I Defeated Trump, Racism and the Patriarchy
It's hard to believe.
As the world started to turn grimmer than even in 2000 when the SCOTUS handed George W. Bush the keys to the Oval Office, I had to force myself to go back and look at the actions of those revolutionaries past for guidance.
The activists of the 1960s were bold and resolved and, while making some gains in the realm of civil rights, did not end the dark cloud of white supremacy. The feminists of that bygone era made strides for women but did not destroy the man spread of maleness that permeated American society.
Simply stated, the Boomers did not cut the head off the snake, so the snakes grew back.
I had to rethink the strategies employed and, after a few minutes of reading some posts on Facebook and a couple of articles on Medium, I realized how to defeat Trump, Racism, and the Patriarchy with the boldest of actions.
I decided to be outraged and vocal on social media.
It worked for the Freedom Caucus (aka Tea Party) after all. Ignoring the decades of running for local offices and building an infrastructure and propaganda machine for thirty years. Dismissing the active holding in-person meetings in every state of the union. Blowing off the organizing and fundraising and all that time-consuming stuff. Aside from all that, it was the sole fact that they were full of outrage and posted it on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr frequently that brought the battle to the steps of the White House.
So I embraced this strategy.
I started slowly, because being perpetually pissed publicly is hard work. It takes a lot of focus. If I let my commitment to regular posts about the outrages of the Donald Trump administration, the micro-aggressions delivered every single day to black and brown people, and the fucking dudes on the El spreading their legs out lag for one moment, I might be distracted by things like working with other people (IRL!), combating gerrymandering or attending Aldermanic meetings to discuss laws and all of that stuff.
Some say that we on the Left can focus on more than one thing at a time but they're WRONG! With all of the things to be angry about, there's no time for reading and understanding how government works.
Sure, I lost some Facebook and Twitter followers from time to time but that's the price to be paid.
Every day. Every single day. Likes and Anger Emoticons and fights online. I'd go through the newsfeed and share those things that screamed TRUMP, RACISM, and MEN SUCK!
And I did it. I woke up one morning and noticed that while I had been blocked by all but seven or eight people online, my newsfeed was completely devoid of any mention of Trump, racism or the patriarchy. I defeated those things by expressing my outrage.
You're welcome, America.