Trump is a traitor phasing military equipment, aiding and abettig. What now? Impeach, but that won't happen. Still, there's always Something you can do besides calling reps and senators, protesting, making signs, donating, etc.
Here's a thought I had: What can an ordinary Missourian do about this Oval Office Trump-Vance debacle and America-to-the-world embarrassment? Here's what I tried--a direct apology to President Zelensky via the Ukraime embassy WDC: Sent email today to Ukraine Embassy WDC, in part (full name and location included)
"Attn: The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States of America Subject: Apology to President Zelensky Dear Madam Ambassador Markarova: On behalf of myself and the majority of American people standing for the freedom of Ukraine, may I request that the following subject apology be forwarded to President Zelensky: Please apologize to President Zelenskyy for the shameful behaviour of President Trump and Vice-President Vance on Feb. 28, 2025. It was a despicable, pre-coordinated setup ambush by two bullies against one courageous man standing tall. Trump and Vance have forever stained the sacred honor of the Oval Office. Thank you. Sincerely, (Ordinary American citizen)" s/s (full name and location, Farmington, MO)
Your analysis is very congruent with what is studied as “change theory“.
Change theory observes that people don’t change right away, but first notice something that is different, then they think about it, then they think about how that is something that is possible to do, then they consider themselves doing it, and so on until they actually try it.
change theory is probably describing how children see things before they try things and try things before they incorporate behaviors.
I like the deliberate way that you articulated it.
Also worth saying that those of us outside the US are heartened to see Americans initiate boycotts and not just leave it to the Canadians, Mexicans etc to respond to the fascist rise in the US. Indeed boycotts need to be focused but agree that part of the plan is to do SOMETHING not as an end in itself but as the start of something bigger. Solidarity.
I’m frustrated with the constant criticism of other people’s actions against Trump. People can do more than one thing. I’ll follow the critics’ action if they posted it. But I don’t see it. It’s all part of elite failure, which seems to include the left as well.
I have respect for what Bernie is doing. Who else is doing anything?
Great post! I agree with all you said. This criticism just increases people’s feelings of powerlessness.
I’m encouraged by the fact that people want to do something! I participated in the 2/28 boycott and have stopped buying from Amazon and Target altogether. (Costco still participates in DEI policies and generally seems to treat employees with respect.) Do I think one person’s actions change anything? Of course not, but it makes me feel better knowing I’m not supporting efforts to destroy equality and justice.
I participated in the one-day boycott, not because I thought it would have tangible impact, but for all the reasons you described. If the people around me are engaged in some kind of anti-fascist action, I'm choosing to consider it a picket line. I'll grab a sign and join them if I have the time, but even if I don't I'm for SURE not gonna cross that picket line. (Crossing the picket line in this scenario = shitting on their action for any reason other than it causing direct harm to other people)
We're likely never going to be able to fully recover from Trump's terms, and even if any recovery is possible it's going to take generations.
That said, NO recovery or healing is going to be possible while he's still alive. The personality cult will fracture when he dies and then our only hope is that the Democratic party A: still exists, and B: Has enough of a goddamn spine to actually take advantage of it instead of honorably conceding the government to whatever fascist shitstain manages to win the power struggle.
If you can’t do anything like attending a protest, but still want to do something to help Ukraine, donate to Whitestork. They send medical supplies to help with the war effort. Plus donate to the causes that help fight the facists in the White House. Whatever you can afford will help.
I did participate in the one-day boycott. Will one-day change anything maybe...... But this isn't just a one-day boycott and done. There are a series of boycotts planned: not listed on the website but on back of t-shirts that are being sold: https://thepeoplesunionusa.creator-spring.com. I also attended the first women's march in concord, nh. at that time the NH Senators and Reps were all women and Democrats.
I guess people are expecting big actions but that is not how big actions start. Big actions (to me) start as small actions and then get larger as more and more participate.
Thank you for writing this! A movement needs a variety of approaches. The Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during WW2 responded in different ways (because not all Japanese Americans are the same) — and this made their resistance stronger. Some rebelled and were sent to prison. Some planted gardens to make the camps more livable. Some fought in the highly decorated US Army 442nd Regiment. Some volunteered to be deported to Japan. Some created art that documented their time in the camps. And so on.
