Next weekend, united states president-elect donald trump will be in Washington, DC for the inauguration. There are a number of marches and protests happening in DC as well as around the country on both January 20th (inauguration day) and the 21st.
War tax resisters have a unique message to bring to these actions, especially at this time. There is a growing faction on the left that is disenchanted with electoral politics and is wanting to take direct action. Already, the NWTRCC office has been contacted by a number of people who are fed-up and don’t want to pay for a trump presidency.
So what can we do about it? Well, war tax resisters are organizing around the country to march, disrupt, and do community education about tax resistance. Check out our facebook event to get in touch with tax resisters in your area who are wanting to march or do an action together on the 20th or the 21st.
January 20th
The goal of the actions on the 20th are very clear, to disrupt the inauguration as best as possible. There are a diversity of groups and tactics, including nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience. The organizers are encouraging people to help shut down the inauguration in DC as well as disrupt business as usual in cities around the country. On their website, Disrupt J20 writes,
“Trump stands for tyranny, greed, and misogyny. He is the champion of neo-nazis and white Nationalists, of the police who kill the Black, Brown and poor on a daily basis, of racist border agents and sadistic prison guards, of the FBI and NSA who tap your phone and read your email. He is the harbinger of even more climate catastrophe, deportation, discrimination, and endless war. […] From day one, the Trump presidency will be a disaster. #DisruptJ20 will be the start of the resistance. We must take to the streets and protest, blockade, disrupt, intervene, sit in, walk out, rise up, and make more noise and good trouble than the establishment can bear.”
There are currently solidarity actions planned in over 15 cities around the country. The call, to become Ungovernable in 2017, starts on the 20th but is proposed to continue throughout the year and beyond. Read more about the Ungovernable platform and the planned uprisings here.
January 21st
Hundreds of thousands of people are mobilizing for the Women’s March in Washington, DC on January 21st. Can’t make it to DC? There are Women’s Marches happening around the entire country, such as this one in San Diego and another in Portland, Oregon.
All told, organizers are expecting close to 300 simultaneous marches around the world with millions of people in the s
treets. This promises to be a powerful showing against the patriarchy and sexism that dominates election cycles, our movements, and the very foundation of our society.
On their website, the Women’s March organizers write,
“We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.”
You can read more about the Women’s Marches here.
What You Can Do
Organize a war tax resistance action group in your area and let us know so we can publicize the great work that everyone is doing around the country. Check out our facebook event and help coordinate war tax resisters in your area to plan an action or march together.
If you want materials to leaflet with at the actions—Divest from War, Invest in People cards are free to you!— please contact Ruth (nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org) as soon as possible so she can send them to you in time.
(In this piece, lower-case letters are used to challenge the domination of the office of the president of the united states and donald trump)
Post by Sam Koplinka-Loehr
So does “diversity of tactics” mentioned in the entry still mean fighting with the cops and burning trash cans and breaking windows? Or was that just the 2000-2001 pre-9/11 definition. Helpful to update for those of us who have been around for that long or even a couple decades longer :-).
Hi Carol, thanks for the question. Sounds like the meaning has shifted a bit over the past 15 years. “Diversity of tactics” means asking for a large swatch of people and organizations to participate with tactics they feel comfortable with. For example, so far there are many different planned actions on inauguration day: some people are using petitions, others are planning protests in the streets, others are planning street blockades to shut down the city. It is not meant as a blanket of support for property destruction or any particular tactic. Instead it is an organizing philosophy that allows for groups to participate with a day of action while each group will choose what is best for them – while not necessarily having to have full support for another group’s actions. Thoughts?