Anti-Social Guide to Resisting Trump
(AKA Trump Therapy for Introverts)
So you’re Anti-Social. You watch the dumpster fire that is President Trump everyday, but are too anxious to pick up the phone, and just thinking of a protest makes you want to curl up in fetal. But there are solutions my friend.
Let’s be real here. Ideally everyone would be okay with all the socializing that’s required to organize at the grassroots. But we all know that some of this just isn’t our jam. A 2-minute phone call drains us for the next hour. A 60-minute community meeting needs to be followed by a Netflix night. That’s just who we are.
But we also know that Trump is a real threat to our democracy. Everyone is being called to participate in saving America. All of us must make small and large sacrifices to make sure we don’t head towards disaster. And sometimes, us introverts will have to muster up the strength to make the call or gather our fellow introverts to go to a protest. That’s our civic duty. But there are also other ways to #resist that fit our personalities a little bit better.
This guide will cover 4 introvert-friendly resistance tactics. Commit to doing all 4 weekly:
- Faxing your Members of Congress (MoCs)
- Donating to Congressional Campaigns
- Emailing State Legislators
- Writing Thank you Letters
Why these actions? AKA Do they even work?
Faxing your MoCs
There’s some debate about the effectiveness of faxing your MoCs. Undoubtedly, phone calls are the best way to make your voice heard. It forces congressional staffers to stop what they’re doing, and respond to you.
However, congress’ technology is stuck in the mid 90s. Their phone systems were not built to keep up with the onslaught of calls since Trump’s victory, and these calls are often sent to full mailboxes. Letters aren’t instantaneous enough to keep up the Republican’s quickening legislative agenda. And emailing and tweeting your MoCs is simply too impersonal to make an impact.
Faxing, though often viewed as outdated, is the next best option. It’s quick. It’s personal. And it is an efficient way to verify you are a MoCs constituent. Sites like ResistBot are making this as simple as possible by turning your texts into faxes. And yup, it’s free.
Contributing to Political Campaigns
Listen Republicans are about to say a lot of dumb sh*t for the next 4 years. Like Jason Chaffetz telling the working poor to “give up their iPhones.” or Steven King speaking about “someone else’s babies.” But in the words of my wise Facebook friend, “You can hate or you can donate.”
The silver lining of the Trump years is that there are new, bold voices getting involved in politics. The downside is that it is very expensive to run political campaign. The average cost of winning a seat is the Senate in 2012 was about $10.4 million! New political voices often either run out of funds or start to look to corporate donors to lighten the load. And it goes without saying, that corporate involvement in politics is a big no-no.
So it’s up to us to make sure these new voices can run competitive races. Sites like CrowdPac, Democracy for America, and Our Revolution are making it hella easy to do just that.
Emailing State Legislators
While emailing your MoCs is often ineffective, your state legislators are another story. Not burdened by a large number of constituents, emails are often read and sometimes even personally responded to by the Legislator.
Effecting change on the local level is often much easier than on the federal level. Local chapters of notable organizations are a great way to see your voice change society quickly. Sign up for email updates for the state level chapters of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club. These organizations send email prompts to send directly to your legislator. Find the contact info for your legislator here.
Writing Thank You Letters
Writing Thank You letters is a way to retroactively applaud Congress and encourage similar behavior in the future. Thank you letters are not as time-sensitive as letters of concern, making them an effective to communicate your opinions.
And let’s be honest, Congress doesn’t get many Thank You’s, making each letter that much more memorable.
For your talkative days:
- 5 Calls (calling): https://5calls.org/
- Indivisible Guide (calling): https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
- Resistance Calendar (local events): https://www.resistancecalendar.org/
Suggested Weekly Agenda Example:
Agenda for Week of 3/19
Use ResistBot to fax your MoCs about ACA repeal:
Script: Save the ACA. Please vote ‘no’ on ACHA. [insert personal story and facts]
- Fact sheets about the devastating effects of ACHA
- And more facts
Donate to Kathryn Allen, democratic opponent of Jason Chaffetz.
Contribute to $3-5 to Kathryn’s campaign here. (of course if you feel moved, please donate more).
Check Email Alerts from state chapters of ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club
- Find state chapters by googling “[NAME OF ORG] of [STATE]
- For example, I am from Maryland. So I would google Planned Parenthood of Maryland
- Sign up for email alerts for local chapters of ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club
- CHECK DAILY FOR NEW UPDATES. Email prompts will often be pre-made to be sent to your legislators when legislation is threatening constitutional rights, reproductive freedom, and environmental justice. Stay woke!
- Don’t always rely on these orgs to do the work for you. If you find out about a bill in your state that concerns you, contact your legislator yourself. Contact info can be found here.
Write Thank you Letters to your MoCs (and Republicans from other states) who are speaking out against ACHA (Republican repeal bill)
*** SIDE NOTE***
Rewarding the little political courage left seems like a bizarre idea, I know. But strategically, thanking people on the other side of the isle sends a message about the strength and persistence of the opposition.
- Find a Republican against ACHA here.
- Look on your MoCs website, Facebook, or Twitter to see if they have publicly opposed ACHA. Thank them if they are openly against it. Fax them if not.
Catonsville Indivisibles 