Which was the “best” way? All of them! If they all did the same thing, their movement would have not worked. If no one rebelled, people would have said, “See, they LIKE the camps!” If everyone rebelled, people would have said, “See, they need to be locked up!”
I urge people to find their own path in this movement. Many thanks! 🙏
One-day boycotts as a tactic would have worked far better in the pre-conglomerate era, when individual companies still rose and fell by whether or not they made their profits. Being cocooned inside a larger organization where you don't have to make life or death decisions about your company's future prevents many companies today from feeling a direct economic hit, and so many companies are in this position now, more than most of us realize.
If enough people did it. It would scare them. Why do you think there are campaigns to criminalize boycotts of Israel?
Equally effective I think would be campaigns to put aside our phones. The tech companies make a lot of money in ways we are barely aware of from monetizing the data from our phone use. A phone boycott for a day or a week would be a good thing. A sacrifice yet but does anyone think we can fight autocracy without sacrifice?
Noah, I got really vexed with Monday Morning Economist for sneering about how little a one-day boycott accomplished, and told him that, as somebody corporate-friendly, HE was the problem. Of course, I'm also the person who mocked "safety pins", "vag hats", and "Well-to-Do Hillary NeoLib White Women Protests" that happened on weekdays, so minority women couldn't participate....
Trump is a traitor phasing military equipment, aiding and abettig. What now? Impeach, but that won't happen. Still, there's always Something you can do besides calling reps and senators, protesting, making signs, donating, etc.
Here's a thought I had: What can an ordinary Missourian do about this Oval Office Trump-Vance debacle and America-to-the-world embarrassment? Here's what I tried--a direct apology to President Zelensky via the Ukraime embassy WDC: Sent email today to Ukraine Embassy WDC, in part (full name and location included)
"Attn: The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States of America Subject: Apology to President Zelensky Dear Madam Ambassador Markarova: On behalf of myself and the majority of American people standing for the freedom of Ukraine, may I request that the following subject apology be forwarded to President Zelensky: Please apologize to President Zelenskyy for the shameful behaviour of President Trump and Vice-President Vance on Feb. 28, 2025. It was a despicable, pre-coordinated setup ambush by two bullies against one courageous man standing tall. Trump and Vance have forever stained the sacred honor of the Oval Office. Thank you. Sincerely, (Ordinary American citizen)" s/s (full name and location, Farmington, MO)
Do something. Anything. Never give up!
I’m going to do this. Great idea. Who cares if it works whatever that means. It’s how I sincerely feel.
that's a good idea. props from a fellow missourian.
Your analysis is very congruent with what is studied as “change theory“.
Change theory observes that people don’t change right away, but first notice something that is different, then they think about it, then they think about how that is something that is possible to do, then they consider themselves doing it, and so on until they actually try it.
change theory is probably describing how children see things before they try things and try things before they incorporate behaviors.
I like the deliberate way that you articulated it.
Also worth saying that those of us outside the US are heartened to see Americans initiate boycotts and not just leave it to the Canadians, Mexicans etc to respond to the fascist rise in the US. Indeed boycotts need to be focused but agree that part of the plan is to do SOMETHING not as an end in itself but as the start of something bigger. Solidarity.
I’m frustrated with the constant criticism of other people’s actions against Trump. People can do more than one thing. I’ll follow the critics’ action if they posted it. But I don’t see it. It’s all part of elite failure, which seems to include the left as well.
I have respect for what Bernie is doing. Who else is doing anything?
Great post! I agree with all you said. This criticism just increases people’s feelings of powerlessness.
I’m encouraged by the fact that people want to do something! I participated in the 2/28 boycott and have stopped buying from Amazon and Target altogether. (Costco still participates in DEI policies and generally seems to treat employees with respect.) Do I think one person’s actions change anything? Of course not, but it makes me feel better knowing I’m not supporting efforts to destroy equality and justice.
