January 20, 2017, 12:02pm: “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
Well, he’s the President now.
But that doesn’t mean our fight is over. It means our fight is only just beginning. What you do EVERY SINGLE DAY of the next four years is important. The next two years, leading up to midterm elections, potentially even more important. So how do you keep resisting a Trump presidency? Here are some suggestions.
- Sign up for the Daily Actions text updates or Facebook page, and look out for the daily recommendation for what to do. The actions are usually things like calling your members of congress on a specific issue, and generally take less than 5 minutes to complete. But multiplied tens of thousands of times across all the members in the group, it makes a difference.
- Continue to vote with your wallet. The #GrabYourWallet boycottGrabYourWallet boycott highlights retailers that still have Trump family products on their shelves. Boycott these stores, share on Twitter when you shop elsewhere, and write to your retailers to tell them how you feel.
- Fight fake news on Facebook. When you see fake news, go to the divot icon in the top right corner of the post, and click “report post” then choose “it’s a fake news story.” Facebook will then review the content.
- Fight the profitability of fake news sites like Breitbart, by asking their advertisers to drop the site. Here’s news on this effort, and the primary group behind the effort, plus instructions on how to participate. (Note: their focus is on Breitbart, but you can do this with any hateful fake news site that runs ads, which is most of them.)
Fight the profitability of fake news sites, by asking Google to drop the site from their ad network. To do this, go to any site, and look for the icons shown here to the left in the upper right corner of the ads. Hover over the triangle icon until the words “adchoices” show up, then click on them. Then scroll to the bottom of the page, click “the issues were with the website” and then choose “The site promotes racial intolerance, or advocacy against an individual, group, or organization.” You can do this daily.
- March. Join the Women’s March on Washington, Women’s March on Austin, or any of the hundreds of sister marches taking place across the entire world tomorrow, January 20th, 2017. While you’re there, interact with community groups and give them your contact info so they can alert you to other upcoming events as well. Remember: the March is just the start. You have to keep the momentum going.
- If you can’t make it to a march because of your own personal situation or a conflict, consider sponsoring a marcher through NARAL.
- If you can’t make it to a march because you (or a loved one who you are the caretaker for) have a disability, join the Online Disability March.
- Preserve the ACA. Call your congressional representatives and tell them why the ACA matters to you, and demand no repeal without replacement. Remember that personal stories matter more than reading a script.
- Continue to donate to good organizations that have promised to fight, like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and many others. Bonus points if you set up a recurring donation.
- If you haven’t already, consider joining one of the many (often unlisted) local action groups on Facebook that sprung up out of the decline of the Pantsuit Nation Facebook group. To join, reach out to whomever your most politically active liberal friend is, and see if they’re a member. Chances are they are, and can add you.
- Sign up for the email newsletter list of your representatives at the local, state, and national level. (Yes, even if they’re Republicans. Especially if they’re Republicans.) Keep your eyes out for emails about Town Hall events. Attend, ask them questions, and force them to answer for what they’re doing. You can use this site to find who represents you, then navigate to their website to find the email sign up.
- Figure out what non-partisan news sources or websites are reporting on your local politics. These can often be overshadowed by the national news, or sensationalist issues only. In Austin, for example, the Austin Monitor reports on the happenings around City Council, and Community Impact News often does deep dives on things like local bond measures. At the state level, the Texas Tribune reports on what’s happening in the State Leg, and also features frequent events where you can confront your legislators in person as well. Add these local sites to your daily reading list, and support them monetarily if possible.
- Try to find balance. It can be overwhelming to feel like you alone are responsible for taking on the establishment. So look for support and action groups that share your views. Take time out to celebrate all the little non-political things: birthdays, promotions, days with nice weather, great meals, firsts, etc. And don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day (or even a few days) of being active. Just recommit yourself to the process of fighting back and start again. The worst thing you can do, as Obama has often reminded us, is to grow cynical and stop trying.
- Send a message of thanks to Barack and Michelle Obama for all they did, via their new website. We all know they deserve it.
Want more things you can do? You can re-read my earlier posts on 44 Things You Should Do If You’re Disappointed in the Election and 22 MORE Things You Should Do If You’re Disappointed in the Election.
