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Since Argentina’s wanna-be dictator Javier Milei came to power, Buenos Aires is a different place. I spent time there in 2005 and 2011, but I had an opportunity to visit again earlier this year.
Once vibrant neighborhoods were awash in shuttered shops. Milei’s giant-sized image hung from buildings, lording over the chaos and want his government created.
When we’d been stuck in a cab for more than an hour, I asked the driver why traffic wasn’t moving.
“A strike,” he said. “Against the government.”
“Milei isn’t popular?”
“Nah. Lots of people hate him. Unions and retired people shut the city down every Wednesday.”
These weekly strikes have contributed to Milei’s unpopularity. They’re a likely reason the US regime is sending $40 billion US taxpayer dollars to prop up Argentina’s failing government.
Over the weekend, I thought about that experience a lot. What would it take for Americans to engage in sustained protests like their Argentine counterparts?
I don’t want to rob anyone of feelings of joy or success. Saturday’s No Kings protests were massive. I’m relieved we got through the day without a violent incident (unless one counts a certain AI-generated poop drop.) Republican silence in the face of millions of Americans marching peacefully spoke volumes: Republicans are scared.
But Republicans are also, by and large, narcissists. I wrote about how narcissists never apologize on Friday in relation to the Nazi Republican Telegram chat.
Narcissists also never grow tired of being their abusive, broken selves. They don’t have to gird themselves to manipulate and lie; those are default responses. Abuse is their normal behavioral setting. They never need a break from who they are.
Which makes dealing with them exhausting for normal people.
“How long can I refuse to react to this person?” (A technique called grey-rocking.) “How much time do I have to put up with this before I can leave?” “Let’s see: If they approach me this way, I’ll do X; when they hit me with another outrage, I’ll parry with Y.”
Healthy people aren’t hardwired to constantly strategize against gleeful abusers. But to defeat this abusive regime, fatigued Americans must sustain much more No Kings righteous energy in our daily and weekly lives.
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Here’s what everyday No Kings actions might look like:
Start demanding weekly No Kings events, or use your grassroots community groups to start them.
To defeat this regime, we’re going to need sustained protests in big cities, state capitals, and Washington DC. As November insurance premiums arrive, it may be easier to recruit newly furious people for protests. Use that momentum to organize sustained grassroots protests in your area.
What this action shows regime Republicans: We aren’t tired. We’re furious. And we will protest fascism for as long as it takes.
If you live in a Blue state, encourage your leaders to enforce state charges against ICE and its abuses.
Violently kidnapping people. Shooting peaceful protesters with rubber bullets and chemical agents. Invading homes without warrants. Causing accidents and leaving the scene. I could go on and on and on with all the ways ICE, CBP, and other federal agencies are breaking state laws.
Blue state leaders can authorize their law enforcement to charge these agents with state crimes. They need to hear more citizens demand it, so be loud.
Commit to participate in a General Strike when one is called.
A General Strike means withholding money and labor until the regime meets certain demands. Yes, it means sacrificing convenience and comfort. Yes, it means going without. Yes, it won’t be easy or fun.
But living under the boot of fascists for years or decades will be worse.
Every state has an organized General Strike community. GO HERE to find yours.
Do not spend money with fascist companies, businesses, and states.
I created a spreadsheet of companies that have supported this regime, and I update it regularly. GO HERE to access it.
You can also find out the politics of individual companies by using Goods Unite Us HERE.
Once a company kisses the ring, DO NOT GO BACK. One way to convince companies not to kiss the ring is to permanently punish their profits and bottom line when they do. As an example, that means no going back to Disney+ now that they brought back Jimmy Kimmel.
Don’t vacation in red states. Arrange airline trips to avoid them. Don’t schedule business meetings or events in red cities. Don’t buy products from red-state companies and avoid driving through them when possible.
Fascist choices must cost fascists PERMANENTLY.
If you live in a Blue state, let your leaders know you support Soft Secession.
I outlined how Soft Secession might work here:
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The biggest piece of Soft Secession will be WITHHOLDING FEDERAL DOLLARS and keeping them for use in Blue states.
While this won’t be logistically simple, Blue states can work together to come up with a means to retain Blue state funds and spend them on Blue state initiatives that have been terminated or frozen by this federal government. It is vital that Blue states stop funding their own invasion forces. Instead, they could use those funds to finish projects that have already begun, protect residents against natural disasters, provide a backstop for spiraling healthcare premiums, and help residents with housing and food security.
Argentina has already shown us that organized, sustained protests can threaten a wanna-be dictator. Use their template of sustained protests, Americans. Let’s do away with this crowd and reclaim our freedom.
Do you have other ideas for sustained protests? I’d love to hear them in a comment today.