I don't often use this blog for rants outside the music domain, but I thought that progressives' varied reactions to the spontaneous 50501 protests that arose Feb. 5 deserved a little extended response. Because a few progressive organizations had negative responses to the fast rise of calls for protest, and some even banned the spread of information (SWEEP, I'm looking at you), it's sort of necessary to recalibrate how we choose to respond to the rapid and relentless rise of lawlessness during the first few weeks of Trump V2.
First, the anonymous and spontaneous calls for action on Reddit and other social media Feb. 3-5 really were nothing new. Occupy Wall Street arose from a single call from the Canadian magazine Adbusters, and occupations expanded city to city without a central board deciding how it grew. There was an online clearinghouse, but no central arbiter of right or wrong. Similarly for Black Lives Matter, there were plenty of regional leaders, but no central core to determine which regions and what tactics would predominate. Both protests stuck pretty closely to nonviolent methods, but that was due to a decentralized belief in such tactics, not due to a governing board's word.
This is the kind of thing that can drive traditional activists crazy, and I will be the first to say that the rapid and changing organizing we saw during Gaza protests often left people without up-to-date information as to how an action might proceed. But in urgent situations, awaiting on central national nonprofits, or organizations like the Democratic Party, to determine tactics is an utter mistake. Organizing we do online should be transparent and adaptive, but at times a degree of anonymity and spontaneity not only is preferable, but may be required, especially since the Trump administration is trying to de-fiund and de-list many nonprofits.
The fear that is moving through many progressive communities is allowing paranoia to seep in, sometimes with cause, often unnecessarily. Many people were concerned Feb. 3-5 that because they could not identify those working on 50501, it must be a fake or a set-up by someone like the Proud Boys. I told one friend that even if this was the case, I'd show up anyway, and take my chances with right-wing provocateurs. I'm getting old, I don't mind getting beaten or killed for justice. I do not say this to encourage a hero ethic or martyr syndrome. I simply think that being joyful and fearless all the time, even in the face of deteriorating and dangerous conditions, is a necessary element of showing up for justice.
Expect in the next four years (and well beyond) that protests may arise anywhere, on short notice, and just participate in ways that make you feel comfortable. It's OK to indicate your own insistence on principles such as nonviolence, but don't insist on an action having the national seal of Code Pink or Moveon.org or whatever. Remember, some national nonprofits that are centered around direct action often like to take advantage of local movements so that they get the national branding. Sometimes, being decentralized and flying under radar is a real advantage. But in the end, 90 percent of being an activist is just showing up.
