October 26 Blog: The Tide is Starting to Turn

Dear Friends: 

I hope everyone enjoyed No Kings Day II. I was on our bridge and then went downtown. The day felt like one big block party, with a very serious purpose and great costumes. The gaiety and silliness were strategic and effective. 

I think the tide is starting to turn, which is not to say that things will change quickly or ever be the same as before this Regime. When a tide turns there is a time where nothing seems to be happening. You can’t quite tell if the water is still going out or if it is starting to come in again. My instinct is that is where we are. Indications for me are: corporations caving to public pressure over Jimmy Kimmel; the press refusing to bend to the Pentagon’s demands for control of what they write (including Fox News); and universities refusing to take the “deal” offered to get grants and cede control of what they do.

And last Saturday was the largest mass protest in our history. 7 million people turned out around the country and there was basically no violence. It is clear that resistance is growing and showing no signs of stopping. Every day new Indivisible groups are forming around the country including in very “red” areas. More people come to our weekday bridge protests and more people honk approval and thank us. On the 18^th, we had between 450 and 500 people on the bridge, which was almost triple the number who came on June 14. (And thank you to all of my readers who came!).

The reaction of the Regime looks bizarre: a scatological AI video from the President; the Speaker of the House saying the naked cyclists in Portland were one of the most frightening things (!?); warnings of bloodshed and violence. But what people actually saw was grandparents, parents with children in strollers, and lots of funny costumes and many, many American flags. The narrative the Regime wanted to spin was totally opposite of what people saw.

Our next action day will be Veteran’s Day, November 11.  I wonder what the Regime will say to denigrate veterans!?

Of great significance to help turn the tide, are the consequences of this Regime’s actions which are about to be felt by masses of people. If the government shutdown doesn’t end by November 1, SNAP benefits end. Millions of people depend on SNAP funds to buy food. The new health insurance premiums have started to arrive for people and often are double and triple what they were this year making health insurance unaffordable for many. Electricity bills are starting to soar. Electricity costs are not talked about so much with everything that is happening, but we are looking at an energy crisis. (I highly recommend this podcast by Chris Hayes).

Meanwhile, the Regime wants to spend billions of additional dollars to bail out Argentina; go to war with Venezuela; as well as continue deploying troops to LA, Chicago, Portland and DC. And this week, we watched as Trump destroyed the People’s House to build a huge ballroom.

This is not what the majority of Americans voted for, even most of those who voted for Trump. Paving over the Rose Garden was ugly, but the destruction of the 1902 White House’s East Wing which represented the increasingly active role of First Ladies, is shocking and upsetting to many. It perfectly represents visually what this Regime is doing: taking a wrecking ball to the nation. More and more people are seeing and feeling the Regime for what it is: a crass, corrupt and cruel dictatorship destroying our democracy to enrich itself.

So, I think the tide is turning, but we have months and likely years of hard work to go. I like Indivisible’s insistence that this is no longer the Age of Donald Trump, but we are now moving into the Age of No Kings. I am very hopeful that when we come fully into this new age vastly more people will understand what the Constitution is; what government does; that they are part of a large democracy where we may agree to disagree; and we Americans are a nation of immigrants who believe that all men and women are created equal with certain unalienable rights.

And I hope communities everywhere will be stronger. Many people are stepping up to help those who need support during these chaotic and cruel times. I encourage my readers to find a local organization to volunteer with if you are not already volunteering (and I know many of you are).

If you find this blog helpful and have not already shared it with a friend, please share it now.  It’s important to build many small communication networks that people can trust and find helpful.

Yours in peaceful resistance, 

Libby