Here's the Plan for Fighting Trump 2.0 (and Defending People & Democracy)

50,000 people from across the country "picked themselves off the floor after an election that ripped our hearts out" and registered for "Worth Fighting For," a mass strategy call on Wednesday night.  After some inspiration from Senator Elizabeth Warren (!), Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg shared the outline of the new Indivisible Guide.  It was AWESOME!  If you missed the call, you can watch the video HERE.
 
 Here's Ezra's message: 
 
 "The bottom line is this: Trump wants us to believe he’s all-powerful. He’s not. The original Indivisible Guide focused entirely on Congress. That’s only part of the fight against Trump 2.0. The new guide aims to be as practical as the original, but we widen the scope to include what you can do in cities and states where you have leverage. If we all play our part, we can harness backlash to the horror that’s coming. We can limit harm and break the back of MAGA in the elections to come. We can survive to fight another day.
 
 In a recent interview, the historian of authoritarianism and author of On Tyranny, Timothy Snyder, noted about the moment we’re in: “They want you to be alone. Nobody is going to fix this alone. That’s not how this works.” There’s a role for all of us -- some will play defense, some play offense -- but it all comes down to getting organized in our local groups. Individually, we’re alone and powerless; together, we have power."
 
 This is what we're asking you to do next:
 
 1) Read Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink. It's 30 pages and may take a while to digest, so take it a little at a time. If you're not a big reader, you can get the main points from the video (with slide deck) from Wednesday. 
 
 2) Share the Guide. Seriously. with everyone you know.  Look through your emails and start hitting "Send." 
 
 3) Mark your calendar and join us at our December IMV meeting, on Sunday, December 8th, 1-3 pm .Bring all your friends who want to be part of the "Resist MAGA" movement."  We'll start to figure out what OUR next steps are given the strategic, local, and practical focus of the guide.  Plus we will keep building community, because being together, in person, in our own geographic communities, as Ezra says, is what makes us strong. 
 

Mutual Aid Network Organizing Meeting

Tuesday, Nov. 19th, 6:00-7:30 pm, there will be a Mohawk Valley Mutual Aid network organizing meeting at the Utica Public Library, 303 Genesee St. in Utica. Many people will be negatively impacted by austerity, human rights abuses. and cuts. In response Beth, John, and others are organizing the Mohawk Valley Mutual Aid Network. People will need help navigating  benefits, obtaining free food, home goods or other items, assisting people to avoid deportation and detention camps, paying rent, and more. You don’t have to do everything or anything big. Even the smallest stuff helps. Pizza will be served at the meeting.  If you can't make it, don't worry.  IMV will stay in touch as an ally and we will let you know how you, as an individual, can help when needed.
 

About Social Media Right Now

 Are you starting to notice people migrating to new social media accounts?  "Indivisibles are starting to build a welcoming pro-democracy community on Bluesky, which functions basically identically to Twitter, but without the bots, nazis, and vitriol."--Ezra Levin

Start with Ezra at @ezralevin, Leah at @leahgreenberg, and the Indivisible team at @indivisibleguide. Again, this won’t be enough, but it’s a step in the right direction. Rebecca Solnit, who has been there for a while, recommends that if you want people to find you, use your real name as your handle. IMV will be heading there soon, and we hope to see you!

Where Will You Put Your Focus?

We had about 60 people at our annual IMV Post-Election Fall Fiesta last Sunday. Thanks to all who attended. If you could not be there, know that we missed you!  We celebrated all our work over the past year.  It was a LOT--from Letters to the Editor to postcards, phone calls to door knocking, rallies and mini pickets vs. Brandon Williams, plus contact with our state legislators on issues and budgets, and so much more.  We also solicited your ideas on what we will do in the year ahead.  In the Trumpworld we face, three big topics dominated the list, and those were:

1) Protecting immigrants, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, etc.   If this is your top issue you may want to attend the training in Syracuse tomorrow (see the calendar) and be ready to volunteer for those efforts -maybe even help lead a working group within IMV so that we can maximize our constituent power and our resources as a group.
2) Women's Reproductive Rights.  No going back.  Back in 2017-2018 we had a women's issues/rights group and that may be needed again. We will be working as allies and activists and at many levels as we work to protest MAGA courts, press legislators to protect civil rights, and more.  
3) Climate Crisis.. Our working group is dedicated and strong, but can always use more engaged people.  The NYS leg session starts in January, and we need to hit the ground running to make sure that New York is doing everything possible in the face of the MAGA assault on climate solutions.

Much of what we do in the coming 2-4 years is going to be ad hoc and defensive.  With MAGA running the tables in the Senate, House, and White House, and the courts largely infiltrated and compromised, we will be playing defense on many fronts. When the call goes out that everyone needs to call their representative to stop a bill or rally against an unjust law, that's what we'll do. Just like we did in 2017 to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.  But while we react ad hoc, we also need people working in groups to build knowledge and strengthen messaging and action on key issues.  

What we won't do is give up or throw in the towel.  We will come together and we will work together and will build strength and power.  

"Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine initial act of insurrection."  --Rebecca Solnit

"A setback is nothing more than a set up for a comeback. And election night was certainly a setback, but it just sets us up for a comeback on behalf of the American people, staying consistent with our ideals, making sure we put working families over the well connected, and then we stand up for these traditional American values."  -Hakeem Jeffries, on NPR's Morning Edition, Nov. 14, 2024. 

Remember to read and share  Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink. 

And join IMV at our next meeting, Sunday, Dec. 8, 1-3 pm at the New Harford Public Library, 2 Library Lane, New Hartford.  There is plenty of parking in the back of the building, and the access at that back door is accessible.  

You are not alone. We will face all this together, and we will work to protect those who are most in danger and most at risk.  
 

Follow us on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv and of course on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.