Something interesting has grown out of the coalescence of opposition to the 45th president and other right-wingers doing damage to the country under the cover of Trump’s distracting horrors.
We refer to ourselves collectively as the Resistance. At least, I do. It may or may not be the best encompassing title for the group, but I’m nothing of an insider and not up on everything. That’s part of what I find interesting, though, it seems we’re all something of insiders even if we’re not.
As a note, the vast majority of my interactions have been through Twitter, where I’ve picked up more than a thousand new “friends” simply because we share an opposition to Trump.
While disgust for the man who would be king might be the most widely shared trait of those in the Resistance, I have found many threads that run through my new friends and their friends. I gathered these impressions from what they tweet and from their brief bios. There are many similarities with my November list, “What are we for?”
For example, many of them cite support for women’s issues. Conservatives usually equate that to nothing more than freedom of choice concerning abortion. That is well represented, for sure, but there is much, much more. Most of us want women to be paid the same as men, to have equal representation in decision-making, to feel safe and to be believed when they have been hurt. For a start.
Similarly…
The Black Lives Movement and general recognition of the realities of ongoing oppression of people of color are commonly supported.
Many in the Resistance recognize an obligation to help people fleeing dangerous and desperate environments. That means helping refugees and developing a fair immigration policy. It certainly includes the desire to not punish the so-called Dreamers who were brought here as children and who Trump is threatening to send back to a country they do not know.
On one hand, I think right wingers would be amazed at the number of members of LGBTQ communities who are in the Resistance. On the other hand, I can hear some of them shriek, “Of course *those people* would be involved with a liberal movement.” What they would surely continue to fail to acknowledge is the size of the population.
Much larger, still, is the number in the Resistance who, while heterosexual, openly and fervently support LGBTQ.
Another common theme is support for public education, recognizing that diverting public funds to private schools is a recipe for keeping the less fortunate relegated to second-class status.
And we want to see real science as part of education. While on that topic, we really want to see peer-reviewed science having an important role in policy making.
That would include things such as climate change, clean water, healthy living, cleaner environment and so on.
Something else I see a lot of is related to religion. That includes a large number of Christians, many of whom make it a point to say they are not represented by the radical right wing evangelical movement. I also come across many who mention they are atheist. Of course, there are members of other religions as well. Regardless our religious beliefs, we want to be free to follow them.
One thing about my fellow resisters that surprised me was that many are from different parts of the world. I thought this strange at first and was hesitant to follow back someone from another country, but then a fellow from Australia made a comment: “What happens in the United States affects us all.”
Closing out this list is something else I’ve observed that I find interesting. A lot of Resistance members are quite adept at cursing. Not only do they do so but many will even warn you in their bios. I suspect most of them cursed before Trump was elected but I also think it likely they, like me, have found cursing an increasingly appropriate reaction to what’s going on in Washington these days.
There are many other things that bind us, including a ready willingness to support one another when things seem dark. With that in mind, please add through a comment what the Resistance means to you.
Steve Martaindale 