WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, UCL - Antifascism: Don't Panic! We're Organizing and Facing Trump's Second Term (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Donald Trump has once again become president. The Black Rose/Rosa Negra

Federation, the American libertarian communist organization, publishes
this first reaction to the return of the far-right histrion to the head
of one of the most powerful countries on the planet. ---- 1. No Choice
But to Fight ---- As in every election, the "choice" we were offered was
a false choice: a program of open reaction; another of benevolent
genocide[1]. However, Trump's victory was far from inevitable. ----
Seizing the opportunity to revise its program, the Democratic Party
replaced one understudy with another without changing its line. Biden's
and then Harris' willingness to sacrifice the votes of Muslim and Arab
Americans by refusing to slow down-let alone stop-U.S. aid to Israel's
genocidal wars in Gaza and Lebanon is the most glaring evidence of this.

But there are other explanatory factors, including the Democrats'
inability to formulate anything resembling a plan to address the
deepening crises around price gouging, the cost of living, housing,
individual autonomy, or health care.

It is no longer possible to pretend that Trump is an aberration. He is
as American as apple pie, a product of the system of domination that
structures our society. To confront this second Trump administration, we
must also confront that system of domination-a task that will require
organization, courage, and commitment.

Here we are. Despite the fear, anger, and even despair of the moment, we
must not back down. We must act.

2. Take to the streets
Demonstrations and protests boost morale, create a sense of common
cause, and publicly demonstrate the potential power of social movements.
They are especially important in response to a crisis or major event
like the one we are experiencing.

But demonstrations will not be enough. For decades, we have seen the
limits of mass protest marches. While symbolically powerful, they fail
to create the leverage needed to radically change the course of events.
To create this leverage, we must...

3. Organize
Bring the energy of the streets home by organizing and strengthening
countervailing forces in everyday life. This could be starting a union
in your workplace, a tenants' union in your building, a neighborhood
assembly, or a student organization on your campus. Where these
organizations already exist, our task is to build the capacity of the
grassroots to take them fully into their own hands and transform them
into effective fighting organizations.

Make no mistake, none of this is simple or easy to do-that's the point!

If we are to create leverage to act on the situation, fight back against
the worst of what Trump has planned, defend ourselves, and ultimately
transform society from the ground up, we must build sustainable
organizations that can wield popular power in the places where we work,
live, and study[2].

Self-organization must allow us to...

4. Grow our movements
As we saw with Trump's first term, millions of people will now be
looking for places to channel their frustrations-many will be open to a
systemic critique of capitalism and the state. We must be prepared to
welcome these newcomers with open arms, patience, and kindness.

Rejecting both paternalism and structurelessness, our movements must be
places that educate and arm people with the tools to fight effectively,
while maintaining truly democratic and bottom-up structures.

Let's not build activist clubs, but mass, combative movements that can
fight back and win. Movements and coalitions of movements that are truly
inclusive, democratic, and grassroots-led have the potential to...

5. Ignite the Powder
Days of action provide reassurance that we are not alone in our outrage.
But protest leaders rarely direct this righteous anger at the people and
institutions that play a crucial role in repressive policies.

During Trump's first term, social movements learned how to focus
collective pressure. For example, by targeting airports and holding
welcome-home parties for migrants, he defeated his first attempt to ban
Muslims. Later, thousands set up camp outside Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) facilities to demand an end to the detention of
children and the separation of families.

To counter the new administration's repressive policies, we must
identify strategic targets and build a balance of power.

However, while protest marches or even prolonged actions can have a
short-term impact, organizing in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and
campuses can have a longer-lasting impact, and can do real harm. We saw
examples of this during Trump's first term, with neighborhood assemblies
protecting migrants by disrupting ICE operations.

Once we have built counter-power, we must exercise it: through worker,
renter, or student strikes, or through other mass confrontational
tactics that can disrupt the course of events.

As we said at the beginning, Trump is only a symptom of a larger system
of domination. To fight and end this system, we need a long-term
strategy to...

6. Consolidate People Power
Our most immediate tasks are to build self-organization and exercise
counter-power through disruption tactics. But that is not enough.

Organized disruption gives us a taste of our true power: we make this
world work, and we can also stop it. But what would it look like to
democratically control where we live, work, or study... for good?

This is what we call people power, the capacity of combative social
movements to bring people into control of everyday institutions.
Empowering self-organization is about being able to confront the present
moment, and is a step toward broader popular power.

7. Finding a political home
While grassroots organizations are at the forefront of any mass social
movement, it is also crucial to have a place to develop political
perspectives, strategies, and tactics that go beyond the present moment,
and embrace a revolutionary horizon.

The Black Rose/Rosa Negra Federation is our political home. We
strategize together to act together, pushing everyone in the same
direction toward the goal of social revolution and libertarian socialism.

Validate

[1]Kamala Harris, like Donald Trump, agreeing to deliver the weapons
that allow Israel to continue its policies, Ed.

[2]Below this text, the Black Rose/Rosa Negra Federation suggests
"access ramps" to self-organization.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pas-de-panique-On-s-organise-et-on-fait-face-au-second-mandat-Trump
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