How to Drive Trump Completely Insane on January 20th

Don’t protest or ignore his inauguration…Counterprogram with a Day of Community!

On January 20th, there will be a strong impulse to push back against Trump, to protest, to give back as good as we’ve been getting and to make clear we will not stand by and just let him get away with what he has promised to unleash on America and the world.

Please don’t. It is exactly what he wants.

We’ve already protested…plenty. Every time we do, it gets used against us by the same radical right-wing media that just helped Trump get elected. Plus, it’s not like they don’t know what we think at this point. Do we really need to spell it out for them one more time?

Don’t protest, don’t ignore, COUNTERPROGRAM with a Day of Community!

A protest would be just another part of Trump’s story. To really hurt Trump, we need to do something completely unconnected from his inauguration; something that draws attention away from his story.

On January 20th, local groups (of every sort) should hold a series of events in cities & towns across the nation, each connected by the theme ‘A Day of Community’.

In larger cities, multiple groups could hold events centered around different community-centric themes. The actual event can be pretty much anything and best of all, it can be a million different things…and not one of them has anything to do with Trump’s inauguration.

~ Hand out coats & socks to homeless people.
~ Build community gardens and/or playgrounds.
~ Give away bicycles to kids and/or do a bike repair clinic.
~ Set up temporary housing for low-income families.
~ Clean up trash in public spaces and/or renovate parkways.
~ Provide legal consultations for people concerned about immigration status.
~ Offer free dental and/or eye exams.
~ Host a local small businesses jobs fair.
~ Tutoring!

The list is pretty much endless. You get the idea.

A Day of Community is about providing a sense of support (and community) for anyone who needs it. Groups should offer ongoing aid in the months and years to come in whatever way they are able. Individuals who are better able to help others could find an outlet to do so. People could learn about existing programs and get help with any paperwork or filing requirements. New groups centered around some vital local need could form.

Just remember that this is about connecting people to the resources they need and to each other, not enlisting them to help fight your particular cause.

Now, down the road should the need to enlist people to fight for something important arise, who do you think is more likely to respond to a call to action – a person with little connection to you or someone whose life you have made materially better?

We can’t just show up every two years and ask people to vote for someone who may or may not make their lives better. Make people’s lives better first, and they will happily support whoever did that for them.

If we were to do this, it would completely blow the minds of Trump & his allies.

I honestly don’t know how they would react, but I promise it would be a far more useful reaction than anything a protest might elicit. A protest is just a footnote in the story of Trump’s inauguration. Offer the public a different story that isn’t connected to Trump, one that doesn’t fit into the right-wing narrative about who we are or what we want.

This is what we must learn to do for the next four years…find ways to flip the script, to act in ways they aren’t expecting. The key is to not be passive or surrender to unreasonable and/or illegal demands, but to also not confront them directly.

Don’t focus on Trump – or do so as little as possible – because that is precisely what he wants. He’s a narcissist, so any attention is good attention.

We need to start treating Trump the same way we would a toxic narcissist in our personal lives – minimize contact and aggressively shift focus away from the surrender/fight dynamic he is constantly trying to force people into.

Things are going to be rough over the next four years. They will be far rougher if we refuse to learn the lessons from the first time around.

Again and again, Trump has made people feel powerless, made them believe that he is the one fully in control. Aggressive nonengagement – choosing a third option other than fight or flight – helps flip that dynamic. It gives people a sense of control while making Trump feel less powerful…two very positive outcomes!

A Day of Community would connect:
~ Local organizers with their communities
~ People to one another.
~ People who need help in the coming months with groups/people who can provide it.
~ People who want to help with outlets to do so

Above all, it would give people a sense of hope and control over their own lives.

Finally, even though we don’t want to focus on him, it would be totally fine to take some joy in the fact that this would also drive Trump absolutely insane!

Alex Wong, Getty Images

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Thank you and enjoy the remainder of your holiday weekend.