We are rapidly approaching our first 100 days of Trump’s second term and to say that we weren’t ready for what it brought would be a profound understatement. There’s the head knowledge that bad things are probably going to happen and then there’s the reality of living through such shockingly awful things happening, feeling terror, and wondering: “When is someone in charge going to do something?”
The bad news is that getting saved is going to be a group project. There will be no single leader or group that is going to push back against the authoritarian, fascist fever dream that has taken hold of our country.
There are no allies who are going to come to our rescue; countries are not going to form coalitions to save Americans from fascists. We still have the most powerful military on the planet, currently being led by a raging alcoholic who can’t even secure his phone, so it’s unlikely any nation has enough of a death wish to even try to come to our rescue. The sooner we accept that, the better off we will be.
It seems the rest of the world, while sympathetic to our plight—after all, most of us didn’t vote for this—is looking at how to survive and thrive without us. Most of the world is wondering what it will take for the 100+ million people who didn’t vote for this guy to rise beyond our carefully scheduled weekend protests (that sometimes get canceled due to inclement weather) and put our Americans asses with our full hearts and souls on the line for our country.
Most of the world is disgusted by Trump. They understand he is a racist, ignorant bully who is propped up racist sycophants but, well, they have better things to do, like figuring out how to make sure that America’s suicide mission doesn’t take them out, too.
Yeah, the bad news is pretty bad. I mean, everything this administration does is straight out of the Project 2025 playbook with accent touches by dictators of the past and present, including Viktor Orban, Hitler, and all the other bad guys. Unlike the first Trump term, they are here to inflict maximum pain on the people and the democracy (yeah, I know it was never a pure democracy but don’t get in my face with the “constitutional republic” argument—that’s still a form of democracy). They are also far better prepared than we ever imagined.
Either we will all eventually comply and accept that our country is a racist, authoritarian, fascist stronghold where white supremacy is the guiding principle—cloaked under the guise of making America great—or we must accept that we have a lot of work ahead that won’t be safe or convenient. That our lives are about to be massively disrupted on many fronts and that the modicum of assumed safety that we never questioned no longer exists. That the safety we assumed for ourselves, our children, and loved ones is gone. That we now live in a country where nice white lady judges get arrested for not bending on what is legal and that children who were born in this country with cancer are kidnapped and sent off because their mothers weren’t deemed to be legal.
We live in a country where it is no longer just Black and brown bodies at risk. Anyone who doesn’t bow to the administration and who has ever used their voice, including in their “private” social media, is at risk for having the vigilante bootlickers of this administration showing up at their door.
The first 100 days of this administration were the opening act—the appetizer and initial cocktail of horror. Horror to whet our whistles as they prepare to serve the main entrée and lock in their power.
As we prepare to enter the next 100 days, it is going to probably make the initial 100 days look like a child’s play. The media—both traditional and social media—are reporting that we are mere days away from experiencing the first round of the Trump tariffs on our daily lives.
In the last few days, shoppers of bargain online Chinese retailers, Temu and Shein, have reported seeing increased prices as the import fees take hold. Reports of people being charged more in import fees than the actual price of their purchases. Remember, Trump hit China with 145% tariffs, which means the consumer must pay that tariff, because the company isn’t going to eat that cost and literally lose money.
While one could argue that people could probably stand to buy less from retailers such as Shein and Temu, the real fun headed our way is that global container shipping industry isn’t bringing many—if any—ships to the United States. Most businesses canceled their orders from China after Trump levied 145% tariffs which means in the coming weeks, stores will see massive shortages.
The word I am hearing from folks is think the early days of COVID when the global supply chain was disrupted but even worse, because this is self-inflicted pain and, well, the world is going on without us. Right now, retailers are pulling from their reserves, but those reserves will run out and it turns out that we get a lot of our goods from China.
Projections are that in the immediate short term, we can expect to see shortages on apparel (including shoes) as well as electronics. We also get a number of perishable items from China including apple juice and seafood but, unlike with COVID when the world worked together, this time we are alone. Retailers right now normally would be planning for back-to-school and holiday items and that’s not happening. Meaning if you have school-aged kids, school supplies might be hard to come by.
Throw in the administration’s crackdown on undocumented folks, and we are facing the potential for food shortages because it doesn’t appear that Americans are lining up to work in the fields. A few weeks ago, a Louisiana staffing agency went viral for advertising for workers to work in the blueberry fields: seven days a week for a whopping eleven dollars an hour. Back-breaking work in the summer in Louisiana for a mere eleven bucks an hour. We were damn fortunate anyone took those jobs and, well, the administration is hunting down those folks because they dared to leave oppressive situations and seek a better life in the United States, even if it meant working at jobs that others deem beneath them.
I am also hearing that the trucking industry that takes the food and supplies from the various ports across the country currently isn’t seeing any shipping containers come in due to the tariffs, nor are they seeing the usual volume of food shipments due to the crackdown on migrant workers. Another industry impacted by the “stable genius” in charge.
Clearly this is the Cliffs Notes version but what I am getting at is this: The administration isn’t just about to hit us in the pocketbook with increased prices. We will probably find that the staples that we are used to buying may soon not even be available with the regularity we depend on.
Many folks online are calling on folks to stock up and I will say that I share that same sentiment. I am not going to tell you to go full-on prepper but as someone who in late February 2020 ordered some canned goods and toilet paper in case that “Corona thing” did become a pandemic, I wasn’t completely caught off guard. This moment feels very similar.
