACA. We can use these precious months to prepare for those attacks. Let’s find the lawyers willing to work for gay couples and immigrants. I have already written a rough draft of a letter to my GOP Senators and Congressman, reminding them that portions of the ACA are extremely popular and important to their constituents. Rather than tell myself this won’t work (and it’s true, I am not optimistic), I am focusing on trying to save at least something of its provisions.
And in one area, we have a real embarrassment (literally) of riches with Trump: there is no shortage of scandal, corruption, and crime in his past and present. The Republicans have used investigations and threats of impeachment for years to hamper progressive politicians and organizations. Time to turn the tables. The right spent years on Whitewater, turning over stones until they found something to stick—a lie about an affair. We’re not going to have to look that hard with Trump. The main thing will be getting there before his people burn the documents. (And even there we have a chance—they’re so fucking incompetent I’m sure they will leave us plenty to work with.)
The Democrats will be a minority for at least two years, so they can’t tie up Trump in Benghazi-style hearings (except they would be about actual real things in the world, not trumped-up bullshit.) But individual Congressfolk and Senators with safe seats can investigate and publicize, and I will support such queries any way I can. I have little faith in corporate media, but there was some genuinely good journalism about Trump’s frauds (albeit coming too late). I plan to donate and/or subscribe to those news organizations that actually expose Trump’s crimes in a meaningful way.
I will do all I can do encourage those politicians and people who exploit the divisions within the Republicans in order to stop their harmful agenda. Trump’s election has left the GOP in charge, and yet in disarray. That they control both houses and the White House is scary and will be very harmful, I’ve no doubt. But Trump is already miffed at some of them because they denounced him. I don’t see him being able to maintain a unified front. And as Trump’s awfulness continues to pile up, I rather suspect some of them will not want to stand with him. Good.
I will encourage every Republican or conservative who defies him and his white-sheeted followers in a meaningful way. I won’t excuse or ignore their other garbage agendas. I’m not making nice with racists and homophobes. But I’m willing to work with anyone who will fight against hate, and I’ll encourage Dems to work across the aisle whenever that rare creature, a Republican with a sense of decency, is spotted in Congress.
And I’ll also encourage Dems to exploit every stupid thing Trump does to full effect. If Obama’s motto was “don’t do stupid stuff,” then Trump’s is surely DO ALL THE STUFF--THE STUPID STUFF---BIGLY AND MUCHLY. I don’t mean to make light, because unfortunately some of his stupid stuff will be grievously harmful to the nation and the world. But I have little doubt that he will also hinder himself through his incompetence. He has a certain low cunning, I will grant. He is a talented salesman. But, honestly, he’s not too bright. He’s so intellectually lazy, his brain makes sloths look like aerobic dancers. He’s going to be hoisted on his own petard at some point, and I plan to cheer it on.
Of course we can’t overlook Pence, and all the others he has on his team who are equally morally bereft, but far better at getting their evil shit done than Trump himself. But I predict a certain disarray and disunity will slow them down as well. I’m going to work like hell in the 2018 elections for the Dems; by then, I imagine they will have plenty of fodder to exploit as we try to get at least one chamber back.
I’m not going to minimize how much this is going to suck, how deadly and dreadful it may become. How much they will destroy. But right now I am trying to imagine my resistance, to see what it’s going to be like, so when the time comes, I can do this.
Many people are familiar with Winston Churchill’s “We Will Fight On The Beaches” speech, given in 1940, as German armies swept across the continent of Europe and allied forces withdrew from France to the UK. (And yes, I’m aware there is huge irony in using a racist, sexist, imperialist like Churchill to talk about resisting Trump. But humor me for a moment). The speech reads in part:
…Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…
Do you see what he is doing? He is giving the listener specific visions of resistance. The places, the methods, listed out in detail. There was power in that. There’s a reason it’s a famous speech. At an hour when actual Nazis were threatening to invade, when the British people had every expectation that German soldiers would be upon them in weeks or even days, Churchill exhorted them to see themselves fighting, to visualize it, to internalize it.
And if you’ve ever listened to the speech ( there’s an excerpt here), you know that Churchill’s sing-song delivery is almost matter of fact. His voice rises at “We will never surrender,” but only after the remarkably undramatic listing of the very dramatic scenes he’s invoking. It will happen, this fighting, these acts of resistance. It simply will, because it simply must.
I’ve been writing my own “fight on the beaches” speech in my head, trying to imagine and visualize what I can and will do to minimize Trump’s harm. Every one of us will have a different version. As mentioned, for some, simply surviving will be what we do. Some will fight quietly. Others will fight more openly. But do, try to visualize your fight.
I can’t even begin to imagine the fear and anxiety of the people Churchill was addressing. They had actual Nazis at their door. But I certainly have an idea of how fearful Americans are today, indeed, how fearful much of the world is today. Trump may not fit the dictionary definition of a Nazi, but he certainly enjoys the support of Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, virulent misogynists, violent homophobes and a slew of other terrifying people. In short, he has an army of violent people threatening those of us who are Other, who are “lesser” in their eyes. He has pledged to wage war on the very pillars of our democracy, to assail what’s left of our social safety net with all his might, to persecute the powerless with glee and delight. And that’s just at home. I am still reeling from the implications of what he will do abroad.
But like those people nearly 80 years ago, I am trying to imagine myself in the fight. I do not know quite what it will look like yet, but I am planning. I take some comfort in knowing I am not alone. I was not alone under Bush, and I will not be alone under Trump either.
This is not a comprehensive or complete list of how I shall resist, just a rough beginning. Other people’s lists will be radically different. But I hope everyone is making them, because there are vulnerable, marginalized people who desperately need glimmers of hope right now.
One thing is sure. We will support each other, we will love each other, we will strengthen and protect each other, in our many different ways.
We will never surrender.
We are now, and will forever be, stronger together.
[Note: this is a modified version of an essay originally posted at Shakesville.]
Edit: Wow, the reclist. Thank you. I hope this piece helps you make your plans.
