Ways to resist

I've been keeping an eye and ear out and racking my brains for a while, now. Have you?

This is what I have come up with so far. I doubt if it is complete, so please add further ideas in the comments.

First of all, resistance should not be confined to America. Trump is also a threat to:

• the economies of the world, particularly those he targets with tariffs

• the climate of the whole world, with his anti-global-warming love of fossil fuels

• world peace, since he delights in stirring, and is so ignorant of the world, and does not understand the importance of supporting Ukraine, and he is pals with warmonger and peace-destroyer Putin

• democracy, since America has historically been a leader in the movement towards democracy, and he wants to be a dictator. Not only would other (wannabe) world leaders look at Trump's success and seek to emulate it, but Elon Musk may well pave the way, as he apparently already plans to do in the UK. And it's not just Musk.

As Alternative Lives R Available points out, citing Dan Gardner's article "How Canada Should Respond to Trump", European Leaders need to pay attention too.

Remember, they have the money, but we have the numbers - and people who sat the last election out and even some who voted for Trump will join the resistance once they are personally adversely affected by his actions. Also, we seem to be smarter than most of them, favouring science and facts over conspiracy theories.

First things

First there is your own safety to consider. If you don't look or sound like a white American male, or if you plan to be out protesting, make sure your papers are in order - get an up-to-date driving licence and/or passport if you can, plus birth certificate and marriage certificate, and make sure your voter registration matches them, including your signature. Give them no excuse to deport you or take you off the voter rolls. Same for your family.

Think twice before posting anything political on X or Facebook any site owned by any of the billionaires who are sucking up to Trump, or any corporation which has rolled over. Trump will not hesitate to sue anyone who catches his attention, and that could ruin you. You need to decide if the risk is worth it, if you aren't rich. But we do need many people to speak out. If you have never been outspoken about Trump and MAGA, consider joining the Republican Party and/or Truth Social, to find out which of Trump's crazy ideas are going to be the ones carried out (and maybe to very subtly sow doubt and division).

Think twice about buying anything from those corporations too, as that adds to the amount they can spend on elections and misinformation. Buy local where possible. There are several sites listing American companies, though I have no knowledge of how good they are - for example, Buy American, Made in USA, Made&Here, Made in America Store, How Americans can buy American. AFL-CIO has a subsite - Union-Made in America. UAW launched a website, BuildBuyUSA, but it does not look to be active now. You can also trace the ownership of companies you deal with on Wikipedia. Or buy from Minted or Etsy. Buy from companies that have shown they care about your safety, unlike Tesla.

In Britain there are Buy Britain, Made in Great Britain, Make it British, Let's Buy British, for example. In the UK, buy books from Bookshop.org. Is there anything similar in the U.S.?

Project 2025 was developed by hundreds of authors and assistants, and covers a wide range of topics. Nobody can follow them all. So, follow the issue that is most important to you and join an organisation focusing on that area. Work out what you can do to help - with time, skills and/or money. But we need to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

Look after your own physical and mental and financial health. We need to be fit for a long-term struggle. Leave it to MAGA to allow fervour to overcome common sense. Get vaccinated. Buy some good masks, for when the next pandemic comes along, and have some stores of long-life foods - whatever you wished you'd had during the last pandemic. Invest the money you need conservatively, safely. Only risk what you can afford to lose on any opportunities arising during troubled times. Andy Borowitz has some advice on How to Survive in '25. The Big Picture and Jay Kuo offer a practical guide: Surviving the Next Four Years, and in another article, "Resisting Orbánization", Jay says, "I choose not to wring my hands over the inevitable decline of the U.S. into something that resembles Hungary or, even worse, Russia. Instead, I want to highlight how existing democratic guardrails, if supported by the U.S. court system, independent media, and civil society at large, can prevent such a slide". Jack Hopkins writes about how to be resilient.

Fight for at least one of the causes that Trump threatens most - e.g. climate, affordable healthcare, education, abortion, transgender issues, voting rights, racial equality, immigration, environment - whichever worries you and yours most. Look at my project 2025 articles for a fuller list. Follow and support the relevant organisations and people listed on my "Join the resistance" article (and any more you know about). But don't overwhelm yourself trying to fight on all fronts.

In his article, "Forming The New American Resistance", Malcolm Nance wrote how, during WWII, "the British High Command decided to allow small, self starting groups to figure out what needed to be done and just go do them!" And that "their radical and disruptive acts often succeeded where traditional organizations had not". So don't feel you have to join a large organisation if that is not your thing. Some ideas for January 20th.

