The National Tour to Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime went out to the University of Texas El Paso on March 22 to talk with students about why this regime is fascist, the horrific consequences we will witness if it consolidates power, and how we must all act with a sense of urgency and strength to remove them from office. We especially focused on encouraging students to share their own stories of living in a border town. Some of them were born in El Paso to Mexican immigrant parents, while others had immigrated to the city themselves, and still others commuted across the border to the university every single day from Ciudad Juárez, the largest city in Chihuahua.
Because we needed permission from the university to be on campus, a sociology professor who supports Refuse Fascism worked with the Democratic Socialists of America student organization to ensure we would be allowed to set up our table, distribute our materials, and speak out. This backing was important in enabling us to focus on our message without worrying about encountering the intense policing of speech we likely would have otherwise. We were then able to speak with students and professors from a wide array of departments: political science, museum studies, psychology, natural sciences, music, religious studies, sociology, history, and more.
The overall atmosphere of the university was saturated with anti-Trump sentiments, particularly concentrated on the issue of the regime’s plans to build a border wall, which would divide many students and professors from their families. It could prevent many from attending classes on the U.S. side of the border, as an increased and even more aggressive border patrol will target people relentlessly. Some expressed additional concern for the detrimental environmental impact a wall would inevitably have for countless animals’ habitats, destroying migration patterns especially.
Many students expressed concern and dismay because they had heard the construction of the wall may begin in El Paso, and they were deeply disturbed by the Mexican and Native American owned companies who were bidding to be part of the construction process. This can be likened to Hitler’s use of a certain group of manipulated Jews in the early ghettoes who worked to keep others in check. The power that a fascist dictator can have in brainwashing and controlling people, making them turn against their own brothers and sisters, in order to reinforce their regime, cannot be underestimated. The implications of this proposed border wall—and the horrifying “Build the wall!” chants at Trump rallies—are vast, and most people we met in the city described how aggressively racist the proposal is and how destructive it would be.
Several people we encountered throughout our time in El Paso, however, expressed dejection in words we heard repeatedly: “We already have a wall here.” While it is true that most of the city is divided from Juárez by a fence, this statement reveals denial of the actual physical impact of a 30 to 40 foot tall wall stretching a thousand miles versus some sections of fencing, as well as denial that, while the system of government has always been oppressive toward Latino peoples, this fascist regime is introducing new ideas that are far more dangerous than those we’ve seen before. In encountering this limited viewpoint, we struggled to shift people’s thinking past the local level and toward the reality of what a fascist America would look like and toward a fuller understanding of the threats Trump and Pence pose to virtually all of humanity and the planet.
The violent, hateful rhetoric Trump uses against all Mexicans hurt the people of El Paso, and particularly the students at the university, very deeply. One student shared his perspective in a video for our Refuse Fascism social media. He held a sign reading, “¡NO! ¡En nombre de la humanidad, nos NEGAMOS a aceptar a un Estados Unidos fascista!” and told us in Spanish that Donald Trump is a person full of hate and racism against all immigrant communities. “The students at UT El Paso are predominantly Mexican immigrants and students from immigrant families. We are not all criminals and rapists”, he said. “As you can see, students come to this university with aspirations to positively contribute to the world”.
We had so many enlightening conversations about the attacks on immigration, including both the problems the people of El Paso and Juárez have always encountered and the issues that are far worse after the illegitimate election of a fascist administration. Many of the students we met—most of whom were not already activists, aside from some members of a Native American rights group—extended their concerns beyond the hardships of the border and were able to grasp the bigger picture of the Trump/Pence regime’s fascist attacks on all of humanity.
We met one student who was a military veteran; he had served for 13 years, was deployed 4 times in Iraq, and then worked as a recruiter. He regrets all of this, he told us, but it did reveal to him how appalling and inexcusable many actions taken by the U.S. are. He had taken a Call to Action quickly while walking past, but after skimming it quickly while walking, he turned back to talk with us and never made it to his class. His excitement was tangible, as he exclaimed that he had been saying all along that this is fascism and that more people need to wake up and listen.
Another student told us the story of her mother, who crossed the border from Juárez into the U.S. when she was having extreme pains during her pregnancy so that she could give birth to her and receive better healthcare here. She began crying while talking to a Tour Volunteer and shared that, while the Women’s March was beautiful, there hasn’t been nearly enough resistance since then. Both of these students were eager to get more involved with Refuse Fascism, telling their stories on our social media, taking Calls to Action, stickers, and posters to distribute, and setting up a meeting with us for the following day to work more on concrete organization for the university.
