Trump Won. What Do We Do Now?
What do you mean, “What do we do now?”! What have you BEEN doing, motherfucker? Did you hit the streets after Rodney King? Trayvon Martin? Breonna Taylor? George Floyd? Have you been calling for the demilitarization of police, alternatives to cops and ICE, stopping cop cities? Have you been marching against genocide? What have you been doing about reproductive justice? Escorting people to abortion clinics? Funding abortion mutual aid programs? ICE was built in 2002 to detain and deport, targeting marginalized folks since day one. What has your solidarity BEEN looking like? Seriously.
**Takes deep breath. Brews chamomile tea.**
Okay. Starting over.
Trump Won. What Do We Do Now?
Yes, it sucks that Trump won.
By all means, grieve, rage, process. Feel your feelings.
But liberals, and white liberals especially, hear me when I say:
It’s time to get your shit together.
Please. Do not spiral into paralyzing hopelessness / helplessness.
Don’t let yourself become an insufferable liberal whining about “resistance fatigue.”
Your mothers raised you better than that.
And if they didn’t, I will.
Here’s what you’re gonna do:
1. You’re gonna be real about what’s happening.
2. You’re going to develop stamina.
3. You’re gonna emphasize joy.
4. You’re gonna look for openings to do your part.
5. And you’re gonna fight to win.
1. Be real about what’s happening.
We need to be clear-eyed.
We can’t mince words or dissemble.
We must call this administration what it is: a fascist regime.
And it’s not looking good. Republicans —and Democrats— —and mainstream media outlets— are already bending the knee and Trump’s not even in power yet.
Be real: The cake is already baked in a lot of ways.
To quote Justice Sotomeyer in her dissent, “When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.”
The train has left the station - and its off the rails.
The era of autocracy has fully arrived.
Plus, Trump-supporting Republicans will control the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of federal government. And they won by running on a fascist, racist, platform.
Be real: Democrats will not save us.
Are you still thinking Democrats can turn this ship around? That we just need to elect the Democratic nominee in four years?
Please, for the love of delicious blueberry muffins, drop the scales from your eyes. Maybe a Dem will win in four years. Maybe it will mitigate some harm. Or maybe the Republicans, and Project 2025, will make future presidential elections even more stacked and your individual vote mean even less.
But Harris said in her concession speech that it’s not over! She promised that Dems will “continue to fight” and protest!
Forgive me for rolling my eyes.
Democrats are going to fight? Take to the streets?
You mean the same Democrats who sent cops to bash the heads of grassroots activists this year? Who arrested more than 3000 nonviolent students, (along with professors and grandmas) for nonviolently protesting genocide? And who cast aspersions on all anti-war activists - Harris characterizing summer protests as despicable, calling us unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, and probably funded by Iran (?!).
Nah, fam. Miss me with Kamala’s and the mainstream Dem’s plans to “fight.”
Be real: This is a SYSTEMS problem. And Democrats are part of the SYSTEM that got us here.
Not convinced? Friend. Babe. Babe. Stay with me.
Dems could be fighting like hell right now. Passing all kinds of legislation and shoring up democracy. Are they?
I’m not seeing it.
Yes, I’m glad they are talking about approving 30 nominees for vacant federal judgeships by January — but so far it’s just talk. What they are doing? Telling Trump “welcome back,” cosigning “a gift to Trump” that will effectively silence dissenters, funding more genocide, and giving a big ol’ thumbs up to World War 3 by authorizing long-range missile strikes from Ukraine into Russia.
Y’all.
Democrats have had four years.
They could have convicted Trump and and made him ineligible to run for office ever again. They had every opportunity to arrest Trump on day one of Biden’s presidency. They even had the support of Republicans during the time just after January 6. Instead? They appointed freaking Merrick Garland as A.G., who hemmed and hawed and wasted time and missed the moment. Democrats let Trump slip through their fingers.
Still not convinced?
