For those of us foreseeing that "things are going to get very bad," Sherrilynn Ifill offers some valuable pragmatic tips about surviving

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

"I know it’s old school, but actually memorize the phone numbers of at least two loved ones.

• Gird yourself spiritually, through your faith or other meditative practices, as we are all likely to hear or confront many disturbing and ugly interactions. Experience art, go on walks, dance, play Spades, Dominoes, Scrabble. We need resilience.

• Walk away when you need to walk away. Challenge when you need to. Try to always have back up."

#Trump #fascism #cruelty
/3

[mxhdroom@mas.to]

@wdlindsy This is probably good advice at any time, but believing it's necessary in the context of political upheaval, in the United States of America, is alarming to say the least. #uspoli

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

"• Take the bystander training offered by groups https://righttobe.org/ so that when you see outrages committed against members of your community or against strangers, you will have practice in how you might intervene or respond.

• Get an online subscription to a news service from another country so that you have a reliable sense of what’s going on in the world, and how this country is being perceived.

• Are your taxes paid, or more importantly, filed?"

#Trump #fascism #cruelty
/4

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

• Is your passport up-to-date?

• If you have money to give – then give to your local library, the food pantry, homelessness services. But also give to cultural institutions. Get a library card and a membership to a museum. Give to organizations working to hold back the worst that this administration may dish out – the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, the National Women’s Law Center, and so many others."

#Trump #fascism #cruelty
/5

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

One of the first things I did after the election was to double-check that my passport is up to date.

I also felt immediately moved to double (and then some) the monthly donation I make to my local public library.

Friends are calling from various places and neighbors asking to walk and talk with us as we take our daily walks — strenghtening the ties that bind us to good people in the face of what can only honestly be described as great evil. Those ties matter.

#Trump #fascism #cruelty
/6

[moiraeve@mastodon.world]

@wdlindsy I also wonder how badly the incoming admin can further damage the United States Postal Service.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@MoiraEve I think we'll see a gutting of public services and of the government.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@mxhdroom I agree.

[dyanam0@toot.community]

@wdlindsy
My grandchildren are getting donations to #aclu for their Christmas gift this year.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@dyanam0 That's wonderful — great idea.

[mivox@mivox.net]

@wdlindsy @jinglepostman Wondering where the vast majority of people are going to get that kind of extra cash.

Stop me before I start posting graphs of the cost of living vs average wages…

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@mivox @jinglepostman I suspect that as an African American, Sherrilyn Ifill has to be very aware that many people have long lived hand to mouth and don't have exorbitant amounts of cash on hand. Even so, a lot of people in straitened circumstances do manage do scrape together some money to put aside — often right at home — for emergency reasons.

[hacks4pancakes@infosec.exchange]

@wdlindsy @Nonya_Bidniss something I’m worried about failing is CJIS background checks required for any emigrating

[nonya_bidniss@infosec.exchange]

@wdlindsy I'm worried about some sudden banking crash and the Trump gov rescinding FDIC coverage so that some oligarchs can profit in some inscrutable way

[evacide@hachyderm.io]

@wdlindsy

Letters and phone calls are trivially easy for law enforcement to intercept and listen in on. This is terrible advice and I wish that Ifill had consulted with an expert on digital privacy and security before writing this.

If you need to make sure that contents of your phone calls or messages are private, I recommend Signal with disappearing messages turned on.

[bob@beamship.mpaq.org]

@wdlindsy

"Homeless services": cut out them, often Christan Cults and help your neighbors directly. (Just a worthless homeless bums advice)

[msbellows@c.im]

@wdlindsy I love this part:
"If you litigate, do it with the expectation that you will win. And act like it. Show out. Be excellent and remain confident. Those who can still feel shame - whether those at your opponents table or those on the bench - will feel it when you hold the standard high. And your clients will never forget it....

"If you hold office. Hold it. Do not give up your power. Use your voice. Master every rule. Make a record. I repeat. Make a record - so that the truth might be known."

[nceladean@mastodon.social]

@wdlindsy

Would be great it Blue State leaders threw down the gauntlet and just straight up ignored or refused to enforce batshit and unjust laws from Chump

[ianto_jones@mastodon.social]

@wdlindsy thank you for sharing. I plan to completely avoid watching the train wreck and focus on self-preservation and keeping my loved ones safe. It's all that matters, and I will not succumb to the psyops. At all. This is my goal.

I have enough friends who pay attention and fill me in, tbh. At least for now.

[wdlindsy@toad.social]

@ianto_jones Keeping safe definitely should be one of our top priorities now, and trying to help others be safe.