Don't Panic, Organize: Meeting the Moment of Trump's Second Term
Don't Panic, Organize: Meeting the Moment of Trump's Second Term
Donald Trump has once again ascended to the Presidency. Below we lay out our recommendations for how to respond.
The civil rights movement did not succeed because of Martin Luther King Jr's peaceful speech, it succeeded because the Black Panthers bought a firearms en masse and took their rights.
We didn't win the revolutionary war because we asked nicely and protested peacefully, we won because we ignored the standards of chivalry in war at the time and fought like guerillas.
Anyone who says violence isn't the answer has never studied history.
Violence is the only thing that's ever worked.This is probably a bit too reductive. Violence is sometimes necessary, but isn't always the best strategy.
In general, the left should take an approach of nonviolent, disruptive agitation, combined with a willingness to use violence in self-defense. Arm up, protect each other, but don't try to instigate a shooting war.
Moderates only ever succeed with and because of a radical flank demonstrating the alternative.
MLK succeeded because the powers that be realized that Malcom X was the fallback plan. Malcom X did not have a problem with violence. And that’s not a dig at Malcom X.
Violence is the threat backing up the demands of the peaceful. A group of people asking nicely are easily suppressed by violent opposition, unless a threat of escalation exists. If those demands fail, escalation is the necessary response. Otherwise, the threat will have been a bluff and future threats won't be taken as seriously.
On the other hand, violent change still needs popular support to have lasting effects, and it needs to feed back into a nonviolent result. Many tyrants have claimed power by force, only to have their dynasty crumble within a few generations.
Thus, violence in the name of progress always needs to be preceded, accompanied and succeeded by peaceful efforts to get people on board with that progress and help them actually feel the results.
It was both, fellow worker.
We need a diversity of tactics. The literature describes a "radical flank effect" where the radical and moderate wings of social movements mutually benefit.
Honestly, some of the best post-election advice I've seen yet.
Make sure your local community is reinforced to survive the next four years and, if you care about politics, get into it. Too many people enter it to get rich and grift.
State and Local governments exist as the mainstream source of organization. We've lost the national election, but my local state is stronger than ever.
I'd say that the pockets of anarchists might make more sense in a Red State where you'd have enemies all around you. But if you're in a Blue State with large scale support, the best support structure you can aim for is just your State Government
I will never join an anarchist movement. But I appreciate the playbook in any case.
You anarchists keep doing what you do. I can never agree with you but it does give hope in this era. In any case, the playbook to form and organize local groups of resistance is 100% valid. If that's anarchists for you then so be it. But other groups should be springing up soon that will be closer to my political ideology.
The great thing about us anarchists is that if you leave us alone and don’t fuck with others in harmful ways we’re really ok with how you want to live your life
Ish. I got my complaints but this isn't the topic for me to get into them.
The message of local organization is 100% needed right now. And is something the anarchist movements are good at, I must admit. I'll complain about methods later, after Trump. There's fires to be put out right now.
there are countries out there that face much worse for far longer yet somehow people have survived it for so long.
But many do leave.
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that
I keep reminding myself it’s 4 years and then he can never come back after that again.
But that's just it; it's not over in four years. The republican party is MAGA and fascist. This is the new baseline for every future republican seeking office.
Also, republicans are going to continue rigging the system so that no other party ever has power again.
so that no other party ever has power again.
This idiot already did 4 yrs once and that hasn’t happened.
Had he run the full 8 back to back he would have done a lot more damage than he can do in it broken up. The time it takes to turn over all things will take more time than he has power especially when he might likely be far more distracted with his court case even still.
Never know, maybe it was a blessing there was a break between terms to have all those charges land on him to help keep him distracted from his original course. It was a set back for him non the less.
I'm not saying these aren't salient points, but it's not going to do much unless you're talking about rebuilding the underground networks that weren't needed for the past 90 years.
People in the US shouldn't have to rebuild backroom abortion Operating Rooms, or places to hide people who are suddenly declared enemies of the state, or places of worship, or even have homegrown defenses built from neighborhoods.
This is absolute insanity that this kind of writing s even happening right now.