Shake Some Action
Ok, so for most of us, the worst possible thing happened. And soon bad things will happen to vulnerable people. That said, it doesn’t have to be seen as the end of the world (i). As Chris Hayes said the night after the result was called, it happened because 3 people out of every 100 changed their votes from 2020, and because anti-incumbent election results have been the norm worldwide the last few years. Yes, we’re all tired from the last go-around, but as Elizabeth Warren reminded us the day after the election, there has been progress, and that to protect it and continue to build on it will take work.
So what can be done? Well, plenty. While this seems to mostly apply to people in the US, it really applies everywhere. I’ve broken it down to three general areas:
- the need to decrease the influence of oligarchs and big tech on our lives.
- the need to act locally on a regular basis and in many spaces.
- suggestions for how to engage in political action, at the local and national levels.
It all begins with voting — vote in every election. Not just every 4 years for president, but in the mid-term congressional elections, in every primary, every off-year election, every off-year primary, every special election.
But beyond that, there’s plenty to do. I’m not saying we have to start today — take the time to be sad, angry, despondent, whatever. But soon it will be time to get up and go again.
One doesn’t have to do everything I’ve listed, I certainly can’t. And here’s certainly more beyond what I’ve thought of. Some of these things are easy and we can all do them. For the rest, pick one or two. Put it on your calendar and make the time.
First, how can we decrease the influence of the media and tech oligarchs who have failed the moment, and/or who support and platform neo-nazis and racists?
Cancel your New York Times & Washington Post subscriptions. Subscribe to a local paper (hopefully not one run & ruined by private equity). Buy a physical copy, don’t just read on-line. If you have kids, encourage them to read the paper, with the paper in their hands. It was the presence of newspapers in my house every day while growing up that turned me into a regular news reader. You can use old newspaper for lots of things, like cleaning windows, lining pet cages, etc. Or recycle it.
If a local news source doesn’t exist, form a collective and start one, and start by simple things like reporting on local council or school board meetings, local sports, local theater, and other events — those non-political things are important because people like to read about themselves in the newspaper. Especially if they can save a clipping and post it to the refrigerator. Start it as a newsletter (not on Substack…you know, platforming Nazis) and encourage people to subscribe. Or maybe figure out a way to print it…bring back zine culture, sell ads to local businesses to fund production costs.
Support your local NPR station. Yes, NPR nationally hasn’t been great lately, but the local stations do vital work for the local scene. If there’s non-NPR community radio, support that. Spend an hour or two fewer each week listening to podcasts and engage with your local community through radio.
For national or international news, support independent sources like ProPublica, The Nation, Guardian, Mother Jones, etc.
Even better, find an independent journalist or collective (Talking Points Memo, 404, Defector, etc) and support them. But FFS not if they’re on Substack (see above, the platforming Nazis bit). There are alternatives (search for A.R. Moxon’s post about leaving Substack). Encourage anyone on Substack to migrate as the price for your support.
Delete your Twitter account, move to BlueSky if you need that type of social media and breaking news source. Stop using Facebook unless that’s the only local organizing or event resource you have. If that’s all there is, team up with people to build alternative internet spaces like we used to have. There are enough open-source resources and we all know at least one person with enough tech skills to set-up and maintain a basic website.
Cancel Amazon Prime & don’t use Amazon for shopping. Shop local or direct from people who make or sell what you need.
Stop ordering from Uber eats and other delivery services that take too much of a cut from local restaurants or outright steal from them using ghost kitchens copying their menus. Order direct from the restaurant and go pick it up. Or only order from places that have their own delivery service.
Stop using Uber and Lyft. Take taxis or public transit. Or if you can, ride a bike. E-bikes are great for helping with mobility issues, getting groceries, hauling kids, or if you live in hilly places. Or some/all of the above.
Sell or end the lease your Tesla. If you had enough money to buy it, take the early termination hit and move on.
In other words, as much as possible, de-platform and de-fund the bad actor tech companies and the people who run them. Don’t give them any more money or attention than is absolutely necessary. Instead support independent journalists, writers, and businesses.
Next, what about direct local action, starting with the social aspect?
Focus on promoting local good — mutual aid, fund-raising & social events. Go to a high school football, soccer, or other sport or theater event, even if you don’t have a kid involved. Go to your local lower-division (screw MLS) soccer team (men and women) or minor league baseball team. Go to local theater or music performances, art gallery openings, and farmer’s markets. Buy music, art, and food from local artisans. Go to events at your local library.
