On why we need to think strategically and not always be reactionary: Moving forward in the resistance, on movement building and Collective Liberation in this moment

As the Trump Administration attempts to dismantle various US programs, is threatening to target organizations and movements that have been resisting for years, and wants to adopt policies that will primarily benefit the Capitalist Class, we need to be care about just reacting and think more strategic.

Before I talk about what kind of resistance and strategies we could be engaging in, it is absolutely necessary to talk about what does not work and what we can not rely on, especially if we are serious about resistance work and collective liberation.

When the Democrats go to a fight they show up with a switch-blade, the Republican show up with a howitzer

If your first reaction is to center the strategy of electoral politics, then I believe we will continue to make the same mistakes. If you believe that the Democratic Party will save us, then you will be disappointed. Just look at how weak and shallow the Democratic Party has been since the inauguration. The majority of Trump’s nominees have been approved, which means too many Democrats voted for those nominees. Democrats have also voted with Republicans to support Legislation that will do harm, especially to vulnerable communities and communities that are being targeted. (See the Laken Riley Act vote)

More importantly, the Democratic Party doesn’t seem to learn from their failures. They elected Ken Martin as the new DNC chair and in his first speech after winning that position, Martin said that there are “good billionaires.” Such sentiment is both naive and shows that the DNC doesn’t have the kind of class consciousness that will challenge nor dismantle the system of Capitalism. There is no such thing as a good billionaire. 

The Democrats simply want to blame 3rd Party voters or those that chose to not vote, rather than to actually listen to its base and develop a platform that moves us to collective liberation. Just look at what happened during the Biden Administration:

• There were more deportations in the last four years than there were during the first Trump Administration.
• The Biden Administration approved more fossil fuel extractions on US soil than the Trump Administration did.
• The wealth gap has expanded during the Biden Administration, especially amongst the Billionaire Class.
• The Biden Administration increased US military funding every year for the past 4 years.
• The Biden Administration increased funding for policing, even in the era of Black Lives Matter.
• The Biden Administration was completely and utterly complicit in the war crimes and genocidal policies of Israel, refusing to end weapons sales to Israel, being complicit in allowing Israel to block humanitarian aid to Gaza and always voting against most of the rest of the world when the United Nations condemned what Israel was doing. 
• The Biden Administration was not only silent, but did not actively oppose the repression of the US campus Pro-Palestine movement.
• Rent increases went up during the Biden Administration, which did very little to address the current US housing crisis. 

This list could be longer, but you get they point. Still, people are falling for the let’s get behind the electoral plans of the Democrats and the banality of the Democrats calling what they are doing as resistance. I call BULLSHIT. The 50 States, 50 Capitals protest that happened last week, even though the memes for this event did not provide a source for who was behind it, should have been a red flag for what was happening. I tracked down who was behind it, which there were three main groups, the 50501Movement, Political Revolution and Protest for Human Rights. All three of these groups are primarily pushing the electoral politics as a strategy, plus to advocate for business as usual approaches to systemic change.

Then there are events like the one that happened in Michigan for February 15, where they are inviting people to “join the Resistance.” Look at the list of orgs that were part of this virtual summit, all of which are 501-C3 groups that have historically collaborated with the Democratic Party and wouldn’t know the first thing about what real resistance looks like.

Thinking strategically to practice resistance, engage in movement building and fighting for Collective Liberation

When people went to the 50 States, 50 Capitals protest, what was the goal, and what were the strategies and tactics that were used. As far as I can tell, people were protesting a broad range of Trump’s Executive Orders, but to what end? There is nothing wrong with voicing opposition to the Executive Orders, but standing in front of the capital in Lansing makes no sense. Why not have people show up at federal buildings or the offices and homes of members of the US House or US Senate? However, even that isn’t sufficient.

Here are are some suggestions about moving forward, especially if we are about more than opposing the Trump Administration.

First, this is not just about Trump and Musk! Sure, these people are awful and despicable human beings, but we have to focus on systems of power and systems of oppression if we are ever going to fundamentally change things. The list of things that happened during the Biden Administration that I mentioned earlier, were also awful shit, causing tremendous harm, but where was the outcry and the sense of urgency then? Why just now? I think part of it is that white people are starting to worry about certain dynamics, but for BIPOC people, immigrants, working class poor, queer & trans people, and people with disabilities, this been an ongoing shit show of harm. As Noam Chomsky points out in this video interview (from 2003), every US President since WWII could be tried for War Crimes. The horror that the US practices domestically and internationally has been a constant.

