A woman I know (white, middle-aged, let’s call her D) recently told me about a Muslim family that lives on her block in Queens, New York. One of the family’s daughters (about 11 years old) has recently begun wearing a hijab so I sent D a link about the rapid rise in post-election hate crimes. The next time D saw the young girl walking on the block, she felt deep concern. She reached out to the girl’s mother and told her that if her daughter ever feels scared or gets harassed, she’s welcome 24/7 in D’s home. She promised nothing will happen to her there. I felt so deeply humbled and inspired by this story. I now urge each of you to consider taking similar actions, as often as possible. This is not a drill.
Welcome to Trump’s America.
Now get busy.
Have you ever wondered what you would’ve done had you lived in 1930s Europe? Now’s your chance to find out. You can continue virtue signaling to your insular social media hive minds — desperately seeking likes, shares, and followers. Or you can follow D’s lead and get busy, on the ground, in your town. On your block. Wherever you are needed. If that’s the direction you choose, the rest of this article is for you!
Operation Resist Trumpism
identify. unlearn. destroy. evolve. repeat.
Learn to listen
If you are not part of any group that’s being directly targeted by Trumpism, don’t assume you know what must be done. Listen. Learn. Take action. Keep listening. Keep learning. Take new action. Repeat.
Are you being efficient or effective?
Efficient could mean remembering to get a protest permit. It could also mean reminding all participants to not bring signs using wooden or metal poles. Or it could merely mean spelling everything correctly on your Facebook event page. You’ll get props for being a good organizer (sic) but the one thing that was somehow left off your to-do list was: Be effective.
Prepare your body and mind
Resistance is not a sprint. It’s a marathon, with an unmarked finish line. Good sleep patterns, regular exercise, and healthy eating habits are not luxuries. They are necessities. Choose self-care. Condition your mind to endure. Demand more from yourself than anyone expects. You will need to be the best possible version of you. Raise your standard.
Commit to resistance and survival
I strongly suggest you read (or re-read) this: Everything you know about self-defense is wrong.
Learn to focus
Plenty can and will go wrong. Many, many good people have followed a similar path… and did not even come close to creating sustainable change. This will be a challenge, every step of the way. Yet, we cannot allow ourselves to focus on any of that. If we do, that’s where our energies will flow. Focus on your non-negotiable outcome and aim all your power in that direction.
Have a mission
Find the greater purpose that pulls you and then commit to it. This sense of mission will carry you through some dark times.You can rise each morning with a purpose. You can go to sleep each night knowing you did the work. Anything less than that is no longer acceptable.
And never forget: We’re all just walking each other home.
Mickey Z. is currently writing two books, a political memoir called How to Change Minds & Influence the Future: Rebuilding Activism From the Ground Up and a fusion novella entitled stain red. In the meantime, he can be found here.
In 2017, what will YOU do to resist Trumpism? by Mickey Z. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://worldnewstrust.com/in-2017-what-will-you-do-to-resist-trumpism-mickey-z.
