The next four years are going to be a constant assault against all of the progress made in the past hundred years by women, minorities, LGBTQ folks, immigrants and democracy itself. Everyone who knows me knows exactly how I feel about the impending Trump Presidency, the NC GOP attempt to steal the Governor’s office, and just about everything else. There are times (daily) when I feel bad about my constant posts & tweets about these things. Not bad enough to quit, though!
Not everyone can, or wants to be, this public about their political views.
• “I’m an introvert and don’t feel comfortable putting myself out there.”
• “Making my political views public will get me fired.”
• “It’s not safe for me to talk about opposing Trump.”
Here are 5 concrete ways that you can actively, but privately, protest the Trump/Alt-Right/GOP takeover of America:
1. Money Talks.
There are many organizations that are actively fighting against Donald Trump’s outrageous appointments, horrendous policy proposals, blatant flouting of the Constitution and implicit support of hate groups. This is expensive work and they need you to put your money where your mouth can’t be!
Y’all, get out your credit cards and set up monthly recurring donations to organizations such as:
• ACLU
• Anti-Defamation League
• Black Lives Matter
• Common Cause
• Council on American-Islamic Relations
• The Democratic Party
• Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Human Rights Campaign
• Lambda Legal
• NAACP
• National Resources Defense Fund
• Planned Parenthood
• Rape Abuse & Incest National Network
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Stand with Standing Rock
2. Write letters and make phone calls. #CallEveryDay #calltime
Download Emily Ellsworth’s ‘Call the Halls Guide’ HERE
If you feel both infuriated and impotent by the constant stream of news about the Trump University settlement, Nazi salutes to Trump, women who’ve been sexually assaulted by Trump, <insert every news story I’ve read in the past weeks>, then it’s time to make some calls!
• Call To Action — A brand new, super-easy web app that connects you with your Congressional representative with just a tap.
• WhoIsMyRepresentative.com — This site will help you see who represents you in Congress, as well as just give you the whole damn list.
• You can also call your state legislators, Governor’s office, and whoever else is involved in the Horror of the Day. It takes 2 minutes and makes a huge difference. Google them and then Call. Every. Day!
3. Sign Up To Do What You Can
There are many action-oriented sites that have sprung up in the last few weeks. Here are several that I’ve signed up on:
• The Donald J. Trump Resistance by Shaun King — Join the Resistance.
• FightTrump.co — Civic action and education, made simple.
• Holy Fuck The Election — First things first, are you okay?
• Wall-Of-Us — Subscribe to get four concrete actions per week.
• What Do I Do About Trump? — Trump has said some scary stuff. Use these resources to help all people be prepared.
4. Stay Informed
One of the reasons why Trump was able to win this election (if not the popular vote) is because people depend on social media headlines and snippets — which are often fake or misleading — instead of being fully informed about the issues. This is why I love listening to high quality, intelligent podcasts with in-depth discussions on the issues. Sure, they may spend a few minutes talking about Pence at Hamilton or SNL, but the majority of the conversations focus on the real-world implications of having someone like Senator Jeff Sessions as our next Attorney General or what Trump’s conflicts of interest will mean once he’s President. All that other stuff is just a distraction and plays directly into Steve Bannon’s strategies for deflecting attention away from what’s really important.
Here are my favorites:
• Keepin It 1600 with Jon Favreau
• FiveThirtyEight Politics
• Slate’s TrumpCast
• The Run-Up by The Failing New York Times
• Vox’s The Weeds
• NPR’s Code Switch
• In The Thick
• The Pollsters
• Politico’s Nerdcast
• Radiolab Presents More Perfect
• WUNC’s The State of Things
5. Offer Moral Support To Your Vocal Friends
As one of those people who often feels like I’m shouting into the wind, I sometimes wonder if any of my protests are worth it. But at least once a day, I’ll get a call or a message from a friend asking, “How are you doing?” These friends send me funny gifs, listen to my rants, ask me over for coffee, and help me feel like I’m not alone in this fight. Believe me, a hug and an “I love you, grrrl” goes a long way in times like these.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is reprinted here with permission. Top photo via thehotness.com
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Patti Mulligan is currently at the NC Democratic Party, where she spent the last 5 months as the Operations liaison to the Hillary Clinton campaign. After years of trying (unsuccessfully) to ‘tone it down a little’, she left the nonprofit sector and returned to progressive politics where she can be herself (mostly). Patti lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and two young daughters, who cried with her after Hillary lost. She also has an identical twin sister, to which people always reply, "My God, there's TWO of you?!" She does what she can to maintain balance in her life with running, yoga, writing and meditation. You can follow her on Twitter at @chachina, Medium //medium.com/@patti.mulligan" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(233, 0, 123)">@patti.mulligan and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/pattimulligan.
