The #Resistance Didn't Save Us from Trump. It's Time to Build Something Real
A protester holds a sign to protest against the Trump White House global gag rule on March 8, 2017, in Washington, DC. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Much of the so-called 'Resistance' movement was simply hashtag activism that undermined the reality of the situation and worsened the crisis we now face.
There was a moment after Donald Trump’s election in 2016 when life felt full of threat and promise. For some, it was unthinkable that this repulsive demagogue with a walk-in closet of skeletons could be elected, but then the reaction, as if the country was waking up and taking on reality full-bore, seemed for a moment incredibly encouraging. The Women’s March following Trump’s inauguration spoke of a possible popular pushback. The Black Lives Matter and other protests of 2020 represented the beginnings of a wrestling with white supremacy, capitalist exploitation, and the undeniable relationship between those poisons. And then, we returned to the beginning. Possibly even worse off.
Any movement forward must now reckon with and learn from the failures of the so-called “Resistance” movement against Trump. The moments that now stand out were actual representations of organizing and solidarity, while much of what passed for activism was something else entirely.
This should have been made apparent in the last year as the atrocities and horrors in Gaza and Lebanon splintered any semblance of a coalition that had powered this pseudo-movement. Watching opponents of Trump legitimize and even support authoritarian actions was miserable business, but instructive in understanding the true nature of what had taken place in American politics and culture. Laid bare was a stark division between those who wanted the world to change for the better and those who wanted to express those desires while maintaining the disastrous status quo.
To put it simply, much of “the Resistance” was hashtag activism, a social-media-driven simulacrum that allowed people who disliked Trump and feared what he and a radical GOP might do to feel as if they were playing a role in the opposition. By posting and retweeting and even purchasing a slew of products expressing their “beliefs” they were able to feel the satisfaction associated with being part of a movement but none of the actual political benefits. It should be said that this directly mirrors the QAnon conspiracy theory (of course, without the insanely violent rhetoric and actual violence) and the reasons why it has proliferated and grown in purchase.
In other words, QAnon and the Resistance were parallel structures. Both posited:
Something very bad was happening;
The problem was due to evil actors and conspirators;
There were “white hats” embedded in places of power who had secret plans;
To aid these individuals and groups, all that was necessary was to post and cheer them on; and
There were economic, cultural, and personal benefits associated with carrying this out.
The truth is that these simulations of movements undermined the reality of the situation and worsened the crisis we’re facing. Believing that our institutions – represented by the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, the FBI, saviors and messiahs like Robert Mueller, James Comey, Jack Smith, et al – were actually sound rather than part of the problem skewed an understanding that only an address of the material conditions that brought us here could actually change things. It redirected energy, anger, and fear from building actual coalitions and movements to cheering on the people and bodies who helped get us here, thereby wasting precious time and money and possibly will in the process.
And, all along, we saw, like within QAnon, a group of grifters and hope peddlers willing to cash in on the economic incentives, selling false hope like a drug in demand. The walls were always closing in on Trump. There were secret maneuvers afoot. Court cases. Investigations. Reports set to drop. And it should be noted these peddlers were noticeably silent as Palestinians faced untold horrors.
What was sold all along was a consumer experience masquerading as mass politics. Actual coalition and movement building requires hard work, introspection, and risk. You have to show up, build connections, fight a long and dangerous fight, and put your own well-being and fortunes on the line. This isn’t easy. What is easy, though, is hitting retweet or telling Democratic politicians or corporate bodies like the New York Times they must have “got it wrong” when they failed to fight back or seemed to normalize Trump and the authoritarian push. Feelings of discomfort were eased with podcasts and more posts and more memes that promised everything was under control.
In other words, people were taught to lodge complaints like customers and then received public relations-tested responses and campaigns designed to assuage them.
To get out of this mess, we’re going to have to build something real. That’s going to take a lot of work, time, and effort. We have to leave behind easy and convenient notions that Trump is anything besides a symptom of a larger disease, that our institutions are fundamentally good and sound, and that “the good guys” are on the case.
It’s time we realize we’re going to have to save ourselves.