Like pretty much everyone here I’ve been in a dark place since the election. It’s hard to feel as though we aren’t experiencing the complete and total triumph of evil. And we are just getting started. The country is going to go through some awful and dark things. Good people will be hurt. Some will die. Our Democracy is on life support. We may really see mass deportations. Another pandemic could hit with a man who had a brain worm in charge. Trade wars will be the results of tariffs, the kind that led to the great depression. We could abandon Ukraine, pull out NATO, lose our place in the world, Get a national abortion ban and so on and so on.
Trump is a destroyer not a builder. He is a malignant narcissist, whose only real goal is to inflect as much pain and darkness on the world as exists in his bitter tormented soul. Those of us here see clearly what a monster he is. The rest of the country—god help them—do not.
So bad things are coming and I don’t know any better than you whether our country can be saved or not. Since the election I have been trying to stay away from the news. Going for walks, meditating, Taking a break. I encourage everyone to do this. I have been trying to heal some before what is to come. Because, like it or not, tired or not, we have to be ready to fight.
The greatest generation became the greatest generation because they survived the Great Depression and Won World War II. I’m guessing most of them would have rather skipped both those events if they could have. They fought them, not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice. Same as us. If you are like me you’d probably rather skip this one. I know I want to. But we can’t. It’s our turn and like it or not we must dig deep and fight again.
I’m a huge movie buff and and a bit of a history buff as well. The other day I was reading some quotes on resistance, and I came across this one from Gandhi, (yes I know he had issues) but it is a good one and I think is the means with which we can fight.)
"Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good."
And that’s it. Put simply we can’t go along with this shit. If we are going to concentration camps, let’s make them drag our asses there instead of walking to it. We must refuse at every level to cooperate with evil. And we must cooperate with each other.
As I mentioned I’m a movie buff and since I’m quoting Gandhi I should mention I’m also a huge fan of the movie, because it speaks to our better angels. There is one exchange in the movie that I have always remembered for some reason.
British General: You don’t think we are just going to simply walk out of India?
Gandhi: Yes... in the end you will walk out. Because, One Hundred thousand Englishmen simply cannot control 350 Million Indians, if those Indians refuse to cooperate. And that is what we intend to achieve. Peaceful, nonviolent, non cooperation. Till, you yourselves see the wisdom of leaving.
Well in this country the split is more 50-50, but there are a good 70 Million of us or so. I don’t see MAGA being all that succesful if we refuse to cooperate. Simply put they can’t rule 70 million of us if we refuse it. Now here at daily Kos, there are probably people who know a lot more about civil resistance than I do. People with a lot more experience. fighting in the trenches. I look to them to lead. But I wanted to share some of the ways I’ve been thinking about resisting and encourage others to share their ideas Some of these I have read elsewhere, some are my own thoughts.
Vote with your dollars:
As half the country we have a tremendous amount of Economic Power. I for one intend to refuse to participate much in this economy. Since I am convinced bad things are on the way, I intend to buy only what I need, and try to only pay for things that I think are absolutely necessities. The rest I hope to save. The narrative will not be Trump is great for the economy. At least not because of my actions. I’m also trying to be careful when I do spend money to make sure none of it goes to anyone who is helping the enemy. There is a good diary trending right now on Boycotting GOP Donors. I would encourage others to read it for advice on where not to spend your money if you must spend it.
Vote with your attention as well:
Since we are commodities for a lot of Social media and news media, I’m being careful about who gets my attention. For me that meant leaving twitter and facebook and joining Bluesky, because Fuck Leon and Zuckerburg. It also means I will not be paying for journalism that sane washes trump. I don’t want to reward, The Washington Post or New York Times, with more attention because Trump generates more clicks than Biden did. Fuck them! It only encourages them to make Trump seem normal and they have both sided our asses into Fascism. Instead, I’ll be supporting things like Mother Jones, and other outlets who do a much better job with Trump than our failed press did. I don’t need it be liberal news, but it has to tell the truth about Trump.
Resist in Government.
To any federal workers who might read this, I Just read an article that Leon Musk, and his fellow scumbag Vivek Ramaswamy are planning on cutting 75% of the federal workforce. Which should be about 1.5 million people added to the unemployment lines (can you feel the economy roar). So when those guys show up asking how your department works, I wouldn’t go handing over your procedures. Basically if they are going to fire you anyway. Make them figure out from scratch how to get social security checks out. If you are in the military and the purge happens find ways to undermine it. Turn in the most trumpy guy in your unit. Make things fail. Because as awful as it is, I think when people start missing their social security checks, and the military is in shambles they will finally wake up and demand their institutions be restored with competent leadership.
Speak Out. Loudly
This falls under the don’t submit in advance advice for fighting Fascism. Basically If MAGA wants total power make them fucking earn it. We have always been a country where one could speak our minds and I for one don’t intend to stop or act scared. At least not in advance. Again fuck those guys. They have all of government so when they fuck up point and scream whose fault it is. Le’ts be the loudest voice in the room for a change.
Hamper their efforts.
I remember during the last Dumpster Fire, a hotline being setup to call if you wanted to report illegal aliens. Liberals flooded the hotline with tips about little green men at Roswell. A friend of mine, called and reported Rupert Murdoch. I know of some who reported a little guy going on and on about his Uranium space modulator. Again, most of what they are doing works only if we are complicit. Even in defeat we have tremendous power and should exercise it.
Stand Together.
A story that has alway moved me, is Danish resistance to the Nazi’s Jewish polices in World War II. When the Nazis ordered the deportation of Denmark’s approximately 7,800 Jews in 1943, Danish citizens, government officials, and resistance groups united in opposition. The Danish government, though under occupation, resisted implementing anti-Jewish laws. Danish citizens, including fishermen, organized a massive rescue operation to ferry Jews to neutral Sweden, which had declared itself open to accepting Jewish refugees. Over 7,200 Danish Jews, along with about 700 non-Jewish family members, were smuggled across the Øresund Strait to safety. A popular (though apocryphal) story is that King Christian wore a yellow Star of David in solidarity with the Jews.
The result? Nearly 95% of Denmark's Jewish population survived the Holocaust. So the moral is, DON”T LET THEM DIVIDE US!! That is how they win. Fuck that is how they won this election. So, let’s ban together. Protect the marginalized. If they start a muslim ban convert to Islam. Make every awful thing, fucking hard. When you need support find, the liberals in your area and ban together. They really would rather you feel alone, and powerless. Don’t give in to it.
And finally again, because I love the movie Gandhi, I’m sharing the movies final thoughts on despair and tyrants. It has always comforted me. I hope it comforts you.
Gandhi Words on Tyrants and Despair
Update 1: from Elenacarlena
thanks for posting the dialogue from the clip above.
When I despair I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.
Think of it. Always.
Update 2: advice from Clio2 who worked in the civil service:
Don't show them how to stop or shrink the payments [This is regarding Social Security], which are set up to run automatically anyhow. Fumble.
Finally, if you are a civil servant prepared to resist the subversion of democracy, human decency and the Constitution itself, you are too valuable to frag yourself prematurely by blatant refusal of a lawful order unless there is no alternative. But there is nothing that says you have to be super-diligent in carrying out orders or policies that are illegal, or against the spirit of the Constitution or Congressional intent, or against human decency for that matter.
Finally, if your career is at risk, immediately find a lawyer. They are expensive but worth it. No guarantees of course, and people I knew, whistleblowers, had to fight in court for years, but they did prevail and it was worth it.”