There are those who are saying to have a three- to six-months supply of food, medications, pet food, etc. on hand.
I live in a thousand-square-foot place. That isn’t feasible, and it probably isn’t feasible for most people for a host of reasons including cost. What I will suggest is this: If you know you are going to need shoes and underwear any time soon, purchase them now. That stuff comes from China and will probably be hard to get once the current stock runs out. If possible, keep enough food on hand for one to two months of meals. I am not saying these are going to be amazing meals but get some beans, ramen, and staples like flour, rice, sugar. Get things you can make things with.
I grew up at the intersection of poor and working class and sometimes we had what my folks called long pots. A pot of beans with neckbones and cornbread, the kind of dishes that could provide two to three days of meals. I should mention as a rule, I hate leftovers because of my childhood but growing up without, you learn about basic survival. As I told my daughter recently, if it gets bad, we won’t starve but food won’t be fun. Also, get canned and frozen fruits and veggies. If wine, chocolate, coffee, and nuts are your thing, stock up on those, too. Think about where the food and items you consume come from and plan accordingly.
For my fellow Mainers, we do have access to local farmers and if you have the means, this might be the year to consider a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share. I am considering doing a meat share with a farm that I have done business with for years. Go to the local farmers’ markets when possible and if you are really cool with some local farmers, maybe they will consider bartering if you have something they need, or doing a workshare if available.
Need clothes soon for you or your kiddos? There are always secondhand stores, ranging from the basic shops such as the Salvation Army (here in Maine, we have one where you can buy clothes by the pound); the caveat, though, is that their buy-by-the-pound stuff hasn’t been sorted. So, you need to be extra careful that you don’t bring home any creepy crawlers. If you want to spend a little more, look for the high-end secondhand stores. You will spend a little more than at places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, but you often can get some good-quality stuff. Also, for folks who get the ick from secondhand shopping, upscale consignment places are a great starting place. A concept that has been growing in my area is clothing swaps—I attended a few when my daughter was little, and it was an affordable way to get clothes. If no one is offering a local clothing swap, consider putting one together in your community. Get some new fits and build community. A win-win.
In this next 100 days, this is where we will start to feel our daily lives being disrupted and where realistically we need to stop treating this like business-as-usual except there is a stinky asshole in the middle of the room whom we should just ignore. That’s not going to work. No, it is not business as usual and that’s for all of us. Even the leaders of corporations are asking the administration to walk back tariffs because they, too, will now feel the pain.
Yeah, turns out supporting a racist fascist illiterate son of a bitch impacts everyone, not just “those people.”
The other night, the governor of my home state, JB Pritzker, gave a speech in New Hampshire to Democratic activists, officials, and donors where he said, “It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.”
Pritzker said out loud what those of us in organizing spaces have been discussing for weeks—the only way to do something that might have impact and push back enough before the fascism train takes us all out is to disrupt everything.
In modern history, countries that stood a fighting chance against authoritarian rule had to leave behind normal and move to the mindset of complete disruption. The barrier though is that American culture—especially white American culture—is polite. It doesn’t disrupt and the fascists are using that to their advantage. They understand that the average white American is not programmed to disrupt; that’s why we have groups out here organizing permitted protests, working with law enforcement. Sure, it’s safe but it’s not scaring these people unless you are bothering the best buddy’s dealerships.
The United States doesn’t have the safety nets that countries like France have. Workers there can take to the streets, knowing they will still have a paycheck. Our current system has done a great job of effectively preventing us from doing what we need to do to survive long-term because of our short-term fears of survival. And this is where we need all people with the ability to be out in the streets on short notice and who have the financial cushion or paid time off to get out there and not just when it’s scheduled.
As an employer, I would ask other employers who care about our future to make sure you give your folks time off to act. If you have paid time off, use it for action. If you truly can’t get out there and disrupt the status quo, ask what you can do in your community to support mass disruption and movement work in general. While many have been tapping into the national movement by groups such as 50501, find out who is organizing locally in your community and what needs there are in your community. If you are financially comfortable, consider mutual aid funds as well as bail funds.
We have had almost 100 days to get pissed and be scared and feel bereft and while this is still a deeply unsettling and terrifying time, we don’t have any more time to be surprised. We don’t have time to protest just when it’s convenient and merely share posts; we all have to do something. These people want to harm us, they will stop at nothing to reshape the United States in their image, and time isn’t on our side.
Here’s the thing: We are all scared. Fear of martial law and the government turning on us is real and valid but they are using fear to control how we respond. They haven’t needed martial law because, for the most part, we are complying due to fear. We fear losing income, jobs, our lives—but with all the actions this regime is taking, jobs are being lost, income is being lost, and fellow citizens are being kidnapped off the streets. I am scared that my writing and work will lead to being targeted. I am a middle-aged Black woman of modest means, who will fight for me if they come for me?
No, I am reminded of the words of Anne Frank, “Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes … Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find their parents have disappeared.”
Friends, we are there. We are living in the world she described. How will we bear witness? Will we stop it, will we have the courage and strength of conviction to do something while it is still possible, or we will become empty shells of humanity, convinced that we are living when in fact we have allowed ourselves to be killed because we refused to be inconvenienced for the greater good of society.
Memento mori—remember, you will die. That’s inevitable. What legacy will you leave, and will you die while you are alive by complying or will you risk death and freedom so we can all be free? History will not absolve us if we are unwilling to sacrifice for our own freedoms.
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