12 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO RESIST TRUMP AND DEFEND DEMOCRACY

 

  1. Protest nonviolently. The women’s marches and the spontaneous rallies at the airports were great examples. Be creative and visual: Greenpeace’s “resist” sign behind the White House is a good example.
  2. Join organizations that are under assault. Planned Parenthood. Council on American-Islamic Relations. Standing Rock protesters. Labor unions. Environmental groups. Immigrant rights groups.
  3. Join organizations that are strategizing on how to resist. ACLU, Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, interfaith groups, and others.
  4. Sign petitions against hate and pledge solidarity and nonviolent resistance. Sign a petition that pledges you to nonviolently resist Trump’s assaults on our democratic rights and to offer solidarity to groups that are challenging him and support to individuals in his cross-hairs. At the very least, if you’re in Wisconsin, sign a petition against hate at www.ResistHateWI.com
  5. If you’re religious, involve your church or temple in the efforts to confront Trump. Almost everyone has a social justice branch that you can climb on to.
  6. Contact your own legislators, especially if they are Republican. See Indivisibleguide.com on how to do this most effectively.
  7. Write letters to the editor. Make one point clearly, without too much anger.
  8. Talk to reasonable people who voted for Trump but now may regret it or at least have an open mind. Remember: Not all of them have Confederate flags on their bumpers. Many Trump voters are decent people who felt jilted by the system and wanted to register a protest vote against it.
  9. Engage in, or support, art and music and poetry of resistance. Sometimes you can reach a lot more people this way.
  10. Watch “Democracy Now!” or go to robertreich.org or other progressive media outlets to keep informed. Do not watch a lot of politics on Cable TV. (It will only depress you.)
  11. Study Fascism and share information widely—on social media and in person. Read Robert Paxton’s “The Anatomy of Fascism.” Read Erich Fromm’s “Escape from Freedom.” Re-read “1984.”
  12. Protest with friends. It’s crucial to do this political work with people you like, people who are kind and funny, people who know how to relax and have a good time on top of doing the protest work. They will sustain you. Remember Howard Zinn’s advice: “To live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Matt Rothschild, Director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

To learn more about Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Matt will come to your community to speak. You can email him at

rothschild@wisdc.org