There seems little point in expecting the Democratic Party leadership to step up, even though there are some very good people in the party. So, get more good people into the party. Get involved yourselves and take like-minded friends. Take it over! Work to get progressive leaders (re-)elected. People like Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Jamie Raskin, Jasmine Crockett, other members of the Progressive Caucus. Work within the party to get others like them moving up the ladder. Pester them to come up with a plan for pre January 20th and for day one. Thom Hartmann has some suggestions. Wikipedia lists the chairs and ranking members of house and senate committees. Biden is taking some action to mitigate the situation - more student loan cancellations, more aid to Ukraine, commuting some death penalties.

The people we are fighting against put a lot of effort into sowing hate, division and uncertainty. I would not recommend sowing hate - sow peace instead, to negate it. But any way of widening the divisions between factions on the right, and countering the disinformation should be used. Write letters and call shows.

Take steps to protect yourself online.

Climate change is going to affect your food supply, your energy bills and your health, and Trump will only make things worse, so take what steps you can as soon as possible to protect yourself and the planet. Invest in insulation and solar panels to reduce your exposure to rising fuel prices (and help save the planet). If you know you will buy something from abroad, buy it ASAP before tariffs, or the expectation thereof, cause prices to rise. Or if you can put it off, consider waiting until an American manufacturer has taken up the slack. Ask yourself if anything you intend buying or having done will be affected by mass deportation (even if he does not go ahead with it, the fear of it and the hostile environment he has created will lead to some leaving). Maybe learn some DIY, or a new skill that could earn you some extra money or enable you to help more with the fight (e.g. writing, filmmaking, making cartoons).

Before January 20th

Trump and co will continue to spew information when in office, and they will control government information. So, we need to get archives of as many government web sites as possible, and work out which other sites derive their data from government sources. Joe Biden's whitehouse.gov should be copied to an archive site, just as those of presidents before him were. Get to know what's on the Internet Archive. Save copies of any pages on Wikipedia that are important to you - and maybe learn to edit the site so that you can keep them accurate. Eight years ago, people rushed to save data from government web sites and members of staff also set up alt departmental accounts on Twitter. Keep an eye out for such accounts springing up on Bluesky or elsewhere. This is particularly important for federal departments concerning public health.

Make a note of any public data which is important to you, or you know people around you will hear lies about. For example, the mortgage rate, price of petrol, price of eggs, GDP, employment figures (note how they are defined), rent. Make a note of all the things Biden did, as some of them will not bear fruit until after he has gone, and Trump and the Republicans will take credit. Here's a list to start you off. If you do it in enough detail, you could write a book (include stuff Biden has done which will not come to fruition until later).

If you know any federal employees, support them - they must be going through a period of considerable uncertainty right now. If you know any immigrants - legal or illegal - or dreamers, support them and their families too.

Thank and support those who are already taking action, like the judges who are unretiring and the governors and others who are working to protect their states (e.g. California). The ACLU is also gearing up. Support anyone who is being intimidated or harmed, if you can.

This year's Women's March takes place on January 18, 2025, as part of the People's March, which includes Abortion Access Now • All In Action Fund • bend the arc • beyond the ballot • catholics for choice • coalition of labor union women • democratic socialists of america • dream defenders • FEMINIST • The Feminist Front • free speech for people • The Frontline • gays against guns • gender liberation movement • generation common good • guns down america • Harriet’s Wildest Dreams • ifnotnow • National Women’s Law Center • National Organization for Women • npeu • Planned Parenthood Federation of America • Popular Democracy • SisterSong • state abortion access network • the national council • Time to Act* • UltraViolet • Women’s March • young feminist party (DC & everywhere).

Timothy Snyder warns against Obeying in advance, which is what all the billionaires and corporations who contributed to Trump's inaugural fund and others are doing. Michelle Goldberg lists some of them.

Watch out for events near you on MLK day (20th January).

Actions that need time

Campaign for science, so scientists do not have to, as if they do, they are seen to be partisan. Republicans are anti-science, yet it has saved so many lives and made our lives better in so many ways. Scientists are seriously worried.

Bill McKibben writes about how important action at state level and below can be for the climate. Louise Jolly suggests several ideas in the UK.

Rebut misinformation with letters to the editor, calls to radio and TV shows (local and national), and by talking to people who have been lied to. The U.S. ranks 55th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, and is likely to sink further under Trump. Do what you can to support journalists and to get them to report the truth.