One professor we met and spent time with throughout our time in El Paso had a very rich understanding of the Call to Action, making strong connections between the message that this is a fascist regime and the actions of the administration that are clearly demonstrating this. An example he gave, which was particularly important to him as a museum studies professor, was Trump’s recent budget proposal: in trying to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, the regime will hurt children of this country. “This will lead to an ignorant population, and that leads to fascism,” he said. It’s essential that people are beginning to piece together these individual hateful policies and proposals and recognizing that, beyond these, the regime is attempting to enact a total, qualitative change in the system.
One Tour Volunteer had a conversation with a student about the fierce and rapid polarization of the university campus after the election. People were drawing lines and losing friends when they realized Trump and Pence supporters truly do not care about humanity. We only encountered one or two pro-Trump students, but one made his presence known loudly. While walking past our banner, he shouted, “No one gives a fuck!” A Tour Volunteer replied, “Maybe you don’t give a fuck, but a lot of people out here do.” The student then turned around and yelled, “You sound like a woman!” Throughout the argument, he defended his misogynistic comments, mindlessly shouted about the problem of “illegals,” and asserted that climate change is not real. It was a striking and sickening manifestation of trends we’ve seen happen in the past months: Trump’s racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, homophobic, xenophobic, white nationalist support base is empowered and enabled by their leader’s unashamed, explicitly hateful rhetoric. It reminded us of an experience the Tour had in New Orleans, where we had organized a march for International Women’s Day, when men shouted at us as we marched, “Trump! Trump! Trump! Show us your tits!” and one man called a female volunteer a “bitch” when she gave him a Call to Action. These emboldened, outrageous monsters are a growing and strengthening group that is a cornerstone of the regime’s fascist agenda.
Many students and professors gathered to listen and film the situation, and they spoke out in agreement with us and against many of the Trump supporter’s statements. When he denied the reality of climate change, students cried out “NO!” They felt that his ignorance disrespected the university’s role as a place of scientific learning. Environmental issues were on many people’s minds, and we met two scientists who had been working as researchers at the university, but their funding was cut because it had previously come from the EPA. We encouraged them to unite their own struggle with the broader movement, fighting for the planet and all of humanity and never allowing fascism to divide society, which they seek to do in order to facilitate consolidation of power.
Later that evening, some of our supporters in El Paso hosted a pot luck for the Tour, attended by professors from the university and the community college, Democratic Socialists of America, Join Us for Justice, a city councilman, members of El Paso Food organization, a director of a community garden, people from Continuing the Revolution, a professional translator, a retired man who had been an activist against the Vietnam War, and the former director of the Holocaust Museum in El Paso, which is the only bilingual Holocaust museum in the country. We read the Call to Action in full and elaborated on some of its most important points before having a long discussion. Local issues and tactics to address these seemed to be the primary concerns for many, so the Tour Volunteers worked continually to reframe the discussion and bring the conversation back to the essential goal of driving Trump/Pence out of power, focusing on exactly why and how this must be done, and the consequences we will face if we do not act. We acknowledged the importance of these longstanding and ongoing local community struggles while emphasizing this new tidal wave of fascism that must be stopped for the sake of not only El Paso but the entire world.
One of the most positive experiences I had was a conversation with a student from Puerto Rico, who was raised in Mexico and moved to El Paso a few years ago. He was drawn to us initially as the aforementioned Trump supporter was spewing his disgusting misogynistic and abominably ignorant comments. The student spoke up against this obnoxious man, and he defended many of the groups attacked by Trump, Pence, and their minions. Following this, he shared his opposition to the regime, and we had a long talk about the parallels between Trump and Hitler. He had a series of “light bulb” moments throughout this discussion, struck by the clear similarities between the present moment and Hitler’s rise to power.
The fascist dictator’s book burning very early on is eerily in line with one of the Trump regime’s first moves—eradicating any trace of LGBTQ rights or climate change information that had been on the campaign’s website. The reality was that Hitler was appointed by a broader conservative party in order to appease a small but growing faction of Nazis in Germany because the party believed they could tame and control him, much like the Republicans think they can do with Trump and the alt-right. The dehumanization of Muslims, Mexicans, and transgender people now follows the Nazis’ strategic attacks on disabled people, gay people, and Jews. What are now “border camps” could easily, over time, become concentration camps. We talked about Hitler’s outspoken push to “restore Germany to greatness” and the threatening “USA! USA! Build the wall!” chants, which reflect the same energy as Hitler’s massive rallies. It all feels too familiar.
The student was alarmed, awakened, and moved to action. It was a powerful moment to see him actually realize the direction this regime is moving, far beyond racism and hate. As soon as he deeply understood that this is fascism, he began passing out flyers, took large stacks of materials to distribute to his friends, professors, and classmates, and met with us the following day. This is exactly why we are on this National Tour. When people truly and fully grasp the reality of what we are facing, they see the need to stop this regime in its tracks now. Anyone who cares at all about humanity, once they deeply comprehend this message, will be undeniably compelled to become a new leader of this movement to drive them out.