We Are the Threat That They Fear...If We Want To Be
In times of despair, it's time to look inside...
I’ve never in my life looked up at the sky and worried about it falling on me, not politically. Even in the depths of cynicism – which for me was immediately following George H.W. Bush’s Gulf War – I wasn’t anxious about the United States being lurched into an authoritarian disaster. Not that I’ve been sucking down happy gas. No, I’ve got a firm grasp of history. I know how dark are darkest times have been – and I’ve experienced very dark times myself – however, I’ve always seen (or read about) something that has signaled hope, or, if not hope, possibility.
In the darkest times of our history – the Conquest of native tribes, Slavery, the Nadir, to name three periods – there was light, light usually generated by the action of the people being ground down. Native tribes did not submit quietly to European domination. Early on in European colonization, native people fought back using everything from non-cooperation to civil disobedience to war, and they did so through the 1970s and beyond.
Our telling of American history tends to center the fight against slavery in the Abolitionist Movement and the Civil War – focusing mostly on White activists and reformers. The heart of the anti-slavery movement, however, was the slaves themselves, African and American born Black people who organized and rebelled by engaging in uprisings, insurrections, sabotage, escape, work slowdowns, civil disobedience, and non-cooperation – and they did so knowing that they were risking a lot, including their lives.
During the Nadir – the 30-year (approx.) period between Reconstruction and Jim Crow – Black Americans organized discreetly using strikes, sabotage, and non-cooperation to expand their freedom while building part of the foundation from which came the Civil Rights Movement. I urge you to read about the Atlanta Washerwoman Strike of 1881 – a suppressed piece of our history – for an example.
In all three of these moments, it was the people who were most affected by the evil of the times who organized among themselves and fought back. None of these people looked outside their communities for help. Though they hoped for a helping hand, they knew that the fight for freedom and survival was essentially theirs. They also know that unless they stood up themselves no one outside their community was going to risk shit for them. “God helps those who help themselves” is something they understood politically.
These folks weren’t alone in this understanding. The Patrons of Husbandry – or the Farmer’s Grange Movement of the 1800s – was created and led by farmers impacted by big business monopolies. The Labor Movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s was created and led by workers. The Women’s Suffrage Movement was created and led by women. The Civil Rights Movement was created and led by Black Americans. La Raza was created and led by Latino Americans. The Anti-Vietnam War Movement was created and led by the students who were to be cannon fodder. The Black Power movement was created and led by Black Americans. The Gay Liberation Movement was created and led by queer folk. The Prisoners Rights Movement was created and led by prisoners. The HIV/AIDS Activist Movement was created and led by People with AIDS. And so it goes.
I’m looking at what is going down today, the rabid attempt by Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies to tear down everything in the government that does not benefit them, the total redirection of the economy to suit the same people, the invitation of Russian Oligarchy – both theoretically and literally – all things that hurt all Americans but particularly impact the White middle class – and I am frustrated that the people who are the targets of these terrorists sit and worry and wait.
Oh yes, there’s been a few marches, some rallies, a haphazardly organized “economic boycott,” but the middle class seems to far too comfortable sitting behind screens posting their “resistance” than actually risking something. That is not a dig, but an observation. And it is an observation that comes with empathy. I know that these are dark times. I know that fear is thick. I know that it is difficult to steady oneself in the constant chaos.
I also know that the constant chaos is manufactured by Trump, Musk, et al to make us shaky and scared. I know that, while some of the fear we feel is organic, much of it is planted by the chaos bringers. And I know that though times are dark, there is always a light and that light is inside us, individually and collectively. I also know that now is not the time to sit and worry and wait.
When Elon Musk started firing the federal workers I thought, “Bad target. These are well-educated workers who belong to some of the most powerful unions in the country. They will fight back.” I was mistaken. People were fired. They packed up their things and obediently left their workplaces. Their unions filed official complaints and initiated lawsuits but beyond that? I don’t see anything other than worrying and waiting for the system to save the day.
What I did not see was what I think is paramount to fighting back: The people directly impacted creating and leading the movement – or any actions – to stop the DOGE War on America. Though Musk is playing fake it while you make it, firing people and eliminating huge parts of the government without clear authority to do so, there is no challenge to his actions on the ground from people who are getting screwed.
Where are the workers chaining themselves to their “desks” and refusing to leave their work places? Where are the unions backing their workers’ play? Why aren’t federal employees blocking buildings? Where are the fired park rangers padlocking themselves to entrances to National Parks? Why aren’t those fed workers who still have jobs acting in solidarity with their fellow workers? It’s clear that, no matter how quiet and submissive the federal workforce is, no job is safe. So, why not get fired while you are on your feet than dismissed while on your knees? Why expect anything to change if the people most impacted aren’t willing to fight back?
Oh yes, take Trump and Musk to court, where they will get beaten. That might work with you and me, but these billionaires don’t give a fuck about the law. We know that. We’ve seen it with both men (and many many of their brethren) over and over and over again. Yet we wait to see if a corrupt Supreme Court rules against them or not, which will then tell us if our democracy is safe or not. My lord!
