I recently received an email from a reader who suggested one very concrete step we individuals can take to resist a threatened action of the Trump administration–in this case, the determination to deport millions of immigrants and the likelihood that those carrying out that mission will be unconcerned with distinguishing between undocumented folks and people here legally.My correspondent noted that Thom Hartman and Heather Cox Richardson had recently made him aware of some “dark American history” that he had not previously known. (I had been equally unaware of these details.) Apparently, during the deportations of Mexican immigrants that occurred under Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower, a large percentage of those deported were American citizens who were unable to instantly prove their citizenship, and– once deported– were unable to obtain the documentation of their citizenship that would have allowed them to return.According to my correspondent, Trump’s announced choice for the head of ICE, Tom Homan, who had been the initiator of the “family separation” policy in Trump’s first term, was asked how he would prevent those atrocities from recurring. His horrifying response was that “we will just deport the entire families.” Problem solved…In the wake of that response, my correspondent’s proposal made all kinds of sense.Many of us know, and are friends of potential targets of this deportation campaign. My suggestion is that we start spreading the word with these friends that they actively acquire their proof of citizenship and make multiple copies of such which they entrust to those of us who don’t share names that put us on the deportation list.Then, if the worst happens and they are deported, they can contact us to get their documents sent to them, or brought to them before they get deported.I think this is an excellent suggestion. It has the benefit of simplicity–it’s an action that doesn’t require special skills or knowledge, and it has the further merit of being something concrete, an act that can help overcome the feelings of helplessness so many of us have been experiencing.Those of us who don’t have friends in these communities can help by spreading the word–posting the suggestion to social media platforms and telling our coworkers, friends and families.This is precisely the sort of suggestion we need–not tears, not undirected angst, not pontification and finger-pointing. We need to identify direct actions–like the one my reader suggested– that individuals can take to resist the coming unAmerican deluge.As we emerge from the despair and disbelief of the election–as we face the probability that at least some of the clowns, know-nothings, Russian “useful idiots” and Christian Nationalists being proposed for high-level government posts will actually be confirmed–we need to gather. We need to meet in the civic forums we already patronize, and in the many grass-roots organizations that were created in the wake of Trump’s first election. When we gather, we need to focus on concrete steps we can take to blunt the effects of what will inevitably be an immensely ugly time.A friend who is a Quaker pastor tells me that his congregation met and decided to raise funds for women needing to travel for abortions. Groups of lawyers–including but not limited to those in the ACLU–are planning strategic legal actions. Governors of Blue states are conferring about state-level protections for their citizens, and grassroots groups are meeting to map out actions they can take.Those dedicated groups that generated some 80 million postcards to voters might turn their efforts toward producing a continuing avalanche of letters to Senators of both parties (but especially Republicans) to send–and reinforce– a message: we’re watching and keeping score, and we’ll be ready when you run for re-election.Most people who regularly comment on this blog are demonstrably bright and thoughtful. So are a number of the “lurkers” that I know. If any of you have concrete suggestions like the one my reader shared–actions that each of us can take to protect the vulnerable, to educate and inform the public, and above all, to throw sand in the gears of the Kakistocracy…please send those suggestions this way. Demonstrations and petitions and posts to social media may make us feel better, may help with morale, but they aren’t a substitute for active resistance.Think. And share. And maybe, if enough of us do enough, throw enough sand, thwart enough abject stupidity, we can help America emerge from the coming Dark Age relatively intact.
A jaundiced look at the world we live in.
Thank you Sheila fie some solid suggestions of actions we can take.
More solid than just opinions offered.
This is a good suggestion about copying and sharing documents. Thanks, Sheila.
Another suggestion I read this morning is for people to not use his name…only refer to him as “45”. Also, when criticizing the coming behavior of 45’s administration we refer to it not as HIS but as the Republicans, as in “I see the Republicans rounded up more Hispanic babies”. The responsibility then falls on the cowardly whole and not just the crazy one.
One last thing. For most of my adult life I have studied the rise of Nazi Germany trying to understand how and why it happened. The past eight years have given me the answers. I have vowed that I will not stand by should any government officials try to round up and take away my neighbors. I refuse to be a “good German”.
As Gandhi taught, “Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty.”
With what we know lies ahead for all of us, duplicating copies of our important documents sounds like a good idea; we can be assured that we will need protection from the coming administration in ways we haven’t yet considered. Long ago I read a biographical book about Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman’s married years; they created a housing development in southern California which included a grandfathered clause that no Mexican would ever be allowed to live in that development. That is the only thing I remember from that book, one of many biographies of celebrities I read. Are there statistics of immigration issues under Reagan’s administration?
In a related legislative initiative, pay attention to HR 9495. If loosely interpreted by the next administration if this bill is passed, any non-profit running interference to protect innocent newcomers to our country could be at risk of losing their charitable status and access to essential authority to even exist.
Read this summary from Rogan’s List published yesterday:
PROTECT NON-PROFITS AND THE RIGHT TO DISSENT
Last week, the House narrowly defeated the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495). Part of the bill would give the Treasury Secretary, who is appointed by the President, the power to label any non-profit organization a “terrorist-supporting organization” and remove its tax-exempt status. While on its face, the intent may seem harmless, the language of the bill does not define “terrorist-supporting organization,” does not include oversight or due-process, and puts the designation of “terrorist supporting organization” at the Treasury Secretary’s discretion. Material support for foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) is already prohibited, further making this bill unnecessary, and more likely a tool to be used by the Executive Branch to punish non-profits and activists it disagrees with. When the bill was voted on last Tuesday, over 52 Democrats voted in favor, and it lost on a tw0-thirds vote. On Thursday, the bill was reintroduced, and it is expected to be brought to the House floor today, Monday, November 17th and only needing a simple majority to pass. If passed,
groups wouldn’t be able to collect donations, pay staff, or get banking services and the administration wouldn’t have to provide even an explanation. This is part of the revenge work the administration has promised. Let’s contact our representative and tell them that we want them to protect the right to dissent and prevent the abuse of power in the Executive Branch by voting “no” on H.R. 9495. We can contact them directly via phone or email, or use the form emails available at Indivisible or the ACLU or the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.
