We are living through a quite frankly terrifying and potentially post-constitutional moment in history right now. The power of the president has never been stronger. The checks and balances in our government have never been weaker. And whenever any government starts disappearing people, things are going to get worse before they get better. Donald Trump’s second term is no different in that regard. I’ve been involved in political activism, advocacy, and organizing since I was six years old (maybe younger), and lately, I’ve been reading. A lot. So here’s a guide on how to organize and support your local communities going forward.
DO: Make sure you are familiar with local resources – particularly those who provide resources and shelter to high-risk groups, such as immigrants (of any immigration status) or queer and trans youth. Keep a list of their contact information, or if possible, even have some brochures for these organizations. If you are in a position to do so, donate or provide other resources to support them.
DON’T: Focus on long-term protests or demonstrations. When I say this, I mean things like Amazon boycotts or the proposed 24/7 sit-in of the Mall of America. This might be one of my more controversial takes, but these won’t do much right now. The companies will be able to weather the storm, especially when you consider the number of people who won’t or can’t participate. And sit-ins like that will just make life harder for employees without meaningful policy or visibility change (they’re easy to ignore). These won’t be useful.
DO: Refocus the impacts of short-term protests. I stand by my take that these won’t have much policy impact. However, large-scale and short-term protests, such as the Women’s March and Pride Parades, can still show support for and solidarity with at-risk minorities. It also would help to disguise and thereby protect the people marching for themselves, making it harder to target them specifically.
DON’T: Post pictures or media of the protests you do go to. The Trump administration used these to identify and arrest demonstrators during the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests. We can only assume they’ll do so again.
DO: Stay informed and educated. I mean this in the sense of reading up on history and the theory of similar events that have happened before. What did they do then? What can we do now? Also, if a book looks likely to get banned, make sure you read it and make sure you know why it’s getting banned.
DON’T: Stress about keeping up with the day-to-day news cycle. This is a one-way street to burnout for many people. We’re in this for the long haul. If the news stresses you on the day-to-day, then don’t worry about the day-to-day news.
DO: Track the Kilmar Abrego Garcia court case and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, and any legal challenges to it. I know what I said above. This is the time to make the exception. Whether or not the Trump administration complies with the court orders to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s safe return from El Salvador’s CECOT prison will be a litmus test for if they follow court orders moving forward. And the SAVE Act has the potential to disenfranchise over 70 million married women alone – before considering any other populations impacted. That’s almost as many people as voted for Trump or Kamala Harris last November. These two are big.
DO: Vote in local and (in particular) off-cycle elections. Increasingly, local elections are becoming more important. From cities declaring themselves sanctuary cities for various minorities on the left to Steve Bannon’s precinct strategy for delegitimizing elections on the right, localities are increasingly important political battlegrounds. Make sure you vote for the community you want to live in.
DO: If you are in a position to do so, sign up for, run for, or volunteer for local election positions. Become a poll worker or watcher. Make sure your elections run smoothly.
DO: Call your representatives. Save their contact information in your phone. These are annoying and are your best way to get your voice heard.
DON’T: E-mail your representative, especially if through a form email on a website. These get lost much more easily and are much less likely to be read than a call (or even a voicemail) is to be listened to. Save your time and focus on more effective contact methods.
DO: Know who your local notary is. If you are in a position to do so, consider becoming a notary yourself. Increasingly, legal documentation is becoming a central battleground of policy change (especially for stuff like the SAVE Act). Making sure you have the proper documentation and certification will become increasingly important. Knowing who your notary is can help yourself and becoming one can help your community.
DON’T: Stockpile (most) supplies. We all remember the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020. There’s no need to repeat that. Unless you have specific reason to believe that a certain type of supply you rely on is likely to disappear, don’t stockpile. Make sure there’s enough to go around for everyone.
DO: Shop locally, if you are in a position to do so. I know this can be more expensive, and especially in a cost-of-living crisis, it won’t be an option for everyone. But if you can, then support your community, and particularly minority-owned businesses.
DO: Swap skills with people you know. Is there someone who can sew, and is willing to repair clothes or teach others how to? Is there someone who loves to cook and is willing to share sourdough starter? Is there someone who can knit or crochet and is willing to make hats, scarves, or gloves? Share these with those around you to support each other.
DO: Consider starting a garden (especially for things like herbs that tend to be more expensive but can also be effectively grown in a small pot). This is cost-saving, healthy, and tastes better. Not everyone can have a large garden, but most people can have a potted plant or two at least.
