Yes, we must protest, but also we must engage in
resistance. Join the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance in an
Inaugural Action on January 20, 2017. According to Forbes Magazine, Nov.
9, 2016, “President Trump Is Likely To Boost U.S. Military Spending By $500
Billion To $1 Trillion.” So we need a strong presence in D.C. for the
inauguration to call for an end to all warfare, including drone warfare. NCNR
is organizing an action of nonviolent civil resistance on the day of the
inauguration, Friday, January 20. Some of us will be risking arrest, and
we need others there in support and solidarity. We will meet in the lower
level food court at Union Station at 10 AM on the day of the inauguration for
our final planning meeting. We will have a final planning meeting knowing
we have to keep things fluid because there is no certainty as to what will
happen that day.
The idea will be to process as near as possible to a
checkpoint and make us visible to the crowds. Then perhaps we can do a
die-in. We will have model drones, coffins, signs, banners, and leaflets
to get our message across. If you have ideas on messaging, please share
over email. Again, this will be a very fluid experience, and we will come
together and make decisions as we go along. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or
mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.
Thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters shut down 5th Avenue in front of Trump Tower as New Yorkers react to the election of Trump as president of the United States, November 9, 2016. (photo: Spencer Platt/Getty)
Protest
Is the Only Reasonable Response to Trump's Election Victory
By Paul Gottinger, Reader
Supported News
15 November 16
Yesterday
marked the fifth straight day of anti-Trump protests in cities across the
United States. Thousands marched to show their opposition to his campaign
pledges, which espoused bigotry, ignorance, and a disregard for basic human
rights.
His
campaign promises, if carried out, will drive the country deeper and deeper in
the direction of racism and authoritarianism. There is a real chance we’ll end
up a long ways away from anything resembling a civilized society.
Just a
small sampling of Trump’s campaign promises include the pledges to ban Muslims, to require
Muslims to register in a national
database, to engage in mass deportations, to ship
American citizens to Guantanamo Bay to be tried in military tribunals, to
resume the use of torture, to “bomb the shit out of” Iraq and Syria, and finally
to open up libel laws in
the US, which essentially amounts to a serious crackdown on press freedom.
It
goes without saying that these policies are beyond horrific and should be
resisted by anyone with a conscience. The almost immediate protests following
the election demonstrate that an enormous number of Americans are not going to
allow Trump to transform our society into a haven for paranoia, racism, and
hatred. These protests seem to me the most healthy response possible to Trump’s
victory.
Yet
there is a rising chorus of Democrats, pundits, and others calling for the
American people to have an open mind about a Donald Trump presidency. They
criticize the protests, saying things like “there was just a democratic
election” and “the people have spoken.”
Sounds
reasonable right? Well, we should recall that democracy is an idea, or a set of
values, not a process per se. A process is democratic to the extent that people
feel their voices were heard and the process represents their views.
Both
the presidential candidates’ unfavorable ratings were
among the highest ever recorded. A majority of voters said
they would be concerned or scared if either of the two candidates won, and exit
polls show that a quarter of voters cast
a ballot against one of the candidates rather than for one of the candidates.
The
voters were forced to choose between two poisoned chalices.
There
were no other choices. Significant obstacles exist for third parties to gain
access to ballots in all fifty states, to get media exposure, and to defy the
establishment’s constant insistence that a third party can never win. As a
result, the Green Party and Libertarian party captured only a very small
fraction of the vote.
Despite
the dismal votes for third parties, polls show that a
majority of Americans believe a third major party is needed. Research from this
year finds that 61% of Americans believe
that neither political party represents their views.
In a
healthy democracy, people would be able to vote for politicians who represent
their views. This wasn’t the case in this election. Despite Trump’s election
victory, exit polls show his policy proposals were not popular. Seven in ten voters said
they support granting undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. Of those
who supported a path to citizenship, 1/3 voted for Trump. A
majority of voters don’t want a wall built on the Mexican border.
Given
this lack of democracy in the US election process, protests would be warranted
no matter which candidate took the presidency. Yet, while Hillary Clinton would
pose immense dangers to freedoms and rights at home and abroad, Trump’s
administration is clearly more dangerous. His policies draw up eerie
comparisons to the dark and dangerous nationalism of the 1930s, which led to
Europe and much of the world being torn to shreds in the Second World War.
Another
reason people may feel drawn to protest is the lack of democratic process in
the primaries, particularly in the Democratic primary. The Democratic National
Committee actively worked against Bernie Sanders and took actions to favor
Hillary Clinton.
The
media also played an important role in making the primaries and general
election less democratic. US major media gifted Trump an astonishing $4.6 billion in free
media coverage over the course of his campaign, according to MediaQuant
analytics firm. Meanwhile, an analysis by Thomas Frank found that The Washington Post ran five
negative op-eds on Bernie Sanders for every positive story. In one infamous
instance, the Washington Post ran 16 negative stories on
Bernie Sanders in 16 hours.
Then
there’s the problem that many Americans had when they tried to vote in the
election. Long poll lines, poorly trained poll workers, Voter ID laws, the lack
of use of a proportionally awarded electoral system, low voter participation
rate, and the massive influence of money in politics resulted in the Electoral Integrity Project ranking
US elections the worst among Western democracies.
In
Wisconsin, an important state in this election, voter turnout was at 20-year low, and
Milwaukee’s election chief said he
believes the Voter ID law hurt turnout in impoverished wards.
There’s
also a Republican system called Crosscheck, which Greg Palast has reported on. Crosscheck is
a system where people with similar names in different states are purged from the
voting rolls under the pretense it’s the same person voting in two states.
Those targeted are mainly people of color. In both Michigan and North Carolina,
both important swing states, the number of those purged due to Crosscheck is
larger than the margin by which Hillary Clinton lost.
The
lack of democratic process, combined with the very serious danger that the this
administration poses to our society, to basic human rights, and to the world as
a whole, means that protest is likely the only option left to avert a
forthcoming nightmare.
Paul
Gottinger is a staff reporter at RSN whose work focuses on the Middle East and
the arms industry. He can be reached on Twitter @paulgottinger or via email.
Reader
Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to
republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported
News.
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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