Happy first week anniversary to the Refuse Fascism National Tour to Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime, and WE WELCOME OUR NEW VOLUNTEER ON TOUR!
Our second full day in Atlanta was packed with organizing events, and the Tour is now sleepy but full of pride and happiness for all we’ve accomplished so far in this city. We had an early start, traveling to a local high school to host an activist training session along with Refuse Fascism co-initiator Sunsara Taylor, who is linking up with the Tour for the duration of our time here.
Most of the workshop was guided by a deep and detailed analysis of the Call to Action. We read it closely and discussed its content, centrality to the movement, and widespread implications for humanity. The Call is more than a series of examples of what horrors this regime is enacting; it is a great analytical guide that we should return to often for orientation and discussion. What sets this Call apart from other resistance movements is that it is unafraid to call Trump and Pence what they really are—fascists, by the very definition of the term—and we are willing and ready to explain why. As it stands now, many people are focused on fighting against one part of Trump/Pence agenda or another. Sunsara encouraged us, as leaders, to help people think differently and see the bigger picture in order to facilitate an understanding of the threats we face and the urgency of this moment.
One of the points we initially focused on was fascism’s direction and momentum; it follows a strategic and rapid trajectory, pushing forward violent and repressive orders and grasping for more and more power at a pace that’s impossible for individual acts of resistance to match. Right now, for instance, many Americans are infuriated with recent revelations that members of the Trump administration had contact with Russian officials prior to the election; meanwhile, the EPA is being dismantled and a new violent immigration ban is being written. This exemplifies the regime’s ability to overwhelm us, to overpower separate protests and propel themselves a few steps ahead while we lag behind, trying to righteously fight each obvious lie or blatantly malicious executive order when we face more and more of those each day of the most illegitimate presidency we’ve ever witnessed.
We heard a poignant explanation from someone from Atlanta of his understanding of the Call. It is written with a scope extending to global consequences in order to bring people’s attention to the future of humanity and the planet. This “America First” rhetoric—which, under Trump’s ideals, includes only white, cisgender male Americans—is dangerous and perpetrates the fascist dream of total superiority and severe oppression of anyone who does not conform to that narrow definition of “the people.” “We can’t fall for that,” he said. We need to reshape the thinking of the masses to shift from short-term appeals to long-term consequences in order to comprehend the horrors we are facing on a deeper level. When promised jobs or other bribes offered to temporarily appease certain groups under the fascist regime, people are tempted to compromise, accommodate, or conciliate, believing this is the only option they have that can be beneficial to them. (See, for example, the Historically Black College and University presidents meeting with racist-in-chief Trump despite students’ righteous protests.) We have a responsibility to foresee and help others grasp the destruction of humanity and the planet itself that the fascist regime will enact if they are allowed to consolidate their power.
Sunsara urged us to pose this question to ourselves and to others: Why is this regime more dangerous than the summation of all its hateful, reactionary policies? This isn’t a simple increase in threatening speeches, violently destructive actions, and widespread implementations of discrimination; we are observing a regime of a completely different character from all administrations that have come and passed. The capitalist empire of the United States was built on slavery and has always oppressed entire groups of people, but before the rise of Trump and Pence there were some democratic and human rights in place. By attacking the security of checks and balances, imprisoning and encouraging harm to dissenters, and deporting and banning immigrants, this new fascist regime is deconstructing the preexisting rights and introducing an unquestionable, strong, oppressive reign of power.
In actuality, millions upon millions do despise Trump. They believe that Muslims banned from entering the country mid-flight, stopping them from attending funerals or receiving the medical treatment they need, or even separated from their children, is inherently negative. For this reason, people did the righteous and unprecedented thing of racing to protest at the airports in the tens of thousands when the first Muslim ban was signed. They are not yet comprehending, though, that this extends far beyond a collection of policies, that this is a fascist regime which must be driven from power. We must concentrate on what we will be facing if we do not act.
One Tour Volunteer encouraged us to imagine what a society with an already consolidated fascist regime looks like, and this is something essential to keep in mind when working toward this fight. Sunsara confronted the wrongful words of Angela Davis at the Women’s March; it is unacceptable to paint the rise of a fascist regime in a positive light. Believing that Trump’s oppression gives us a precious opportunity to rise up in flowering resistance for four entire years is careless and ignorant. It is time now to face reality: four years of this regime will entail horrors upon horrors, and this is the worst endangerment humanity has ever faced. Either we drive them out, or they impose their fascist regime and genocidal intentions on the world. This is the only conclusion to be drawn. Millions of us must say NO! in order to repudiate everything this regime is doing. We will not accept any of what they are bringing to the table. The message of NO! must shape our outrage and bring to light the great solidarity we can find with one another in this uprising.
Our training session was hours long and too analytically deep and rich to fully capture here, but we are so glad to have had those intense, enlightening, and highly necessary discussions. We then headed, along with two new volunteers and members of the Refuse Fascism Atlanta chapter, to a bustling area in downtown Atlanta. We stationed ourselves across a crowded block and handed out posters, stickers, and Calls to Action, approaching and sparking conversations with passersby. By and large, the response was one of curiosity, frustration with Trump/Pence, and eagerness to channel that frustration in a productive way. We were able to direct people to tomorrow’s Teach-In with Sunsara and to share information about the local chapter.
In our encounters on the streets of Atlanta, we tried to put more emphasis on the necessity of driving the regime out above anything else. We recognized that, as Sunsara told us later, we are leading a process that’s directed at changing the entire world. We need a growing core of supporters and new leaders who are clear on exactly what we need to do in order to bring about this change. We need to open our arms to the people we meet and help them contribute what they can to the movement. It will take education, dialogue, creativity, and a very full and widespread appreciation of the urgent need to drive them out—no alternative will be enough.
In the evening after leaving downtown, all of the Volunteers and Atlanta chapter members were able to hear another Tour Volunteer on our second radio interview in two days! He spoke clearly, eloquently, and passionately about our message, drawing from the heart-wrenching example of the Nazi regime in Germany to reinforce the need to stop these fascists before it becomes too late. The radio hosts were so excited and supportive, and they encouraged all of their listeners to come to our weekend events and make donations to the cause. Following his great moment in the spotlight, all of the Tour Volunteers had a group dinner with Sunsara and took time to welcome a new Volunteer to the Tour! The new volunteer traveled all the way from the west coast to join us in Atlanta, and we couldn’t be happier to have another bright and passionate spirit traveling with us.
We all introduced ourselves and shared where we are coming from and what brought us to Refuse Fascism, as well as what we’ve experienced and learned on the Tour thus far. We spoke about the amazing, fun, and consistently productive group dynamic that’s developed organically throughout the Tour, and we took a moment to appreciate the collectivity and collaboration that helps push us forward. Each one of us has an essential role and tremendous potential to take up this responsibility. There is a lot of work ahead of us, as we strive to bring people to the understanding of what fascism is and what must be done to end it, but we find comfort in knowing that we are leading people in a movement that is important for all of humanity.
Thank you to our Atlanta hosts and new organizers, Sunsara, and especially our newest Volunteer. As our group grows to seven, we are continuing to move forward and organize thousands to bring millions into the streets. When this moment comes, we will be ready and we will not leave. We will not compromise with fascists. Day after day, night after night, we will reject this illegitimate regime. Together we will drive Trump/Pence out of power!