DO: Take care of your health – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or whatever other form this takes. As with the one about news cycles, avoiding burnout will be critical. However, there are some very specific steps for physical health you should take. If you are on any type of hormone treatment (regardless of what it is for), talk with your doctor about getting extra medication. If you are on birth control, consider switching to an IUD, or other methods that would be harder to legislate away once you have it. If you are worried about getting pregnant, consider getting Plan B in advance to hold onto it, and definitely stock up on pregnancy tests. If you use alternative methods of mental health treatment (such as marijuana), talk with your doctor about other management methods. If you are worried about the future of your insurance coverage, get into a doctor as soon as possible – even if just for a routine check-up. Regardless of your individual situation, make sure you’re up-to-date on your vaccines. Have masks or things like Covid-19 rapid tests on hand. Make sure you have a first aid kit (if possible, have a larger one where you live, and a smaller travel-sized one you carry around). Keep over-the-counter medications up to date. Make sure things like thermometers work. If you are in a position to do so, get some basic training (such as first aid, CPR, or the Heimlich maneuver). Given we have a vaccine conspiracy theorist leading the FDA, your health is probably one of the times to consider stockpiling if appropriate.
DO: Keep a list of the major mental health hotlines. This goes with both the above point but also the first one I raised. Make sure you know who is providing them, what populations they are for, and what the phone number is. Also, do your research to make sure these organizations have the best interest of the callers at heart. Especially for abortion, many call centers or local clinics have the explicit intent to talk a pregnant person out of having one, regardless of what is the best choice for their situation.
DO: Have an exit plan, particularly if you are in a high-risk group to be targeted. Know what countries are safe for you to move to. If you are eligible for citizenship in another country, consider applying. Many places have processes for the descendants of citizens in particular.
DON’T: Leave immediately. This is probably my other hottest take, but unless you believe that you, as an individual, are likely to be targeted, stay put for now. Once you leave, coming back might not be possible. Only leave if you are in a position where the risk of not returning is less dangerous than the risk of remaining.
DON’T: Be silent or go into hiding. Okay, some common sense caveats – if you’re an illegal immigrant, don’t be public about it, that sort of thing. However, for everyone else, stay present, stay loud, and resist these attempts to silence us.
DO: Limit usage of social media. There are a lot of good reasons for this – from denying revenue to large companies, to protecting your mental health, to avoiding outing at-risk people to the government (see social media at protests), to avoiding the risk of doxxing. However, right now, the biggest one is that it lets you reconnect with the local communities that will be lifelines right now.
DON’T: Do anything that would put you at individual risk. Don’t post about your immigration status online. Don’t update a gender marker to “X,” even if you live in a state where that’s legal. Some group risk, such as violent response to protest, is unavoidable. But protect yourself.
DO: Work with a community to appropriate MAGA. This is not a joke. There are places right now that are working to make (for example) rainbow baseball caps that say, “MAKE AMERICA GAY AGAIN”. We have reclaimed terms before, and we can do it again. If we claim something as ours, it’s harder for MAGA to keep it as theirs.
DO: Consider alternative methods of living to promote energy sustainability when it is viable to do so. Use public transportation rather than private. Shop from farmer’s markets, not grocery stores. Thrift, don’t buy new. Donate, don’t trash. Take care of our world for tomorrow, not just today.
DO: Vote in the next national elections – midterms and presidential. It is naïve to think voting will solve all our problems. It’s still worth doing, though.
We’ve passed the point of “get out the vote” and nomination power. We’re out of the post-election and pre-inauguration preparation phase. We’ve seen how far this administration is willing to move, and fast, by implementing policies such as ending birthright citizenship. We’ve witnessed the massive centralization of power via the reinstitution of Schedule F. Now, we’re all watching the Abrego Garcia case to determine one of two outcomes: will the courts maintain some amount of power, or are we in a post-constitutional moment? And even if we survive this challenge (which I’m not optimistic about), we still have three years and eight months for them to cross that one remaining line.
And in either world – one where we are in a post-constitutional dictatorship and the other where we are clinging to the threads of democracy – the power to decide which isn’t up to us. It isn’t. I’m sorry. At this point, this is between the administration and the courts (and maybe the will of a future Congress to impeach, if they get their act together). The time for large scale organizing is over. The ways we are going to get through this is by reinforcing your local communities. Together, we will persist. And I hope this list of potential action steps helps provide some guidance for moving forward.