"Resistance" to Trump

I've had the good fortune of being employed in the private sector during three administrations: W. Bush, Obama, and now Trump. & (of course) it was during the Obama years when I actually benefited from government intervention. When the housing maket crashed and the Obama administration gave incentives to buy property, I participated & helped the market rebound in the process (if I may say so myself).

Other than that, I never gave much thought to what the president was doing during the Obama years. They called him "no-drama Obama" for a reason.

When Trump first appeared in the political scene, descending from the Trump tower escalator, I didn't know what to make of him. I had watched "the apprentice" years ago, but by 2015 I disliked the Donald upon hearing him (basically) say Obama was an illegal from Kenya. 

During the summer of 2015, I remember an aunt from south Phoenix (who is rarely interested in politics) asking me about the Donald during a family celebration. It happened in the weeks after the Donald said "Mexicans are rapists". & despite living in south Phoenix since the seventies, my aunt asked me (granted, she knows I like to follow politics): "do you think Trump will win?".

I still regret the answer I gave her. I firmly said "No, he'll never win".  
I gotta say though, once Trump won the republican nomination & the democrats failed to nominate Bernie Sanders, I changed my mind. If you don't believe me, see my post from the summer of 2016: http://genxmillennlatino.blogspot.com/2016/06/trump.html
  
Now, in 2018, I visited my aunt again (yesterday). Speaking of the "Bern", I originally had gone to downtown Phoenix to see Bernie Sanders. However, the theater was full & I was turned away at the door. In addition, I was heckled by Trump supporters planted across the street (behind police officers of course). To add insult to injury, upon watching the Phoenix rally video on youtube, it appears Trump-supporting hecklers actually got into the theater! But not me of course:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jWOb61oF3c

But back to my aunt, since she lives relatively near downtown Phoenix (& I had a few hours to kill), I went ahead and visited her. & I found out (because of personal reasons) she was forced to refinance her house. & of course, she did not get any help from the government. How could she? For example; in his first act as president, Trump blocked a rate cut on the federal insurance for mortgages.

But most importantly, talking to my aunt, she says for her (& for me too) seeing Trump as president is a constant reminder of the institutional/GOP rejection to immigrants like herself. & she doesn't like it. 
Even W. Bush tried to appeal to Latinos by showcasing (at a GOP convention) his half-Latino nephew George P. Bush (who unfortunately now aligns himself with Trump but that's another story): https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/03/07/george-p-bush-wins-in-texas-after-breaking-with-family-on-trump/23379569/
"George P. Bush won the primary for Texas land commissioner on Tuesday after touting his continued support of President Donald Trump, a position that runs in contrast to the rest of his family dynasty."
  
Of course, my aunt no longer asks me if Trump could get elected, but she did ask me if the Donald will get impeached. I said: "I don't know, it depends on what Mueller finds out". So my aunt goes: "when will we know (if Trump will get impeached)?". I said:"Again, I don't know -- It may take another year or two". Fustrated, she exclaimed: "that long?!". 

I just smiled. Mind you, she didn't ask me how she could get involved politically or donate to an anti-Trump political group. She just wants Trump gone. 
It appears the "resistance" to Trump is strong & angry, but unorganized. 

It's easy to get depressed and romanticize resistance to ideologies you find abhorrent like those of the Trump administration. 
However, there is a dark side to the anger (much worse than those Trump-supporting hecklers yelling at random Berniecrats). I've been watching series about the seventies on CNN & I've been surprised at the levels of violence perpetrated by radical groups from the left. They're similar to the levels of violence by radical groups from the right during the Clinton nineties: though nothing as brutal as the Oklahoma city bombing in 1995.  

There is absolutely nothing to be gained from violence against the state in a country like the United States. The state has all the power: surveillance, weapons, intelligence, etc. Which is why I find the premise from gun-rights activists, of a weapon being a bulwark against tyranny, preposterous. The U.S. army can squash any anti-government resistance in its own soil, quickly and mercilessly.
     
The only way to resist an administration like Trump's is to do it peacefully, methodically and convincingly. People will only respond to your policy proposals if they make sense & if they (& their communities) benefit. There is no other way. I sometimes go to rallies and demonstrations (like the protest against Trump last year in Phoenix): http://genxmillennlatino.blogspot.com/2017/08/trump-rally-in-phoenix.html 
However, the most effective way to advance your agenda is to get involved in politics and convince your neighbors to back the policies you endorse. & if you're not gonna do it youself, you need to support those who are willing to do it.
With that in mind, I recently made a $27 donation to "Justice Democrats" & I'm glad a few of their candidates did advance in Texas.

The defeat of Trump and his policies can only be achieved through the ballot box & by getting involved at the state & local levels. & of course, the next important (key) test for "the resistance" is going to be november 2018.