This Saturday we’re protesting outside of NBC Studios because they have invited Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live.
There’s some really wrong stuff being said on social media about how to respond to Donald Trump, or how not to. Some people are saying 1) If you protest him, you’re just giving him more attention. You have to ignore him. Attention makes him stronger. 2) Don’t protest him being on SNL. It’s Free Speech! You’re trying to censor him.
LOL. First of all, no one has the “right” to host SNL. SNL is not a public sidewalk. No one has the “right” to free publicity to reach tens of millions of people. Second, Free Speech means the people can protest in public spaces without the government shutting us down. Free Speech does NOT mean Trump (any bigot with a stupid toupee) gets to speak without immigrant rights activists or anyone else trying to shut down his racism.
Also, let’s be real. This gross misinterpretation of Free Speech comes out every time Black or Latino activists protest fascists. Every. Single. Time. Where are these champions of Free Speech when our communities are besieged by the police for protesting state violence? Where are they when poor and working class people are out in the streets (public spaces) and the police are quite literally gassing people (Ferguson, Baltimore, Occupy), shooting them with rubber bullets, and throwing them in jail for using their 1st amendment Free Speech rights?
But enough of that. Most people see right through that nonsense.
I’m more concerned with folks who DO care about what’s happening in our communities, who DO fight for a better world, but who quite frankly DON’T see the importance of dealing with Trump. They’re fighting for the people around them, their parents, their children, and themselves. They’re struggling to juggle their real lives, their real responsibilities and do what they can to create a better world, the world they know in their heart we all deserve but feels so far away sometimes.
The last thing our people want to deal with is some pinche baboso con pelos de elote who doesn’t know his butt from his mouth.
But this is why we can’t ignore him: Trump is the new face of American-style fascism. He doesn’t have to be identical to Hitler or Mussolini to say this. He has whipped up a far-right “anti-establishment” movement, galvanizing a section of the declining white middle class on the basis of scapegoating (and violently attacking) immigrants, putting women “in their place” and worshipping the armed forces. And he is a billionaire with daily access to the corporate media. Sound familiar?
Fascism is not like a headache that if you ignore it and get distracted, it could go away. Fascism is more like a tumor, that if you don’t address it immediately, it spreads. And then when you least expect it, after you spent all your mental energy trying to ignore it, it has already gone too far. It has spread. And now you have cancer.
I know that feeling of wanting to just turn away from it. I’ve felt it. It’s a coping mechanism. We use it for a lot of things, to get through the day. But some problems, you just can’t ignore. You lean on your community, you talk to your loved ones, you find a way to address those problems. Trump is one of those problems. And we have to deal with him together.
We have an opportunity to turn this disgusting right-wing tide in the other direction. But we have to act now. Let US take advantage of the media attention that he’s creating for himself, that SNL and NBC are creating for him, and let US take the stage! Let US use this moment to get stronger, to build more leaders, to strengthen our alliances, build new ones. Let’s use this moment to get in the streets and talk to people, do outreach, re-invigorate and mobilize our movement for the world our families actually deserve — one where the Trumps have been removed from power and are a thing of the past.
If Trump fades or not, if Trump wins the GOP nomination or not, this cancer of white supremacy and anti-immigrant fascism is a central part of US politics; we have a long road and a long fight ahead of us. Saturday is just one step towards meeting that challenge. Join us
