Surviving Trump: Keeping Our Sanity and America Great

I don’t know about all you all, but if I’m going to survive the next four years (hopefully only two), I need to do something more than just self-medicating with shitloads of prosecco, Nutella and BC.

I started by being offline for a few days, because those bitching about the new administration without backing it up with real actions were getting on my nerves. Not to mention the trumpers with buyer’s remorse. Triple eye roll.

Step 2 was attending the Women’s March in NYC last weekend.

Step 3 is making and follow through a list about things I/you can do to keep America great:

– now more than ever surround yourself with go-getters, doers, and people who uplift you. Don’t waste time with toxic trumpers in real life or online.
– what Meryl said. Turn your pain into art.
– what I say: if you can’t make art, support those who can.
– don’t buy Trump products, don’t stay at his hotels.
– think about where your money goes and make a choice that is right for you:

a. It’s easy for me to write: “boycott stores that sell his products and companies that donated to his campaign,” but I can’t do it without pointing out Amazon and PayPal are two of those companies. While I’m looking for PayPal alternatives and my new website will have a store so you can buy chapbooks and books directly from me, it looks like I won’t be able to stop selling eBooks on Amazon.
b. I personally won’t be giving a cent to any LGBT non-profits that weren’t representing lesbians at the Women’s March last week. Full disclosure: this has been long coming. During the last ten years I have seen community centered LGBT non profits turn into copies of corporate America and/or Scientology centers concerned only about how much money they can get out of you, not to mention that they have pushed lesbians’ rights and needs to the side to embrace the trans and queer agendas (guess lesbian issues don’t get them enough grants and/or corporate donations).

– donate time, energy and, if you can afford it, money to organizations directly affected by Trump’s policies and bigotry and/or people you know who are struggling. I always put people first. It doesn’t have to be $600, it doesn’t have to be $60. $20 worth of groceries or a walk in the park to let them vent could make someone’s week.
– provide housing to someone who needs it whether it’s a direct victim of a LGBTphobic/racist attack or a democrat volunteer from another state who needs a place to crash while they canvas.
– create and keep a referral list at hand (pro-bono doctors and lawyers, local shelters, people who can take in one or two people in short notice, people who can cook for X people in short notice, food pantries, etc) in case you or someone you know need it.
– educate yourself and share what you learn. StayWoke has put together and (I think) will update a resistance manual about all of Trumps proposals and new bills.
– learn how the system works and what you can do to stop a bill from passing. Then DO IT!
– join feminist action eLists and check the Women’s March website regularly to learn about new campaigns and initiatives. Right now they have the 100 days, 10 actions thing going on. The first action is writing postcards to your Senators about what matters to you most.
– use social media to visibilize any and all verifiable misogynistic/racist/LGBTphobic attacks that you have suffered, witnessed or heard about.
– use social media to visibilize the new administration’s lies and each and all examples of nepotism. Whenever possible, share articles from international newspapers such as El Mundo (SP), El Pais (SP), Le Monde (FR), Le Figaro (FR), Libération (FR), Bild (GM), Die Welt (GM), Rheinische Post (GM), The Guardian (EN), The Independent (EN), The Mirror (EN)… all of them can’t be publishing liberal, fake, angry lies, right?
– share these photos.
– keep it classy. Don’t share memes and offensive articles about Barron Trump – he is just ten years old and didn’t ask to be on the spotlight.
– save energy and resources – don’t perpetuate the myth that Melania is a prisoner. If you don’t speak Spanish and can’t read the Vanity Fair interview, simply google her appearance at Joy Behar’s show asking for Obama’s birth certificate years ago. Melania doesn’t need to be saved. IMHO she made her own bed like any of the Park Avenue wives who happily look the other way while their husbands cheat or earn their money in questionable ways.
– strengthen old and new relationships with other feminists. Think about ways to communicate if they shut down Facebook/the internet or the phones.
– be ready to protest on short notice, keep an eye on social media, and gather for as long as you can. With this I mean in NYC we have a protest literally every night of the week and I often don’t know about them until I’m already home. Plus, who knows how long it will take Trump to make protesting illegal?
– register to vote and don’t miss a single election.
– if you have a green card, get your naturalization process started so you can register and vote in the next election.
– find your local or state Democrat party online and get on their rapid response mailing list. You’ll receive updates and facts on key moments and, in turn, be able to spread the word using social media.
– volunteer for canvassing and other opportunities to get more Democrats in the Senate in 2018. Things like voter phone calls, flyers distribution, or hosting a fundraiser can make a difference.
– don’t stop living your life and take a break from politics every now and then. The above actions sound like a lot but it really shouldn’t take more than a few minutes a day or 30 minutes once a week.
– did you know there’s a google extension that automatically changes photos of Trump to kittens?