I am reading a book titled “How We Win: a Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning” by George Lakey, and recommend it. The book outlines methods and strategies that have been proven successful in direct campaigns, and has lessons learned from unsuccessful ones. Lots of good ideas.
Excellent advice. Another excellent piece of advice I’ve seen is to encourage all gay married couples to make sure that they have their estate documents in order so that their partner is their power of attorney, health care representative, etc., by name as an individual in case their marriage is voided. Make sure your bank accounts list the other person as the beneficiary if you have separate finances.
This is absolutely necessary, especially in states like Indiana that never updated their laws after the Obergafell decision. If Obergafell is overturned as Roe was (and Justice Thomas in Dobbs clearly stated it should be), then this 1997 statute will immediately take effect:
IC 31-11-1-1 Same sex marriages prohibited
Sec. 1. (a) Only a female may marry a male. Only a male may marry a female.
(b) A marriage between persons of the same gender is void in Indiana even if the marriage is lawful in the place where it is solemnized.
[Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-7-1-2.]
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.198-1997, SEC.1.
Many have friends or family who suffer from addiction of one type or another that is life-threatening. An age-old question is, what is the best way to help them? Let them learn by experiencing the consequences or force them into an intervention.
It also applies to the formerly united States.
A person is either alive or dead. A country dies a person at a time. Many of the people are in denial of reality.
One means of resistance is to let the country die one person at a time until the electorate can save the day because, one at a time, the people become woke.
What will be the chaos on the next election day in two years? Will the country be damaged enough to fix it the way it died by resurrecting Congress?
Good advice!
Theresa Bowers gave us the blueprint of our future; if you don’t see it you haven’t been paying attention the past 9-10 years with Trump’s steady rise in power. We don’t have to wait for notices of new laws and decrees to be posted in public as the Nazis did in Germany; they are sent into our homes via the media on our computers, our cell phones and the 24/7 sources of news at our fingertips.
We didn’t believe any foreign country would have the balls to attack America on our home ground; then 9/11 happened and we were all astounded that it was possible. Bush’s Patriot Act was his solution which opened the way for Trump to begin action on his hints at a presidential run. We have spent 40 years watching Trump’s rise in the business world and his sexual escapades on our daily news; the people I warned in 2016 about the probability of Trump taking the White House are still unbelieving that he is returning with more power to pick up where he left off. His criminal convictions and watching the January 6th Insurrection he openly plotted in the the media and pointed the Insurrectionists way to the Capital Building…and still the do not believe it is happening.
Our “Active Resistance…” is late in this political war and Democrats are still more concerned with their internal battles rather than the war they are in.
Thank you for this today. Great advice. Please keep it coming!
We are now the Resistance! I have pledged myself to make at least one contact (letter, email or phone) each day to either express my opposition to Trump’s policies or to support those resisting them. Start with Trump’s absurd cabinet picks. If we all do this, we could flood the zone with our opinions and help turn the tide in the midterms and beyond. I started yesterday by contacting Senator Todd Young and urging him to insist on investigations and hearings for all Trump’s cabinet nominee. It’s a small step, but if just 1000 of us do it for a year, that’s 36,5000 contacts.
Here is where you can find out if your congressperson voted for that bill: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024458
JoAnn, don’t forget that Obama had a mandate for change and could have easily reversed the Patriot Act but only expanded it and used it more than any other POTUS. The POTUS works for the oligarchy.
Well over 100 oil executives were invited and given the red carpet treatment at COP29. Al Gore is mad as hell and wants future COPs to be held in non-petro states. It may be too late for COP.
The attack on nonprofit organizations is a psychological projection – an admission of guilt by the GOP. They abuse nonprofits more than anybody, funneling campaign cash and lobbying efforts through fake nonprofits. Koch’s entire dark network comprises nonprofits so that the oligarchs can take tax deductions on political efforts. It’s also why the IRS has been attacked over the years. It will get pummeled under Trump.
Also, don’t forget that Project 2025 specifically talks about the nonprofit status of NPR and PBS. Any critical news about Trump or his administration will be met with attacks on their corporate structure.
As for the deportation of brown immigrants, I like the proactivity. However, I’ve read that much of the hype around immigrants was used to arouse voters’ bigotry and that nothing will be done due to the oligarchy using them as cheap labor in a variety of industries. They may have to do a small sampling in Texas and maybe Arizona, but that will be it. We shall see…
Great ideas, thanks.
One thing that will trash this whole thing is cost, which most Americans don’t like. Here are a few cost factors: we’ll need thousands of people just to round these people up, transfer them to camps, build the camps, provide food and water while they await deportation. Do we we hire people to run the camps? (Surely we can’t expect deportees to do this. That would be slave labor). Rich land owners will be able to rent out their land (for a high price). Not to forget that these deportees have homes, buy stuff, even pay taxes. What happens to all their possessions? 10 million people? Really? Let’s start with a million. Can we really afford to deport a city the size of Indianapolis… Chicago? How many trains, planes an buses will it take to move millions of people to foreign countries, and what makes you believe they will take them back? And if you’ve had your calculators handy, imagine how many people would be needed to weed out and process this mess (“and some of them are good people.”) Millions of people, and millions of dollars in tax money, would be taken out of the economy and be paid for with YOUR tax money. A depression like we’ve never seen before. Hope I haven’t spoiled your day.