“LISTEN UP AMERICAN LIBERALS AND PROGRESSIVES:
I hear our cries to help, our daily outrage, our promises to resist Trump any way we can. But here’s all we need to know right now: Our performative outrage and polite compliance is a deadly combination that’s going to get people killed.
While we’re busy maintaining our cycle of shock and outrage at each new atrocity, the methodical destruction of human rights is happening right fucking now — in our neighborhoods, on our streets, to our neighbors. And we’re too busy crafting the perfect Instagram post to notice.
The mainstream media will breathlessly cover every Trump bathroom tweet, every inflammatory statement, every piece of outrage bait. And we’ll share, and comment, and convince ourselves we’re making a difference by being publicly appalled. And while we’re busy crafting the perfect dunking tweet, ICE agents are already in our communities, using tried-and-true tactics of deception that rely on one thing above all: Our compliance.
We can’t afford to chase every headline anymore. We can’t waste our energy being shocked by each new policy announcement. The fascism is here. It’s been here. And our job isn’t to document every new outrage — it’s to actively resist the system that makes these outrages possible.
That means learning a new language:
“Have you seen your neighbor lately?”
“We just need to verify some information.”
I don’t keep track of other people’s business.
“This won’t take long, we just need your help.”
“Things might be easier if you cooperate.”
The best answers are short, simple, and final.
No explanations. No justifications. No helpful suggestions about who else they might ask. Just the calm certainty of someone who suddenly knows absolutely nothing about anything.
Practice saying “No” without following it with “I’m sorry”. Learn to sit in uncomfortable silence instead of filling it with nervous chatter. These aren’t just career skills anymore — they’re practice for when it really matters.
But more importantly, protecting our communities and defying fascist tactics means building sustained networks of mutual aid that don’t depend on social media outrage cycles or mainstream media attention.
It means recognizing that every time we get distracted by the latest Trump tweet, we’re not focusing on protecting our neighbors. Every ounce of energy spent crafting the perfect outrage post is energy diverted from building community defense. Every minute spent doomscrolling is time we could use strengthening local support networks.
The system doesn’t need our hot takes on Twitter. It doesn’t need our shocked Facebook posts. It needs our passive compliance. Our polite directions when we should play dumb. Our trust in *proper channels* when we should be building community defense networks.
The next four years will be a constant barrage of *shocking* announcements designed to keep us off balance. Don’t fall for it. Keep your eyes on the real work: Protecting our communities through active non-cooperation, building strong networks of mutual aid, and refusing to be the polite liberals that fascism needs us to be.
The time for following each new outrage is over. The time for sustained, focused resistance is now. And if that means missing some Twitter outrages or being less “informed” about every new policy announcement? Good. Because our communities don’t need us to be well-informed spectators. They need us to be active resistors.
Just like the Palestinian solidarity networks who keep forgetting to report protest gatherings to authorities. Like the Underground Railroad conductors who never saw escaped enslaved people passing through their homes. Like the Danish citizens who couldn’t find Jewish folks when the Nazis came looking.
Our silence in the face of authority — and our refusal to be distracted by the daily outrage machine — these are our most powerful weapons.