How about this: Democrats could have codified abortion rights. They could have enshrined them into federal law at any time since Dobbs came down. Or heck, before then.
They could have pushed for meaningful court reform, including a legally binding code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices, impeachment hearings for Justices Thomas and Alito, and/or they could have packed the Supreme Court. Did they do any of those things? Nah.
To paraphrase MTV’s The Real World circa 1992, we need to “stop being polite … and start being real.”
I believe the Democratic National Committee is mostly a fund-raising organization at this point. The Harris campaign raised $1.5 BILLION. Billion!
Have you received a refund for your donation?
The Dems are feckless as a party. It is ABUNDANTLY clear they will (continue to do) do nothing that will meaningfully change any of our systems.
Pundits and consultants — who get paid either way — tell us that voters failed the Dams. Nah, fam. Voters didn’t fail the Dems. Dems failed voters.
Be real: Trump, and this fascist moment, is a SYSTEMS issue.
Trump isn’t a Republican problem or a Democrat problem. Trump is a symptom of our systems functioning as intended.
Remember POSIWID: The Purpose Of a System Is What It Does.
This autocratic, fascist moment is a logical (but not inevitable - there were off-ramps we could have taken) next step in our late-stage liberal capitalist, eco-catastrophic moment. It grows from the founding of the U.S. as a white supremacist, settler-colonialist endeavor, and the systems it instantiated.
And our moment speaks to the core contradiction of liberalism.
Be real: this is the system of liberalism working as designed.
Here’s one of the most succinct explanations of this moment I’ve run across:
The problem with liberalism is that it rests on a fundamental contradiction that cannot be resolved. It will always fail, it will always collapse, and this explains everything about our current moment.
Liberals try to hold two commitments at once: on the one hand, they are firmly committed to capitalism; on the other, they express support for principles like human rights, democracy, equality, freedom of speech, environment and the rule of law. This duality is the core of liberalism.
But there's a problem. Capital accumulation requires cheapening labour and nature. This eventually comes into direct conflict with principles like rights and equality. And whenever this conflict appears, the liberal ruling class sides with capital, abandons their lofty principles, and throws workers and nature under the bus. Every. Single. Time.
This results in flagrant displays of hypocrisy. They run on nice-sounding platforms but end up either betraying their promises or actively working against their stated values. They'll slash public services, bail out banks, imprison journalists, beat up students, expand fracking, coup democratically elected leaders in the global South, bomb liberation movements, fund a genocide - they'll even trash international law itself - anything that's needed to maintain the conditions for capital accumulation.
At most, they may try to negotiate mediocre compromises, a few social policies here and there - some abortion rights, a tiny increase in the minimum wage - but nothing that might pose any serious threat to capital accumulation. Thus the soul-crushing slowness of liberal incrementalism. Ultimately they are unwilling to take any of the obvious steps that would actually resolve our urgent social and ecological crises.
This is why nobody trusts liberal politicians. This is why they come across as so fantastically insincere, and even sneering. This is why they feel so spineless and *empty*.
The center cannot hold. Liberalism will always collapse, inevitably handing power to fascists, and this is not acceptable. There is only one way to overcome this deadly impasse, and that is to mobilize a socialist alternative. A political movement that can unite the working-classes, overcome capitalism, deliver real economic democracy, and enable us to achieve rapid progress toward social and ecological goals.
- Jason Hickel in a legendary tweet on Twitter/X. Hickel is a professor at ICTA-UAB and author of THE DIVIDE and LESS IS MORE. [emphasis mine]
Got it? Great.
Your eyes are wide open. You’re starting to look through systems-colored glasses. What now?
Next step:
2. Develop stamina.
Take care of your bod, mind, and spirit.
Why stamina? So you won’t be an exhausted, hopeless, whiny-ass quitter.
Take care of your bod.
If your body is disabled, well you know your needs way better than I do. By all means, be your own expert; please let able-bodied people know the best ways to build mutuality with you.