We all need music, art and fun, right? Join or start a community theater group, join or start a local orchestra or small band or vocal group and play your local coffee shop or farmer’s market once a month. Or play on your porch or back yard and invite people over for a party. Have a backyard or block-party movie night. Go to your local cinema for 2nd run or repertory showings. Organize groups to go. It can be more fun than sitting on your couch in front of your tv.
Start an art club — paint or draw with people. Ask your local coffee shop to hang the work for a bit. Or start a story-telling night, or Mortified-style diary reading event at the coffee shop. — if they host an opening or event they’ll sell coffee and cookies and sandwiches along with the art. Win-win!
Volunteer as a tutor with a school or community organization. Volunteer in an animal shelter. Foster stray dogs and cats or those on shelter kill lists. Organize park clean-ups. Volunteer at your local library.
And we all need exercise, right? Take a walk every day. Go around your neighborhood, to a local park. In long daylight hours, after-dinner walks are great, much better than plopping right down on the couch and staring at your phone or laptop or tv. You’ll get to know your neighbors, they’ll get to know you.
Prepare as a community for the next flood or tornado or earthquake. Who in your neighborhood knows how to fix things, or do electrical work, or cook? Stories from the ground in North Carolina and other places hit by the recent hurricanes showed the value of community action and mutual care.
In other words, create art, build or improve things for your local community. And if you can’t do that, support those who do. And be visible in your neighborhood.
Finally, what about political action?
Most immediately, don’t go to the inauguration & protest. Your body will just be counted as someone who came to support him. Don’t watch it on tv or streaming. Don’t post outrage bits to social media. Don’t give them the oxygen and satisfaction of your attention and outrage.
In general, don’t mistake rage tweeting and Facebook profile picture change for actual activism. Don’t get into pointless on-line arguments with trolls or bad-faith actors. Change will take work and these things are distractions.
There will be times to organize or to go to marches and protests. When it’s necessary, be careful. Arrange ahead of time for support if you’re arrested or hurt. Watch out for your friends and family who go with you.
As others have said, you can’t save every person being targeted because they are immigrants or trans or otherwise marginalized and at risk, but you can help one person or a small group when the need arises…be it collective action or standing up for someone getting abuse in public.
The real work is at the very local & state levels, school boards, city councils, state houses. Those “boring” zoning and school board meetings? Go and speak up and advocate for more housing, better transport, against book bans, and for funding libraries. Right now it’s a vocal minority of NIMBYs and Moms for Liberty types running things and they don’t reflect what most people want.
Work to get local housing & green transport (bus/rail & bike) bills passed. When your US or state legislators hold a local town hall, go and speak up for positive change. Stay in touch with them by phone to register your opinion on who they should vote so that they best represent you, their constituent, and your interests.
Do you want a 3rd party? Help to build it at the local level and scale up. Start a Green or Social Democratic Party chapter (avoid the use of socialist, it’s sadly a non-starter in the US), get someone (yourself!) elected to council or school board. Build from there.
Don’t wait for a well-funded national 3rd party to come up because the primary funder will always drive the narrative, decide on direction and abruptly pull funding if they don’t like what’s going on (see Perot & the Reform Party).
And back to voting… get your friends and family to vote, make sure they’re registered and stay current on ensuring they haven’t been purged from voting rolls. Read up on candidates and ballot propositions. Work with friends and neighbors maybe in study-groups, and help educate and inform each other. Arrange rides to polling places. Volunteer at polling places, or help outside to keep people waiting in line hydrated and fed.
Change is possible, but it’s clear we cannot support the current systems and we can’t expect change from the occasional charismatic national candidate. Biden was not a very charismatic President, but his four years were the most progressive by far since perhaps Lyndon Johnson. The problem was Biden did not effectively tell his own story, and Harris paid the price for voter discontent because the other side was able to capitalize on that discontent better than she and Biden were able to make the case for their successes.
The change that’s needed starts locally. And if it starts now, then in the coming elections, local, state, and national, the results will be there.
Notes:
i) I know I write this from a position of privilege as a CIS white man and that for many vulnerable and marginalized people there are bad things to come that may very well be life-altering. I mean it in a general and hyperbolic sense. And I acknowledge that most of the work needs to come from people like me.
