It is time, once again, to talk about American fascism. They now hold two of four power centers. The Supreme Court and the House of Representatives. The House has control of the purse strings. And the Supreme Court makes law.
This last November we did not win. We simply did not lose as was predicted. We did not defeat the enemy in a decisive victory, we merely prevented the immediate arrival of full throttle fascism.
We fought one battle to a draw (not a win) but the war continues. And they are slowly beating us. Beating democracy.
The rabid MAGA now running the House of Representatives are openly planning on using the debt ceiling to forcibly destroy the social safety net and much more. They are planning on causing a deep recession and causing the United States to lose its leadership position in the world.
All this while wasting time in n endless attempts to prosecute their political enemies.
They will be drafting MORE voter suppression laws, all of which will die in the senate.
What they won’t be doing is their jobs—writing and passing legislation to serve the American people.
The next two years are crucial. I don’t know if we can do it. But if if are to try, the first step is to demand that the seditionists are ALL brought to justice, including the ones still in elected office. And that those seats are filled with people who believe in the rule of law and in our system.
That in itself will restore the House of Representatives. And widen our majority in the Senate enough for real work to take place.
Then, once there are the votes, time to expand the Supreme Court and remove the bad actors within its ranks.
I realize that this is unprecedented. But so is allowing Christo-fascists to end this republic from within.
What can we, the average citizens do? I have been considering that question for some time.
I think we need a resistance plan in case they gain more total control. And we need to do every kind of civil action to show what we, the majority want, and ultimately, demand. From letter writing and calling to taking to the streets.
And of course vote.
A friend asked me how we are to do this when so many of us are struggling to survive.
Here are a few ideas. The first is to create mutual aid on the community level so when the safety net is damaged we are prepared to care for our own. This includes community wide food sovereignty and water sovereignty.
The second is to spread out the work so nobody feels the need to do it all. If you like action, specialize in protests. If you prefer writing, write one letter a week. If you are a baker, bake for the ones on the front lines.
And, you can make your activism part of your social life. That is part of how a resistance gets started. We can begin by studying the European resistance that grew up the last time fascism raised its ugly head.
This will require a deep dive into our values, our commitments, and our ways of relating with our fellow citizens.
If you are still involved with community organizing of this type on any level, please let me know in the comments what you and your community are up to.
tried to leave a comment, but don't think it went through. will try again. We could learn from the Yurok Tribe - they took Federal rescue money and bought a 48 acre greenhouse and other land. Thank you for your thoughtful posts. Food sustainability. We all could learn from the Yurok Tribe. They took Federal rescue money and bought land and a 48 acre greenhouse instead of $50 million on an airport. And because they are indigenous it's not for profit. The Yurok Agricultural Corporation recently purchased 26-acres of land that will be used to develop a culturally relevant food sovereignty program on the Yurok Reservation in Northern California. Previously owned by the Weitchpec Nursery, the property is an ideal location to build the much-needed food program, which will serve residents on and near the reservation.
“Weitchpec Nursery was the premier supplier of flower and vegetable starts in the Humboldt County region for many decades. When the owners retired the community lost jobs and revenue from that business,” says Toby Vanlandingham, President of the YAC. “The Yurok Agricultural Corporation has an opportunity to once again bring that business back into the community to stimulate economic growth, create decent paying jobs, and to assist residents with becoming self-sustaining by growing their own food.”
“COVID has heightened the importance in rural communities of micro agriculture and food sovereignty,” says Madison Green, Secretary of the Board “The purpose of the Yurok Agricultural Corporation is to develop agricultural economic resources and to maximize revenue derived from such resources on behalf of the Tribe and its members, this project falls directly in line with our core mission as a company and will benefit our people for decades to come.”
“The vision is to build a nursery dedicated to providing a quality choice for people looking for plant starts and garden supplies, as well as creating a farmers marketplace and an outlet to local area stores with quality vegetables at affordable prices,” says the YAC Vice President Edward “Horse” Aubrey. “I’ve been a staunch supporter of Yurok people maintaining true sovereignty by growing their own medicine and food, so when Toby brought this idea to the table it was a no-brainer — power to the people.”
The new program will also focus on educating and assisting Yurok Reservation residents in all aspects of food sovereignty. Since the entire Yurok Reservation was declared a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2017, a multitude of studies have been done on the area and a small number of grants have been awarded to build a healthy, sustainable, and culturally centered food system. In some areas off the reservation there has been success, but on the Yurok Reservation there has been no solid foundation laid to sustain a program into the future.
“We’re still in a food desert and have been since colonization basically. I have been in agriculture my entire life, in order to really bring about change on the reservation we need a program that is not grant funded and has the resources to keep the program going,” Vanlandingham said. “I was running the Kenek We-roy community garden up until I was elected to Tribal council, then life got busy. Now that I am the President of the Agricultural Corp I have the ability to build a system that the community needs, based off of the community needs, and not worry about finding a grant for that.” He added “Now I am not saying we will stop pursuing grant dollars, but outside funds will not be the defining factor in the success of this program.”
With a tentative opening date of March 2021, the Yurok Agricultural Corporation will bring the dream of the community to reality and be the supplier of locally sourced non-GMO, high quality vegetables and vegetable starts. The nursery will also offer organic seeds and a variety of potted fruit trees that are suited to the local climate. Weitchpec Nursery will serve both residential customers and area retail stores. There will also be a variety of garden accessories such as potting soils, safe fertilizers, and garden tools available. In combination with quality vegetables starts, healthy vegetables and supplies, gardening how-to’s and community workshops to further educate residents on the benefits of growing food will also be provided to the community.
The Yurok Agricultural Corporation is a Tribal entity that is organized, chartered and wholly owned by the Yurok Tribe. The YAC was created to develop agricultural economic resources in an orderly manner and to maximize revenue derived from such resources on behalf of the Tribe and its members.
We can send messages to our elected representatives in the House, the Senate, and President Biden via the Resistbot app. If we have a unified message and enough people send them, they will listen and they will act. Next, we can send postcards to voters for special elections that will come up over the next couple of years and the 2024 election. Postcards are much more effective than letters. They don't require being opened to be read and they are completely handwritten, not just a printed letter with a handwritten sentence at the end. The postcards are much more personal, more likely to be read and therefore,more effective. And they are much cheaper to produce and send. If you can, go to a swing state or district and knock and doors where you can have real conversations with people. And lastly, participate in protests when they are scheduled.