https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/
What can I do to fight this coup?
People are resisting at every level. Tesla Takedowns. Refusing illegal orders. Court challenges. Boycotting. Thousands of protests. (More examples!)
Alongisde grounding yourself in these times, here are some starting points on how to orient and help fight the coup.
Get with Others to Act
When you’re alone it’s too easy to freeze. While keyboard warriors and protest attenders are important — you’ll feel the greatest strength if you gather with others semi regularly to plan together, share together, and act together.
Pressure a pillar of support to defect
Coups only are successful when society bows to the orders of the autocrat. These are “pillars of support” (military, media, corporations). Pick a pillar you want to pressure and each day do at least one small thing to get them to defect.
Devote yourself to a long-term project
All
of us cannot only be on defense. There are many productive projects you
might want to be part of that help address underlying problems of the
coup.
We’re following Daniel Hunter’s categorization from 10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won:
- Protecting People. These are folks surviving and protecting our own — especially those of us directly targeted, such as trans people, folks in need of abortions, and immigrants.
- Defending Civic Institutions. This group may or may not be conscious that current institutions don’t serve us all, but they are united in understanding that an autocrat wants them to crumble so they can exert greater control over our lives.
- Disrupting and Disobeying. This goes beyond protesting for better policies and into the territory of people intervening to stop bad policies or showing resistance.
- Building Alternatives. We can’t just be stuck reacting and stopping the bad. We have to have a vision. This is the slow growth work of building alternative ways that are more democratic.
Pick a path and then find an action that fits your degree of difficulty (we’ve categorized harder actions as those that require more time, people skills, and often a small group to launch with).
There is a lot of information here, so take a deep breath. There is a Jewish teaching that says that you are not responsible for completing the work, nor are you allowed to desist from it. We will succeed because millions of people do a couple things well, not because one person does a million things.
While we wish we were not compelled to travel down this path of resistance. We are excited to realize the collective beauty we can and will create together.
You got this.
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