Let’s say SCOTUS rules against Trump and Musk on everything? As far as Trump and Musk are concerned, “So what?” They will keep doing what they are doing, knowing that whatever they do, SCOTUS has already put Trump outside the law, so why stop? And, if SCOTUS sides with Trump, then what? We say, “Oh well. Did what we could. The system says ‘No’ so we will oblige?” and the pundits will write about the system holding or some such crap.
Okay, then Congress will lead the us to the promised land, or maybe the blue state governors, right? Nope. The best they can do is work in the system which Trump has seized control over. They file their lawsuits, but, if they win, they will have to deal with the same shit we do when it comes to the court.
(Blue states have one weapon – withhold payments to the federal government. If California, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut were to cut off federal payments – most of which goes to red states – that would be a massive and effective power play, one which comes with risk.)
We will not be saved by the Democratic Party. The party establishment will not play hardball, and when they did under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, it was always through safe, official means. I’m not dogging the party. Organizationally, the Democrats are a political party with an electoral strategy, not a protest movement with the ability to act “outside the box,” and that’s the case no matter who the leaders of the Dems are. The party should be used as a tool, not seen as a savior.
Unions? Nope, our unions are weak and the ones that have influence seem to be shellshocked. Celebrities? Athletes? Nice to have them on our side, but these folks aren’t Sidney Portier, Nina Simone, Muhammed Ali, or Billie Jean King (all who acted within a movement). They tend to be followers who react to what we do.
I am all for economic boycotts, but only as part of a much bigger strategy. By themselves, Do Not Buy days do little. The companies take the hit, knowing that they have their asses covered thanks to the monopolies that they have created. Jeff Bezos is secure in knowing that (in 2021) 74% of his company’s profits came from Amazon Web Services, with ecommerce making up 26%. These people cover their ass-ets.
We look at Tesla’s recent stock tanking and get pleasure knowing that Musk’s car sales are plummeting. We hope that Tesla stockholders will give Musk the shove (not that he’s doing much CEO-ing anyway). And let’s say that happens. Let’s also say that Musk doesn’t give a fuck. He’s got SpaceX and his other toys firmly attached to the government’s tit. Losing control of Tesla might sting his ego, but it – nor its cratering stock – will hurt the man financially.
Some of you are reading this thinking, “Thanks, Soriano, for driving me to day drink!” and if that is you, you aren’t reading what I am saying: These things that we are looking to to save us, not only are they not going to save us, they never were going to save us. Our salvation does not lie with anyone else except for ourselves.
If we want to fight back, we must fight back. We must risk something other than being shadow banned on social media or being called mean names by distant relatives. We must do more than gather in crowds and march down the street. We must look beyond the easy things – boycotts, posting and sharing, shaming and blaming – and take some risks, some serious risks. We must stop asking and begging for change and start demanding it, and our demands must be linked to consequences.
Trump’s first term was marked by two very effective, very powerful extended acts of resistance. Right after Trump took office in his first term, he instituted a ban on Muslims entering the US. Immediately and into February, activists occupied airports, shutting them down, hurting travelers, airlines, and other airport dependent businesses. Activist acted without worrying about blowback (which did not come) or arrest, forcing Trump to back down. Yes, the courts got involved, but what gave the courts’ decisions guff was the airport occupations (and threats for more to come). The occupations came with the consequence of not heeding our demands to not discriminate against Muslims and Arabs.
The second piece of effective resistance was the George Floyd/Breonna Taylor protests of 2020. These protests were much more intense than the airport actions. There were arrests and the blowback was police repression and violence. Still, people kept to the streets. When vigilantes attacked, people refused to abide. Trump sent federal police to suppress protests, an action which only firmed up resistance.
Politicians reacted to the Floyd/Taylor protests by passing police reform legislation, some of it very strong. That much of the reform was rolled back after a few years has more to do with poor organizing by criminal justice activists and stiff reaction by police and their unions, who would have been hurt by reforms (again people acting directly when it is in their interest to do so).
In between the airport and Floyd/Taylor protests? There were some marches, good for showing us how many people were against Trump but seemed to end at organizing more marches. There were scattered protests, which mostly came down to asking our leaders. There was also a whole lot of worrying, building Trump up as a monster, shaming, non-gaslit people complaining about gaslighting, changing social media avatars – all in the name of “resistance,” a claim which would have made Charles De Gaulle throw up in his mouth.
Point is that we were effective when we were actively fighting back in a way that was uncomfortable and demanded that we risk something – which is how this shit works and, as I’ve outlined at the top, has always worked. You don’t get your pudding unless you et your meat.
This is not a bad thing, no, not at all. It is – if we chose to act – is a good thing, no, a great thing. If the middle class’s ass is getting chewed up, the middle class must rise up and save its ass. If federal workers are taking the hit, they must stand up and take a risk. The same goes with anyone impacted directly by these goons.
We don’t do this in isolation. We find common cause, which is easy because there is a lot of very broad-based common causes. We coordinate. We back each other up. If you find your interests outside the scrum or a bit abstract, you act in solidarity. And, through all this, we become a threat.
None of this is easy. None of this will escape blowback. But it is the only way out of this. Simply worrying and waiting for others to act isn’t going to do it. And it is certainly not going to create the foundation needed for us to build and rebuild after we beat the bastards back.