If you are able-bodied? Do what works for you. Nourish yourself as best you can. Take your medicine. Get your rest. Do your stretches and lift your weights / carry your backpacks. Do the things.
Me, I particularly need to heed the first rule of Zombieland: cardio.
Oy. I hate cardio, do you? I can do yoga all day long. But cardio. Ick. But if you will, I will. Let’s jump rope, dance, play soccer, run, swim, Tae Bo, or walk (bonus points for walking at mach 2 like my friend Andrea does).
I’m talking about building literal physical stamina to help build psychic stamina.
And to outrun cops. (Think I’m kidding?)
Mind your Mind.
Read about the tactics and histories of fascism. Practice critical thinking. Think about systems, systems, systems. Consider carefully your sources of information. Practice rigorous criticism and scrutiny. And be intentional about much news you want to take in on the average day. Give yourself breaks for beauty and art.
Tend to your Spirit.
Prioritize rest. (Bonus, rest is also necessary for body and mind.)
Rest is different from sloth or laziness.
Intentional rest is powerful when you can get it. Get it when and if you can. I know it’s particularly difficult to get when you are caregiving and/or just scraping by financially. Find your pockets of rest time.
Personally I recommend “Nope Days.”
What’s a Nope Day?
Oh, a Nope Day is a beautiful thing.
It is saying nope to anything you don’t feel like doing. For me, it’s also a tech sabbath (saying nope to social media and TV). My Nope Days always involve reading. Sometimes there’s a Nope Day Nap. Often there is time spent in the woods.
Nope Days are anti-capitalist endeavors in that they separate productivity out from whatever you might consider time well spent.
Spirit, cont’d - ground yourself.
I have two specific suggestions: find the traditions of resistance and liberation in your ancestors. And cuddle up with The Great Cosmic Echidna.
Ancestors - go back in your ancestry to a time of indigeneity and indigenous resistance.
Ask your wise and willing ancestors to shore you up and guide you.
Not all ancestors are resting in peace or power, so it’s wise to be specific and humble about whom you are asking for help. “Wise and willing ancestors, please help me be wise and willing in saying no to fascism and autocracy.”
And consider getting spiritual if you aren’t already.
Figure out how to tap into the well that never runs dry.
There is always, always, always infinite love, grace, mercy, and hope in Spirit, God, The Universe, The Great Cosmic Echidna, whatever you call it. The well can fill you back up whenever you’re empty. You just have to figure out your access point/s.
As Billy Blanks said in his Tae Bo workouts, which yes I had on VHS tapes, “If you’re tired, you just gotta reach up and ask your Higher Power. That’s what’s gonna get you through.”
What? Like you don’t go around quoting exercise videos from the 90s? Well good for you, I guess.
Me, I’ll take wisdom wherever I find it.
And joy. Give me joy in all the small things. Or big things. All the joyful things.
3. Joy: Find it. Notice it. Emphasize it.
What brings you joy?
Playing with your dog or cat? Your grandchildren? Tending to plants? Drawing? Painting? Sudoku? Knitting? Watching clouds? Laughing with friends?
Make a list and post it conspicuously. Refer to it often. Keep adding to it.
Do those things.
Joy is an antidote to fear.
And then find ways to find joy (and beauty and connection) in your resistance to fascism.
Wheat-paste posters of beautiful real-life heroes in public areas.
Chant at that demonstration until your throat is sore.
Take a bath while listening to old protest songs.
Say your prayers.
Sing at marches.
Hold hands while you form a line to protect youth.
Have a friend teach you to play guitar while you teach them sewing.
Throw a dance party with your comrades.
Laugh at everything that’s funny, and then laugh some more.
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”
There is so much joy to be had in struggles of communal liberation. Find it. Have some fun.
Remember what Aunt Emma said:
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”
Whew! This post is getting long.
Thanks for being in this with me, friends, comrades, accomplices.
I’ll be back in your inbox with items 4 - looking for openings - and 5 - fighting to win - soon.
XOXO
Superb!