This is going to be a strongly worded post, but the current situation is so dire, I think taking the kid gloves off is warranted. This post is aimed at people in the US.

Fascism is here, and you aren't fighting back. And that's not okay.

We've been warning you for years that this was coming. We've been shouting it from the rooftops until our voices were hoarse - that america is heading towards fascism, and you need to start organizing now. But you were comfortable in your privilege, and you were too distracted by the new season of your favorite TV show, so you didn't pay it any mind. You thought "it couldn't happen here," or you hoped that someone else would put a stop to it. Well look where we are now.

It's understandable to feel angry or afraid given what's happened. We are already off to a bad start, and things are likely to get much worse. But you cannot allow those feelings to turn into despair and defeatism. The fascists want you to feel powerless, so that you won't fight back. Don't give them an easy victory. Channel your rage into energy, and put that energy towards organizing and resisting.

You've already read the quotes about evil triumphing when good people do nothing. You nodded your head sagely, and said "so true." Yet here you are, still sitting on your ass, not doing anything. You do realize those quotes are talking about you, right? If you aren't fighting back, then you are the one allowing evil to triumph. There's a word for that - complicit. So stop saying that you care, and start showing that you care with your actions.

"But I can't fight back, I have a mental illness!" comes the objection. Whenever I hear that, I think about the mentally ill comrades in my organization who still make an effort, because they actually care. They step back from time to time as needed, but then they come back and keep fighting when they're able, because they know they can't remain idle. There is always something that you can do, even if your spoons are limited.

There were probably plenty of people in nazi Germany who felt overwhelmed by what was going on, and who decided to "focus on themselves" and "accept what they can't change" instead of fighting back. And they sat comfortably in their houses, practicing their violins, while Anne Frank's ashes rained down outside their windows. Meanwhile, the brave freedom fighters of the German resistance fought, bled, and died for liberation, because they put the lives of others above their own. And in the end, they failed - because you didn't stand with them. Shame on you.

Resisting fascism is now the single most important thing you can do. It's more important than your career, your hobbies, your love life, or whatever else you happen to be focusing on. Sending "thoughts and prayers" isn't helping. Unplugging from the news and focusing on your hobbies isn't helping. Fleeing to a blue state / another country isn't helping. Succumbing to doomerism isn't helping. Posting progressive messages on social media isn't enough. Voting isn't enough. Calling "your" representatives isn't enough. Peacefully protesting isn't enough. Go find your local communist organization, and ask what you can do to help (and if there isn't one, then start one). They needed your help years ago, but it's better late than never. Don't allow them to burn out like the other fledgling orgs because ten people are doing the work of forty.

For the handful of people reading this post who are doing what you need to do, you know who you are, and you know this post isn't aimed at you. For everyone else, do not keep scrolling after reading this. Put your phone down, get off your ass, and start getting involved. This is not a request.

An eight year old migrant girl was put in a cage today. What are you doing to free her?