Resistance need not be out in the open. In Norway, people wore a paper clip as a sign of resistance. Online, you can learn to throw shade, even humour, rather than open opposition (there are articles on shade in the New York Times and Huffington Post). Or simply set a very good example. Show people around you that hate is not the only way to go. According to Ian Dunt, "There’s only one thing we can do to stop Donald Trump's cruelty" - "a commitment to kindness, a conscious decision to repudiate and refute this manner of behaviour. In 2025, goodwill will be our chief defence against Trumpism."

Sign up for free subscriptions of substack and other blogs. Like and share whenever you feel it is deserved. And thanks to everyone who has subscribed to my Substack and supported me.

Join a union, e.g. Working America (AFL-CIO), and get actively involved. Trump will make it easier for employers to make it hard on workers.

The Washington Post documented Trumps lies last time. If you are news junkies, maybe a group of you could do it this time.

It's important not only to educate people, but also to be there for them so that they will not drift towards the right as a result of loneliness, as John Stoehr writes. Like Norma from Alabama on the Thom Hartmann program, talk to people.

List everything that the Trump administration does (whether law, policy or example) that you think will need to be undone as soon as Democrats get back in power. There will be such a firehose that it will be easy to forget, otherwise, particularly if the media keeps sanewashing more and more extreme positions.

Teach kids to enjoy learning. If you know any wealthy or MAGA scions, help to keep them grounded, so they don't follow in their parents' footsteps.

Actions that need money

Fund science, tv and radio, social media, and web sites and organisations doing work you think is important, including Wikipedia (so long as truthtellers are actively editing it) and the Southern Poverty Law Centre. Russian trolls and right wing think tanks are known to edit Wikipedia pages to slant them their way. Now Elon Musk has it in his sights, telling his followers not to donate to it, and he has the money to pay a lot more trolls to edit out anything he considers 'woke', should he so choose. (If you can, learn to edit it and choose some pages that are important to you to monitor and correct when necessary).

Sign up for paid subscriptions of websites, substack and other blogs. Like and share whenever you feel it is deserved.

Fund lawsuits against any wrongdoing in the Trump administration and to counter any suits by Trump, particularly slapp suits.

Actions that need skills or knowledge

Teach civics, true American history.

Teach DEI, by example wherever possible.

Snatch the headlines away from Trump with attention-grabbing stunts like Led by Donkeys in the UK (they've done some Trump videos too). But when protesting, please focus on those who are part of the problem, and not disrupt the lives of ordinary working, retired or sick people.

Write blogs and articles. Site your sources.

Are you a student of French history? Tell us how the French resistance or French revolution worked. How about Russian history, or older American history? Write and talk about any history that has lessons to learn of what to do or not do. Start reading histories of times when there was resistance - successful or not - to learn from.

Books and articles that may help include:

• The Gathering Storm (The Second World War) by Winston S. Churchill

• On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

• Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World by Pat Mitchell

• Defying Hitler: A Memoir by Sebastian Haffner

• Future War: Preparing for the New Global Battlefield by Robert H. Latiff

• An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics by Greg Sargent

• Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work by Robert H. Frank

• Where We Go from Here by Bernie Sanders

• A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

• The Brainwashing of My Dad by Jen Senko

• The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt

• Threshold: The Progressive Plan to Pull America Back from the Brink" by Thom Hartmann

• The American Revolution of 1800: How Jefferson Rescued Democracy from Tyranny and Faction - and What This Means Today by Dan Sisson with Thom Hartmann

• I Paid Hitler by Fritz Thyssen.

• White Rose Society" by Wikipedia

If you are a lawyer, point out everything that the Trump administration does that is illegal, and perhaps work with law firms which are on the side of the people. One group that is active in the UK is the Good Law Project. The New York Times is no longer updating its Keeping Track of the Trump Criminal Cases page. Perhaps you could maintain one? His misdeeds should not be forgotten.

If you are an artist, draw cartoons and illustrations and banners, make videos. Or perhaps you could write protest songs.

I have mixed feelings about AI, but you may want to use it to add to your skills, e.g. adding music to lyrics of protest songs, or adding images to articles.

Great organiser and host or hostess? Get like-minded people together.

And finally

Trump got where he is through a firehose of lies and lawsuits. We need a firehose of resistance, so don't think that anything you can do is too small to make a difference. We have the numbers!

John Lewis said, "I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble".

But as Jeff Tiedrich says, "practice self-care. do what you need to do to keep sane." And remember, it is possible to be decent and a president - just look at Jimmy Carter. Next time you get the chance to vote for a president, or any office below president, choose someone more like Jimmy Carter.