We have to be efficient in fighting Trump and those behind him. Here are ten points built upon experience in other countries. Start with words.
1. Words Matter.
They call themselves alt-right. Do not accept that. First; it sounds like ”all — right”, and it is not. Their rebranding accomplished two things, it confused the public into thinking they were simply a different form of conservative, and not the Nazis and Kluxers they are. And just as importantly it allowed the very disparate white supremacist movement to unify under a single umbrella — ”alt-right” — despite the sharp conflicts between different groups. For example, the KKK and Nazis are often in competition for the same members. There is also in-fighting between various factions within just these two movements. (There are additional violent white supremacist groups as well: Skinheads, Christian Identity and Sovereign Citizens, to name only three of many). ”Alt-right” means neo-Nazis and fascists and ultra-right. Call them what they are. That might also break their unity under the alt-right umbrella. The word ultra-right is accepted as an umbrella word in Europe and if we use that, we can discover what is really going on, not just in US, but around the world. And we have to.
2. Use turn-around words.
They want to see themselves as strong and tough. But what is the defining truth about the ultra right? They always kick down. The left is looking at where the power lies and tries to make power accountable. (responsible when they are wrong). The ultra-right is looking for someone vulnerable to blame. That means they are cowards. Let's call them that. It will make it less attractive to young men who might join the movement.
Always remember that these aren't just racists — they are fascists and they are used by the big companies to force through ultra-right economic policies, where they don’t have to deal with democracy. They are useful idiots (spy- term). Point it out. Don’t allow them to claim that they are ”for ordinary people.”
3. Don't reinvent the wheel.
There are a lot of organizations that are already formed and doing important work. Make them stronger by joining them and/or donating money instead of forming new ones. If we spread too much, we will get weak. Pick one thing you can do — and do it. Among those organizations there are anti-racist ones (NAACP, Color of Change, Black Lives Matter, National Council of La Raza, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, MPower Change, Anti-Defamation League, etc.)
There is also Amnesty International which has promised to keep a close eye on abuses committed by the Trump Administration.
And there is the union movement. If you can, join a union. Unions are an absolute foundation stone in the struggle against fascism. There’s a reason Hitler outlawed unions.
Unions are and always have been an important part of the anti-fascist movements. That is why it has been so important for the ultra-right to fight against union rights. If your union is not good enough as it is, join and work to make it better. If they get stronger, they have the tools to achieve a lot. Many union members voted for Trump and that is a huge failure for the Dems. That only makes it extra-important to join and make sure Trump supporters don't take over the agenda. And some of them might listen to facts.
If you live where there is no union; work to change laws and regulations. Union rights are a human-rights issue.
4. Facts matter.
A special part of supporting existing organizations is to back those organizations that are providing facts by doing important research. Among them are Amnesty and the Southern Poverty Law Center, but also non-profits such Center for Public Integrity, a group of investigative journalists that were behind the Panama Papers revelations and have broken many other major stories over the years. They are particularly concerned with lack of transparency and corruption in government and are covering these sorts of abuses in the early appointments of the Trump administration. You can support these organizations in many ways; for instance by spreading the information.
Corruption and the rise of the ultra-right are linked: the rich use the the ultra-right to divert and deflect the public's attention while they steal public resources. Hence there is no contradiction in Robert & Elizabeth Mercer funding Breitbart News as it became the home of the ultra-right while also funding Trump to create an administration stuffed with billionaire bankers.
Which ever organization you pick; encourage them to co-ordinate and gather the information that is out there.
5. Boycott.
Make it uncomfortable for companies to support the ultra-right. Boycotts and other actions can be efficient and effective.
Trump lost the popular vote. He also lost the counties that generate the majority of America's wealth, as shown by this analysis in the Washington Post:
The divide is economic, and it is massive. According to the Brookings analysis, the less-than-500 counties that Clinton won nationwide combined to generate 64 percent of America's economic activity in 2015. The more-than-2,600 counties that Trump won combined to generate 36 percent of the country's economic activity last year.
Clinton, in other words, carried nearly two-thirds of the American economy.
Outside of a few states, Blue America may not have much political power at the moment, but it has economic power and that power needs to be used.
6. Unite, unite, unite.
What is new here is that the ultra-right has united. That makes them enormously more dangerous. We have to do the same.
There is no time for sitting back and complaining about others ”not doing it in the right way”. In a fight like this you have to have a thousand voices, speaking different languages. It doesn't mean you accept anything from others ”on your side”, but you have to be careful about the whining that so easily occurs. So spare your whining about others and do something yourselves. But — you also need to be able to co-work. An important step is to find a few points that everyone can agree on, a platform we all can get behind. Whichever organization you work with; encourage them to work to find allies to form that platform.
A platform would also make it possible to coordinate better, for instance to systematically organize counter-demonstrations against Nazis and other ultra-right groups — as well as to have our own demonstrations against them. These are common in Europe, because there is a network to watch Nazis and organize demonstrations. We need to replicate this network inside the U.S.
Right now: plan to join the Women’s March on Washington on the 21st of January, 2017. (regardless of permitting problems, it’s going forward).
7. Push for opposition.
There is a pressing need to support Democrats to be a real and clear opposition party. We can all do something to push for that, for instance writing to our Senators and Congresspeople and getting actively involved in the Democratic Party.
If you need ideas for getting involved in the Democratic Party, DKos' Denise Oliver Velez has written 'Each One Teach One:' A call for partisan, community political education and action. It's a wonderful primer about how to make a difference through organizing within Democratic Party politics. Put it at the top of your reading list ASAP.
8. Fight against silence.
The tactics of the ultra-right and Nazis are to intimidate and threaten whoever speaks up against them. We have to be a shield around those voices. This is an international pattern and has led to more and more people being forced to silence. (the UN has made it a priority to point to those patterns). Especially women, female journalists for instance, are fiercely attacked and what starts with words often leads to action and harm. Support organizations that fight for the freedom to speak, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists. Bring it out into the open, hold accountable those who are responsible. There has to be a serious discussion about abuses, both the open and the anonymous kind. For instance, why are acts that are obviously there to suppress freedom of speech, protected under the umbrella of ”freedom of speech”. Many countries do not allow death threats on the net, applying the normal criminal laws you have in everyday life. Yet in the U.S. there are examples of those who Trump attacked on twitter being subsequently subjected to death threats via social media. Yet nothing happens, law enforcement does not react. Should we make this an issue?
Or should we work to provide more protection for those under threat?
9. It is international.
The ultra-right has been growing stronger throughout Europe, and in many cases it has been proven that they were supported financially and in other ways by Russia. More recently, Russian nationalists are alleged to be behind an assassination attempt on the Montenegrin Prime Minister. And the GRU — Russian military intelligence — was found to be training neo-Nazi militias in Hungary (which already has a far-right government friendly to Russia and the ultra-right).
We need to track the money that supports the ultra-right and learn how tactics are coordinated across national boundaries. What the ultra-right did and does here in US is copied from others. And in turn, others copy ideas from the American ultra-right. The Norwegian ultra-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik blogged on the American neo-Nazi website Stormfront, prior to his 2011 massacre of 77 people in Norway. (The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented nearly 100 racist murders tied to Stormfront).
We have to work internationally too, to see and understand the patterns and to learn how to resist. It is international.
10. Don't get overwhelmed. Pick one thing you can do – and do it.
(The Nazis are trying to keep you overwhelmed)
Tactics for fighting the ultra-right (“alt-right”) was written by Kent Moorhead & Pia Moorhead Törnberg (investigative journalist). Copyright 2016 by Passage Film, Inc.