Show Up. Organize. Act.

And maybe you will be able to vote again

We live in historic times. Where each day brings more turmoil, drama and stress. I look back over the last 3 weeks and it feels like 3 months.

That is life in the Trump regime.

On April 1 I was up to my neck working with a team of about 20 activists planning the huge Hands Off! Rally that would be held at the Minnesota State Capitol on Saturday, April 5. And huge it was - about 43,000 people showed up even though that count was misrepresented in the media. There were hundreds of protests that day all over the country. Many people at the St. Paul event said it was the first time they had ever attended a protest of any kind.

There was no rest as we came off that event. It was quickly followed by a rally in front of the El Salvador consulate in St. Paul on April 16, which was planned in less that 24 hours. 500 people showed up in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was kidnapped by the United State government and sent to a prison in El Salvador with no due process. There are another 200+ men in the same prison who also were taken illegally by our government and are being held against their will. This rally was to shine a light on the plight of these people and the legal immigrants who have also been kidnapped because they were exercising their right to free speech regarding the Gaza war. If they can be taken and locked up without due process then any of us can.

Saturday, April 19 was another nation-wide day of action. The Fight for a People’s Earth Day event in St. Paul had about 10,000 people at a march and rally at the capitol and I was one of the speakers. During that speech I spent my 3 minutes of speaking time telling people how important it is to Show Up, Organize and Act during this particular time.

People are showing up and they need to continue. Every rally, march, protest, town halls, sign holding event on the side the road or on a bridge. All of it. Be a body and take up space. Yell, chant, be heard. Every major uprising in our world happened because the people showed up. If you are looking for where the next rally or march is you can probably find it on Mobilize. Just put in your zip code and you can stay busy all week.

Showing up is about the easiest thing you can do. But you must also become an organizer. Invite your friends over for a sign making party and then go stand on a busy corner. Be visible. If that’s not your thing organize calls to action to elected officials or plan a postcard writing event. Get your friends and family involved. Don’t wait for Indivisible or 50501 or any of the many other grassroots organizations to plan something for you to participate in.

We need everyone, doing everything, all the time. So take action. Make phone calls, send emails, write letters to the editors of your local newspaper. Put a sign in your yard and a sticker on your car. Put a candle in your window each night until every person who has been detained illegally is brought back home. Make donations to all the groups organizing the rallies you are attending. They are expensive and are run by volunteers.

We tell people that the final task on our list of Show Up, Organize, Act is to Vote. But we have reached a point in this battle with authoritarianism that if you don’t do the first three, the fourth may not be a given.

Your country needs you. Get out of your comfort zone and join the fight.

Share only the truth,

Lisa