Pushing Back

I’m a pusher, Cady Donald. I push people.

Like many Americans, I was caught unprepared by the election results this past Tuesday night. I spent the next couple of days fairly despondent and worried about the future of our country’s policy and what it will mean for a lot of the people who live in the United States (and, frankly, those who live outside of it too). I felt helpless, angry, and afraid – for myself, but especially for those who don’t enjoy the cushion of a lot of the structural privileges that I do, and who might find their rights stripped away in a variety of ways over the next four years.

I know that a lot of people are especially fired up right now, and I was desperate to capture the energy that’s been generated and channel it towards action, not just in the next few weeks, but over the entire course of Trump’s presidency. Our generation, by and large, does not feel that our President-Elect’s opinions and actions represent us or our conceptions of what our country can and should be.We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent and normalize the racism and general hatred-filled rhetoric that defined Mr. Trump’s campaign and has continued to flow through some of his supporters in the aftermath of the election. I also know that I, personally, tend to feel less anxious and powerless when presented with concrete actions that I can take. There have been a lot of great suggestions floating around the past couple of days on social media – places to donate money, donate time, ways to protect yourself and others moving forward. I wanted to capture all (or at least most) of these suggestions in one central spot, especially if people choose to move off of social media over the next few years, depending on what security measures are or are not taken by social media platforms.

So that’s what this blog is, and will be: a collection of ideas for ways to mitigate the negative effects of a Trump presidency – both now, before he takes office, and as specific policy measures start to come down the pipeline. That being said, please do not feel like you have to follow all of these suggestions in order to be a “true” progressive or activist, or whatever particular political label you identify under. Even small actions help, and self care and knowing your limits are extremely important in this climate as well.

Please feel free to message me (howcanipushback@gmail.com) with suggestions that you have for resources to include and organizations that should be featured. I can’t promise that I’ll be able to post everything, but I want to make sure that there is a range of actions available for people to take, regardless of their financial situation or otherwise.

Welcome, good luck, and safe pushing.