Please devote 90 minutes to this important training session to understand how authoritarianism works and view a plan to counter it together.
So many have asked, “What can I do?” Here’s the answer!
From the YouTube Channel:
“Join us for the first One Million Rising coordinating call and training! Get oriented to making meaning of this moment and the role you can play in coordinated strategic action. This 3-part training will equip you with a coordinated national strategy to organize locally, host community gatherings, and build a force bigger than fear. Sign up, show up, and take action together. Access your Community Resistance Gathering Host Toolkit here – it has everything you’ll need to host a gathering!” https://docs.google.com/document/d/18… Make sure you’re signed up for our last two sessions in the One Million Rising series – we’ll cover everything else you need to know then! https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event… Take the pledge to host a community resistance gathering! https://www.nokings.org/rise
Registration is required for the June 14th military parade in DC. Maximum of 2 tickets per cellphone # (you will be required to verify the phone # with a code they send). Easy process, it took me less than 2 minutes. It would be interesting to know what happens, if say people in large numbers requested tickets and then didn’t show up. His orange majesty might rage- or huff and puff….
“This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history.,” according to the organizers. “Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights—enabled by Congress every step of the way.”
Things are moving fast and gaining momentum. A recent article in the Times Weekly, reported that 2,085 events protesting the Trump administration happened nationwide in Feb. 2025. More than 500 events were scheduled during the recent congressional recess that became notable for the Republicans who refused to meet their constituents and the lively interaction that resulted from those Congressmen and women who actually showed up.
April 5this a day of what organizers hope will be the biggest single day of protest since DJT took office. More than 1000 events are planned across the US and in multiple foreign countries. That’s what happens when you turn on your friends, become a bully, and threaten democracy worldwide. In Washington DC, Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin will headline the event along with multiple other speakers scheduled.
The crisis is here. Up close and personal, and it’s time to act. Fascism is on the march in the US. The last I saw, 14 countries had travel advisories out warning their citizens about traveling to the US. Social media is full of every-day-Americans warning citizens of other countries, “don’t come here, we’re not safe.” Not safe to travel, not safe to work, not safe to study abroad, not safe to do research. We are busy stripping human rights away, allowing the consolidation of power, building concentration camps, eliminating protective social systems, and gutting economies. And make no mistake about it, there is a level of cruelty that underlies all of this. When some Americans see photos of the El Salvadoran prison that the Trump administration has funded which looks remarkably like Holocaust pictures, they react with glee. Humanity and empathy have been surrendered at the feet of the anointed savior, DJT.
Another milestone passed this week. We have known since the election that people are leaving the country. Although it’s too early to assess the brain drain occurring as a result of those fleeing (and the effects of not receiving the necessary infusion of academic minds from other nations who normally would have come to the US), three professors from Yale jumped ship. One of them, Jason Stanley, is considered an expert on fascism (I’ll be talking about his book soon). If a leading expert on fascism thinks it’s getting too dangerous and is leaving the US for Canada, what does that say about the current state of the country?
Links are below to find an event near you. You should also consider joining a rapid respond team in your area to help protect immigrants, your neighbors, and yourself. They teach basic rights in the face of the continued assault by ICE. Once upon a time in America, immigration was an activity done without a paramilitary organization armed to the teeth, sidestepping the rule of law. Those days may be gone forever.
Perhaps the shock of the election has worn off. But I sense that many of us are looking at the change in leadership with fear and apprehension. There are only a few days left before we find out what happens now. The second Trump administration is set to come storming into office and even if they only manage half of what’s on the agenda, the US will be a very different place indeed.
The People’s March on Washington will take place this weekend (Jan. 18th). It will bring together many groups to protest the inauguration. This includes a partnership with Abortion Access Now, Climate Action Campaign, Ben and Jerry’s, The Frontline, Feminist, National Women’s Law Center, National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Popular Democracy Action, Reproductive Freedom for All, Sierra Club, Time to Act, Women’s March, and the Women’s March Network. An intentional group of speakers has been chosen to inspire, energize, and unite the movement. Resources will be made available to sustain long-term resistance and to participate in training that will help people develop critical skills to protect yourself and your community. A crowd of 50,000 is expected.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. (Edmund Burke)
But if you haven’t already committed to this event or some other local happening, what can you do?
I learned too late that I could have requested inauguration tickets and then stayed home. Damn! I missed that window.
I think finding an answer to what can you do will require you to look inside yourself to see where you want to draw the line, because a line will (eventually) be drawn. What will it take to awaken in each one of us a spirit of resistance? When we feel isolated and powerless, we tend to stay frozen. We have all been through a ton of demoralizing and depressing events that have left us exhausted. It was natural to seek a down-time to rest and restore but— that time is over. Look into your soul and decide which side of history you want to be on.
I won’t be in DC. But I will do what I can, where I am. On inauguration day, when the country turns down this dark and dangerous path, I will announce to the world that I’m not OK with it. I am not a supporter of MAGA-land. A place that stomps on freedoms, targets individuals and groups, rewards tyrants, ignores the environmental crisis, attacks friendly nations, and all the rest of it.
My house will be draped in black mourning bunting again. The flag will fly upside down indicating the nation is under severe duress. It is a form of protest and protected speech. I will also wear black on Monday. I’ve mentioned before that I live in a red county with red neighbors. So, there is a risk of being targeted now or in the future. That’s where I’m making my stand. If I can’t do this one easy thing to show that Donald J. Trump does not have a mandate, how will I ever stand up to what’s coming? By doing this, I’m signaling to parts of the wider community who also don’t support what’s happening that they are not alone. They too can stand up and protest.
Let me know if you are going to a protest event or if you’ve created your own unique way to resist. Be aware that 2025 is a year where we will see massive protests in the streets. Fascism won’t surrender easily. We are in historic times.
ellisnelson 