White Men: Do Something

It's happened.  Donald Trump is President, and in his first few days in office he has already begun to show us what his Presidency will look like.  Not surprisingly, perhaps, Trump is proving to be a politician who actually keeps some of his promises.  Unfortunately, those promises are nightmarish in nature.  From the border wall, to banning Muslims, to abortion restrictions and attacks on women, attacks on the First Amendment, an apparent threat to invade Chicago, and more, Trump is showing himself to be the fascist we knew he was.

Thankfully, the resistance has also begun.  Women's Marches across the USA and the world took place on the 21st, the day after his inauguration, which also drew large protests.  Today there will be protests in Philadelphia, where Donald Trump will be attending a Republican Retreat being held at the Lowes hotel.  Rumor has it that Neo Nazi Richard Spencer is in Philadelphia at the moment too, and there has been a flurry of Facebook posts encouraging Philadelphians to attack him with more well-deserved physical violence.

FUCK OFF!

As this necessary resistance persists, I want to encourage two seemingly contradictory things (though I do not believe they are actually in contradiction at all).  The first is that those in the most privileged of positions--white, heterosexual, middle- to upper-class, cisgender, able-bodied, men--must take our leadership from people of color, women, queers, the disabled, non-binary and trans people, the poor, and so on.  Too often, both historically and contemporarily, the privileges of those in powerful positions have translated into ideological and political leadership in movements.  This inevitably results in the alienation of those who suffer most from oppression in societies and produces less radical results, as those at the top of those hierarchies, even with the best of intentions, often reproduce the structures' devastating impacts, whether intentionally or not.  So, we must take our leadership from others and be willing to both shut up (seriously, white dudes, take up less space) and put up.

The second part of that sentence, "put up," is what seems contradictory at first.  We must take our leadership from others, but we must show the fuck up and be willing to use our privileges to fight back.  We are less likely to be arrested, less likely to have trumped up (pun intended?) charges levied against us, less likely to be killed by murderous pigs, less likely to be assaulted, and on and on and on.  Here's the thing, it is totally reasonable for people who are most under attack by this system to choose to keep their distance if they don't feel safe.  To continue to merely exist in a world trying to systematically exterminate you is a political act, an act of resistance.  For those most under attack, existence is resistance.  But for those of us at the top of the hierarchy, the same cannot be said.  Our allyship, our resistance must be shown in the streets; by fighting our racist, sexist, Trump supporting relatives; by doing anything and everything we can to resist and to use our privileges to the benefit of those without the same advantages.

So, if you're able, go to a protest, organize a meeting (but do so with the advice and consult of LGBTQIA+ and POC peoples).  Do something.  Especially if you're a white man, take your leadership from others,  but be doing something to fight back.

For example, collect 100 scalps.

One final note: I recognize that for many reasons, some who appear to be the most privileged might not be.  White men may have trauma in their past, may be suffering from mental health problems making it difficult to participate in certain activities, etc.  If you're one such person, know that this does not necessarily apply to you and that your need to take care of yourself really is super important and respected.