I Have Protest Fatigue
A few days ago, I was reorganizing my inbox and came to the realization that nearly 40 percent of my emails in the last two years were about organizing efforts against Trump. I am on a lot of email lists for many social justice organizations and my friends and colleagues forward me stuff about upcoming protests, rallies, petitions, sit-ins, fundraisers, panel discussions, speaker series and other actions. Living in liberal Boston, there seems to be something going on almost every day.
I have finally come to the conclusion that I have protest fatigue. This is not just because I feel like nothing is charging or getting worse in this country (which is very true), but also because I don’t feel like most of these efforts are focused on big-picture solutions. Yes, it is always great to see large crowds come out to protest anti-Trump initiatives against immigrants, Muslims, people of color, women, low-income and LGBT folks etc. However, the reality is that a lot of these protesters are not voting on election day, which matters a lot more. If they are voting, there are not voting strategically.
Quite a few of the people who are always forwarding me emails about anti-Trump protests voted for Jill Stein or wrote in Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election. When I see people like Susan Sarandon complaining about Trump, I just can’t be bothered by them. In my opinion, if you voted for Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders, you might as well have had voted for Trump. In all honesty, I need these to shut up because you get the government you deserve.
Regarding folks who didn’t vote at all in 2016, they are also part of the problem. I have a friend who is a black, unemployed single mother in Michigan who didn’t vote because she didn’t think her vote would matter, as she thought Hillary Clinton would win. She lives in a swing state and didn’t think her vote would matter!!! Her vote would have mattered more than mine since I live blue Massachusetts. And yet, she continues to complain to me about Trump taking away her health care benefits.
You get the government you deserve!
I would like to see the Democrats be less anti-Trump and more pro-policy solutions. While I think it is valid to continue the Russia investigation and look into other unethical concerns within the Trump administration, they can’t expect to win the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential election purely on Russian hackings, impeachment, and Stormy Daniels. Most Americans care about jobs, healthcare, education and a host of other issues. What is their plan to win any of these elections? More importantly, how do both parties encourage more people to not only vote in the major, national elections but also the local elections happening every year? Your mayor, city councilor, state representative, and town alderman have a more direct impact on your everyday quality of life than anything that is going on in Washington.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Democratic primary win is a small sign of hope, but let’s remember she won in blue New York City. If people want to see the fruits of their protest labor, they need to get involved, get informed and start voting often every.