Let's have a little talk, shall we? All of you out there just discovering the power of organizing, the power of a protest, the power of finding your people. The sheer JOY of realizing you aren't alone! There really are millions of us who are shocked and dismayed by what is happening to our country!Do I have your attention now? Are you listening? cuz Aunty has some things to say.
Ok everyone - there is this rumor running around that April 20th is when Dump will declare martial law by invoking the Insurrection Act.
Stop.
Yes, it's possible. But...let's take a step back and think about the big picture.
Right now Dump and his regime's policies are WILDLY unpopular, except on the southern border. His tariffs are crashing the world economy.
His admin is trying to say they can do away with due process, and incarcerate, detain, and expel anyone they want from the United States, without engaging with our constitutional rights - they can put anyone they want on a plane and send them to a Gulag in another country. and, OOPS can't fix it now! no take-backs!
Senator Cory Booker spent 25 hours on the senate floor calling out dump's policies, setting a new historical record and capturing the attention of the world.
A few days after that, there was the biggest single-day protest on American soil in history, with up to 5 million people showing up to say how angry and scared and frustrated they are with this regime.
in the past week, there have been 3 incidents where members of Congress succeeded in blocking Dump-backed policies. finally.
They are losing power. Slowly. but it is happening.
Now, there are 2 rumors flying - BIG NEW PROTEST APRIL 19! and....DUMP WILL INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT ON APRIL 20!
Stop it. Look at the timeline.
First thing to know - no one knows who the organizers of 50501 are, the people who seem to be pushing for a 4/19 event. there are indications they may be backed by far left groups that WANT the destruction of the US Constitution.
think about that.
we suspect....they don't want to protect our constitution. they want to destroy it, and through that, usher in a new utopia, but....their version.
None of the other groups that were involved in the 4/5 protests are pushing this event. It is too soon to safely organize. it's a day of religious importance in 2 faiths.
We worry that the 4/5 event is the last one we will see that stays that peaceful. The size of the 4/5 turn-out was unexpected by EVERYONE, including organizers, the press. Everyone. A bunch of different things all came together to create the pefect storm.
Now people are aware they can do it...that we can make headlines by showing up. And they WILL do it again; all they need is the right motivation, and we will have an even BIGGER showing!
And the crazies will be ready too. They will be out in force, instigating, seeding the crowd with those bent on violence, to trigger a shift from peaceful demonstration, to violence.
we KNOW THIS. it's what they did with Black Lives Matter. Our white privilege allowed 5 milllion people to gather on the same day and NOT see a massive police response, because...we are white people and harmless. If that had been 5 million black and latino people....the police response would have been overwhelming.
They won't make that mistake again. they won't miss another opportunity to demonstrate how violent the crazy leftists are. they WILL work to turn the next protest violent.
THEN they can invoke the insurrection act, declare martial law, and deploy US military to our cities.
so...STOP IT.
listen to your community leaders. The ones you _know_. Not some mysterious hidden organization that refuses to admit who they are (trust me, people have tired to figure out who they are... people who are just as at risk of legal attention if there is a crack down have tried to find out. something isn't right here)
if we push a 4/19 demonstration, while people are scared of a 4/20 declaration of martial law...that is a recipe for chaos, and an EXCUSE TO DECLARE MARTIAL LAW!!
Step back. Take a deep breath.
You want to help? Find your local organizers. If you can't find them, go to your local food bank, or immigrant services, your public library. look for an area democratic club - you don't have to be a democrat to use them as a resource to find others in your area trying to organize. Ask them. Who is trying to organize locally? Say, "Hey! I want to help."
We will need far more Peace Marshalls for the next demonstration. We got LUCKY on 4/5. At the protest I helped organize, we would have been quickly overwhelmed if things had turned violent. We did not have the bodies to control things.
We need people to help manage lists of resources, and organize outreach to our communities. Who needs help with food, legal services, who has lost their job and needs help finding baby formula? Who can start a community garden to help feed those who have lost incomes? Who has the land? Who sews and can help make things?
and perhaps most importantly, GET OFF OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND MEET IN PERSON! It is only a matter of time, if what you fear comes to pass, that social media will simply be a means for the admin to find out whom to target. If we do not have the infrastructure in place before that happens, it will be much much harder to organize.
