No tyrants!

We can not normalize the attacks on human rights and civil liberties. We can not normalize the use of violent masked forces against the people. We can not normalize that people of color are regularly being stopped and asked to “show their papers,” often detained, often suffering the use of force, often suffering injuries. We can not normalize that people fear saying anything that might make Trump mad because he might seek vengeance against them or their companies, or their companies might fire them. We can not and will not normalize the attacks on immigrants for a nation of immigrants.

We are being gaslit and told that those protesting for America and for freedom are the enemy. The ENEMY is in the White House ignoring laws, enriching himself and his family, while pardoning criminals and trying to repress every person who disagrees with him.

Masha Gessen, an expert on autocracy who grew up in Russia, wrote and spoke on a podcast a few months ago in the New York Times, about shock exhaustion and of “the beautiful danger of normal life during an autocratic rise.” For many people, the early days of an autocratic rise do not impact their daily lives. At least not much. Perhaps they thought twice about posting something on social media, but for the most part, they could ignore what was happening. But if you ignore what’s happening until it AFFECTS YOU, it’s too late.

We all need to speak up when they are coming for trans people, coming for immigrants, coming for academics, coming for the media, coming for scientists, coming for educators, coming for protesters.

We are way past the first opportunities to speak up – back in 2016 would have been a good moment, or before that, perhaps declining to watch shows such as “The Apprentice” over Trump’s long history of racism. Then he wouldn’t have been normalized, then he wouldn’t have stood a chance at becoming President. But here we are. Again. Way worse than the first time.

In order to stop Trump, in order to reinstate democracy, we have to speak up for everybody who is having their rights chopped away at. Including the targets people might not sympathize with as much.

That means when they blow up boats with people on them off the coast of Venezuela, we must speak up. Oh, but they might be drug traffickers. They could be drug traffickers, but we’ll never know that without a trial. And even if they are drug traffickers, the penalty for that is not death.

That means when they deport somebody over a minor violation in 1993 or 2004, we must speak up for them. Oh, but they did do something wrong. And the punishment for having written a false check or having been arrested for weed decades ago should not be deportation.

That means when they fire reporters for making a comment that wasn’t false about Charlie Kirk, we must speak out. Oh, but it wasn’t nice what they said. And the United States has free speech, freedom of the press. If they weren’t actually inciting hate and violence, such as we saw in the pro-Nazi, pro-slavery, pro-rape messages in the Young Republicans chats reported on this week by ProPublica, we must speak out. I thought we were all against Nazis?? Who’s with me against Nazis?

If people get stopped, violently or otherwise, and taken into custody, based only on the color of their skin, only white people who are U.S.-born citizens have rights, and not really even them (us). And yes, I’m very aware that for much of U.S. history, only white men had rights. That in and of itself means that U.S. democracy is much younger than we claim credit for. But we are going the wrong direction.

When, other than during McCarthyism, did comedians have their shows taken off the air – temporarily or otherwise – because the President didn’t like them?

Taking some inspiration from a piece by Jordi Évole in La Vanguardia today, Donald Trump piensa que es el puto amo del mundo. No lo es. Vamos a vencerle.