Second, we can’t just be reactive to what is happening, we have to think about what we really want. We can’t just want to get rid of Trump and Musk, we have to start thinking about, practicing radical imagination, then strategize and organize around what we really want, not just what we are against.

Third, we should think more critically about the memes and information being shared on social media. There have been memes that are used calling for protest, without knowing who is behind them or any serious investigation of who is behind them. For example, there is an Economic Blackout being called for February 28. The website calling for this used to be the people’s union, but they founder of this group changed it to this,  https://theonecalledjai.com/. Yes, John Schwartz says he started this movement, a businessman who likes to meditate. Movements aren’t created by those with privilege, they come out of the collective lived experienced of people who have been oppressed. Now, I’m not saying that boycotts or economic strikes is a bad thing, but we should be looking to movements that have been doing boots on the ground work for decades or longer, to see what they are advocating and then support that.

Fourth, we need to learn from the history of social movements, along with paying attention to the current movements for radical social change and collective liberation, not people who are just pissed off about Trump. For example, in Grand Rapids, the immigrant-led group Movimiento Cosecha GR, which began in 2017, is part of the national movement that is immigrant led and began during the Obama years after that administration deported millions of their family members. Beginning in 2017, Movimiento Cosecha GR saw lots of allies join the fight, but just as soon as Biden was elected, people abandoned that movement. Why? The Biden Administration continued many of the same anti-immigrant policies that existed under Trump, but without the rhetoric. The first action that Movimiento Cosecha GR took after the 2020 Election, was to hang a banner near City Hall in GR, a banner that said, “Democrats deport us too.”

Fifth, we need to acknowledge that no significant economic, political or social change has ever happened in the US because of politicians. Social change has always happened when organized social movements force politicians to adopt policies. The end of chattel slavery was because of the decades of Black-led resistance; plantation revolts, the Underground Railroad, creating networks of solidarity and self-care; which also included white allies who provided financial support, used media and created safe houses for those fleeing slavery. Labor conditions for workers did not change because of bosses, but because of strikes, work stoppages, and the creation of labor unions. Jim Crow era policies did not change because of politicians, but because of the BlackFreedom Struggle/Civil Rights Movement that forced America to adopt political and economic policies that Black people demanded. 

I was recently talking about this the other day with Movimiento Cosecha organizers, since the last time a sitting president adopted a sweeping immigration policy that was beneficial to undocumented immigrants, was 1986, during the Reagan Administration, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This immigration policy provided amnesty for approximately 2.7 million immigrants that were in the US as undocumented. The reasons why this happened is because there was a robust Central American Solidarity Movement. There were roughly 400 Sanctuaries across the US for Central Americans fleeing US-sponsored and funded counter-insurgency wars, there a Sister Cities Movement, there were thousands of people from the US going to do either solidarity work in Central America or fact finding missions that helped to change the public conversation about what was happening in Central America. There was the national Pledge of Resistance, where people pledged to do Civil Disobedience, there was Veterans for Peace, Pastors for Peace and there was the blow back from the Iran Contra scandal. All of these things made it possible for the  Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to be adopted.

Sixth, those of us who have lots of privilege need to make sure that the voices of those who are most marginalized are now centered and amplified. I was having a conversation with someone from Indivisible Greater Grand Rapids the other day and they were saying to me that they would like to see younger people and people of color join their movement. I responded by saying that this has always been the problem of white-led movements. White people need to stop thinking this way and start learning from BIPOC communities, immigrants, queer & trans people, people with disabilities, and the working class poor. We need to find out what kind of support these communities and movements want from us, if anything, and then leverage our privilege to benefit their struggles and their demands. 

Seventh, when we develop strategies, we need to start using tactics that do not perpetuate business as usual. For everyone who thinks that going to visit with politicians and telling them what you think is going to actually change anything, then you haven’t been paying attention. People should be occupying the offices of politicians, disrupting commission meetings and engaging in creative demonstrations at the homes of those who claim to be public servants. More importantly, we need to once again learn from previous social movements and utilize tactics that threaten systems of power and oppression. We need to disrupt business as usual, we need to make sure that the grinding machine of Capitalism comes to a halt. 

Lastly, it is fairly common for people to compare what the Trump Administration is doing to what the Nazi Party did in Germany. If you believe this – there are some similarities – then maybe we all need to start acting like the Germans who resisted the Nazi Party. In other words, we need to think more about getting out of our comfort zones and start taking risks. No meaningful social change ever cam about without people taking risks. If you truly believe we are experiencing a coup and living under a dictator, then we need to take risks. Engaging in symbolic protests will not get us very far, not if we want real change. It’s time for us to stop be reactive and starting fight for what we want. Another World is Possible!