I participated in the one-day boycott, not because I thought it would have tangible impact, but for all the reasons you described. If the people around me are engaged in some kind of anti-fascist action, I'm choosing to consider it a picket line. I'll grab a sign and join them if I have the time, but even if I don't I'm for SURE not gonna cross that picket line. (Crossing the picket line in this scenario = shitting on their action for any reason other than it causing direct harm to other people)
We're likely never going to be able to fully recover from Trump's terms, and even if any recovery is possible it's going to take generations.
That said, NO recovery or healing is going to be possible while he's still alive. The personality cult will fracture when he dies and then our only hope is that the Democratic party A: still exists, and B: Has enough of a goddamn spine to actually take advantage of it instead of honorably conceding the government to whatever fascist shitstain manages to win the power struggle.
If you can’t do anything like attending a protest, but still want to do something to help Ukraine, donate to Whitestork. They send medical supplies to help with the war effort. Plus donate to the causes that help fight the facists in the White House. Whatever you can afford will help.
I have written a mini guide on what different ways there are to protest and what risk each of them carries. Check it out and add suggestions 😊
https://martinehabib.substack.com/p/resistance-and-risk
https://martinehabib.substack.com/p/resistance-and-risk-part-2
I did participate in the one-day boycott. Will one-day change anything maybe...... But this isn't just a one-day boycott and done. There are a series of boycotts planned: not listed on the website but on back of t-shirts that are being sold: https://thepeoplesunionusa.creator-spring.com. I also attended the first women's march in concord, nh. at that time the NH Senators and Reps were all women and Democrats.
I guess people are expecting big actions but that is not how big actions start. Big actions (to me) start as small actions and then get larger as more and more participate.
Just to follow-up to this, the impact of the one-day boycott has been released with numbers for Target: https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/target-hit-hard-by-one-day-boycott-now-faces-a-40-day-consumer-strike. According to the article, "The retailer saw a 9% drop in web traffic that day. App user traffic took an even bigger hit, dropping 14%." To me, that is a substantial drop! And now Target is facing a 40 day consumer boycott. The article also talks about the impact on Walmart. Costco didn't drop their DEI initiatives and has actually seen an uptick in business. 40 day boycott of Target: https://apnews.com/article/40-day-target-boycott-fast-dei-d1d40f79f5f1b3afb2dfe8561e7729a0
Thank you for writing this! A movement needs a variety of approaches. The Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during WW2 responded in different ways (because not all Japanese Americans are the same) — and this made their resistance stronger. Some rebelled and were sent to prison. Some planted gardens to make the camps more livable. Some fought in the highly decorated US Army 442nd Regiment. Some volunteered to be deported to Japan. Some created art that documented their time in the camps. And so on.
Which was the “best” way? All of them! If they all did the same thing, their movement would have not worked. If no one rebelled, people would have said, “See, they LIKE the camps!” If everyone rebelled, people would have said, “See, they need to be locked up!”
I urge people to find their own path in this movement. Many thanks! 🙏
This piece is excellent! Thank you, Noah. 💓 👏👊👊👊
One-day boycotts as a tactic would have worked far better in the pre-conglomerate era, when individual companies still rose and fell by whether or not they made their profits. Being cocooned inside a larger organization where you don't have to make life or death decisions about your company's future prevents many companies today from feeling a direct economic hit, and so many companies are in this position now, more than most of us realize.
If enough people did it. It would scare them. Why do you think there are campaigns to criminalize boycotts of Israel?
Equally effective I think would be campaigns to put aside our phones. The tech companies make a lot of money in ways we are barely aware of from monetizing the data from our phone use. A phone boycott for a day or a week would be a good thing. A sacrifice yet but does anyone think we can fight autocracy without sacrifice?
Noah, I got really vexed with Monday Morning Economist for sneering about how little a one-day boycott accomplished, and told him that, as somebody corporate-friendly, HE was the problem. Of course, I'm also the person who mocked "safety pins", "vag hats", and "Well-to-Do Hillary NeoLib White Women Protests" that happened on weekdays, so minority women couldn't participate....
So YMMV, I guess? 🤷♂️
Ymmv?
Help an ancient understand…
"Your Mileage May Vary".
And I'm almost 70!
That’s hilarious!
I fully agree. Some of us need small steps.