A Trump post on social media triggers the Justice Department to move against movement leaders. Trump merely posts: “TAX DODGERS SHOULD BE CHARGED AS TRAITORS.” The next day, Justice Department officials release an error-ridden document with purported evidence of a “massive conspiracy.” Two high-profile strike leaders are arrested with bail set at $2 million. Lawyers say the case is very flimsy, but because of its high political profile, it is hard to gauge how long it will go.
Lawyers say the government is only targeting a small set of movement leaders, not you personally. To avoid fear gripping the movement, you take a page from Black civil rights leaders who were targeted by the government of Montgomery, Alabama during the bus boycott in the 1950s. At first, leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. went into hiding after vague threats of arrest based on antiquated anti-boycott laws. Then, movement organizer Bayard Rustin organized them to go down to the station and demand to be arrested since they were leaders — making a positive spectacle of the repression. So, like them, hundreds of strike leaders across the country descend on their attorneys general demanding their own arrests. (“We’re leaders, too!”). You aren’t arrested. But fear does not sink the movement.
Liberal pundits argue that Trump’s just trying to distract from his sinking approval ratings or the shaky, whiplashed economy, suffering from all his changing policies. The movement feels more cautious. Trump’s been given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court to replace 50,000 government workers under Schedule F. He’s been installing judges at a fast rate — and gerrymandered maps now make long-term Republican control of power a distinct possibility.
The resistance wing is uncertain. You know you cannot do reactionary protests to everything he does — much less proposes. Over 200,000 people have withheld their taxes, many in an escrow “until the next President.” Now that April 15th is past, movement energy is dragging. You wonder if you need a bigger perspective to see who is out there and where to find more energy.