Above all else, stop reacting, and start acting. Right now, harnessing the power of 4/5 is far more about building safety systems to support one another than it is showing up for another protest.
Let's use this power constructively, and not give them an excuse to strip us of our rights.
Stop.
Yes, it's possible. But...let's take a step back and think about the big picture.
Right now Dump and his regime's policies are WILDLY unpopular, except on the southern border. His tariffs are crashing the world economy.
His admin is trying to say they can do away with due process, and incarcerate, detain, and expel anyone they want from the United States, without engaging with our constitutional rights - they can put anyone they want on a plane and send them to a Gulag in another country. and, OOPS can't fix it now! no take-backs!
Senator Cory Booker spent 25 hours on the senate floor calling out dump's policies, setting a new historical record and capturing the attention of the world.
A few days after that, there was the biggest single-day protest on American soil in history, with up to 5 million people showing up to say how angry and scared and frustrated they are with this regime.
in the past week, there have been 3 incidents where members of Congress succeeded in blocking Dump-backed policies. finally.
They are losing power. Slowly. but it is happening.
Now, there are 2 rumors flying - BIG NEW PROTEST APRIL 19! and....DUMP WILL INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT ON APRIL 20!
Stop it. Look at the timeline.
First thing to know - no one knows who the organizers of 50501 are, the people who seem to be pushing for a 4/19 event. there are indications they may be backed by far left groups that WANT the destruction of the US Constitution.
think about that.
we suspect....they don't want to protect our constitution. they want to destroy it, and through that, usher in a new utopia, but....their version.
None of the other groups that were involved in the 4/5 protests are pushing this event. It is too soon to safely organize. it's a day of religious importance in 2 faiths.
We worry that the 4/5 event is the last one we will see that stays that peaceful. The size of the 4/5 turn-out was unexpected by EVERYONE, including organizers, the press. Everyone. A bunch of different things all came together to create the pefect storm.
Now people are aware they can do it...that we can make headlines by showing up. And they WILL do it again; all they need is the right motivation, and we will have an even BIGGER showing!
And the crazies will be ready too. They will be out in force, instigating, seeding the crowd with those bent on violence, to trigger a shift from peaceful demonstration, to violence.
we KNOW THIS. it's what they did with Black Lives Matter. Our white privilege allowed 5 milllion people to gather on the same day and NOT see a massive police response, because...we are white people and harmless. If that had been 5 million black and latino people....the police response would have been overwhelming.
They won't make that mistake again. they won't miss another opportunity to demonstrate how violent the crazy leftists are. they WILL work to turn the next protest violent.
THEN they can invoke the insurrection act, declare martial law, and deploy US military to our cities.
so...STOP IT.
listen to your community leaders. The ones you _know_. Not some mysterious hidden organization that refuses to admit who they are (trust me, people have tired to figure out who they are... people who are just as at risk of legal attention if there is a crack down have tried to find out. something isn't right here)
if we push a 4/19 demonstration, while people are scared of a 4/20 declaration of martial law...that is a recipe for chaos, and an EXCUSE TO DECLARE MARTIAL LAW!!
Step back. Take a deep breath.
You want to help? Find your local organizers. If you can't find them, go to your local food bank, or immigrant services, your public library. look for an area democratic club - you don't have to be a democrat to use them as a resource to find others in your area trying to organize. Ask them. Who is trying to organize locally? Say, "Hey! I want to help."
We will need far more Peace Marshalls for the next demonstration. We got LUCKY on 4/5. At the protest I helped organize, we would have been quickly overwhelmed if things had turned violent. We did not have the bodies to control things.
We need people to help manage lists of resources, and organize outreach to our communities. Who needs help with food, legal services, who has lost their job and needs help finding baby formula? Who can start a community garden to help feed those who have lost incomes? Who has the land? Who sews and can help make things?
and perhaps most importantly, GET OFF OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND MEET IN PERSON! It is only a matter of time, if what you fear comes to pass, that social media will simply be a means for the admin to find out whom to target. If we do not have the infrastructure in place before that happens, it will be much much harder to organize.
Above all else, stop reacting, and start acting. Right now, harnessing the power of 4/5 is far more about building safety systems to support one another than it is showing up for another protest.
Let's use this power constructively, and not give them an excuse to strip us of our rights.
