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Washington Would Cross This River
We now stand at the banks of an icy river. The agents of the government are beginning to suppress, slowly but surely, all forms of organized resistance. Corporations are paying bribes directly to the administration through blatantly corrupt crypto schemes or tariff exemptions. Media institutions are buckling under the weight of lawsuits and threats while agents of the new crown harass citizens in slowly increasing numbers. The economy teeters on the edge of collapse as capital and labor start to flee the country for safety. It does not look good for the resistance, you might argue.
The Coldest Winter
Within days, I found like minded people. Even knowing almost nothing about how this is supposed to work, we started organizing together. It’s been 10 months since this movement started in a cold and dark February in America. Over that short window, this movement of which I am but a tiny part has become a living organism of incredible strength and resilience.
Mass 50501 says, “Flock Off!”
Allowing the collection of this data in the context of an antagonistic federal administration endangers us all— it’s an invasion of privacy that we shouldn’t accept even under the friendliest administration. None of us should be put under this kind of microscope by our government.
What We Are Thankful For
This holiday season, we at Mass 50501 asked our volunteers to share what they’re thankful for and what our movement means to them. Click through below to see what they had to say.
Democracy Means Talking To Each Other
The United States is a democracy. In a democracy, the people rule. What does a democracy require of its citizens? Specifically, if democracy is run by people in the collective sense, what does that require of us as individuals?
The Most Powerful Idea
The bold proposition was that through debate, introspection, revision, and testing of ideas against a voting public with conflicting interests, it was possible to produce better leaders, better economies, and better nations. Our country’s creation was dubbed the American Experiment because most people, including some of the Founders, had doubts that a people governing themselves could be done. America was a product of the Enlightenment.
Mass says, again, No Kings!
Thank you for standing with us, whether you were in Boston or in your hometown; we hope that you deepened connections to your community, came away with some other ways to take action, and had an awesome day that refilled your cup to redouble our fight against authoritarianism.
A Bastion of Democracy
One of the most beautiful and most terrifying things about a nation defined by ideals is that we must choose over and over again—in every generation, in every household, in every heart—whether or not to uphold our shared identity… As our values and our institutions begin to buckle under the blows, the burden to support and defend our Constitution becomes one that more and more Americans must take up in order to ensure its survival.
Reflections on Modern Motherhood
I know there is no law I would not break, no mountain I would not climb, no border I would not cross for her. There is nothing I would not do to give my daughter a better, safer life. How can we demonize other mothers for doing these things? By a stroke of luck, I was born to this life where I can cuddle my daughter in our warm bed, in our cozy house, with our full pantry, the sound of rain falling gently on the roof.
A Network of Networks
People need to be reminded that they are not alone in an era of institutional collapse, and that sense of solidarity makes them more likely to act. We cannot do this alone. A single individual has limited power, but en masse, people can move mountains.
Standing Armies Are a Threat to the Constitution
It is tragically ironic that these deployments are happening as we celebrate the 238th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which happened Wednesday, September 17th. This is because these actions recall a threat that the Constitution was designed to protect against: the presence of standing armies and the resulting encroachment on civil liberties.
Boston Is a Union Town
As we face continued and escalating federal overreach into our communities, the lessons of the labor movement are more important than ever: they may claim to have power over us, but there are more of us than there are of them, and they need us to comply to retain their position. As long as we stand together, we can overcome any opposition they turn on us.
Whose America? Domestic military occupation and a nation on the brink
At the core of the administration’s current and proposed domestic military occupations is one of our nation’s most enduring questions: whose America is this? As a despicable despot attempts to turn a say in our nation’s future into a favor to be withheld at his pleasure, now is the time to recommit to standing up for our liberties and resisting attempts to divide and conquer us.
Cafe ICEcadrille: The Power of Direct Action
District Ave—formerly known as Executive Park Drive—is a quiet, dead-end road nestled between an iconic mall and a world-class hospital. Its occupants are modern restaurants and cute cafes, a Residence Inn hotel, and several unassuming office buildings. Inside one of those office buildings is ICE.
What’s Your Why?
During Rage Against the Regime, people turned a backdrop of vines into a blooming montage of answers to the question: “Why do you resist?” I read through all of them, and certain themes emerged.
Channeling our Rage into Action
Authoritarian regimes, like the one in the White House right now, control through oppression. They want us to be poor, sick, desperate, and left feeling hopeless and helpless. When we come together in joy and uplift our communities we are actively engaging in resistance.
ICE Raids Have Far-Reaching Effects on the Human Services Industry
The Trump regime has terminated the protected status of half a million immigrants from Haiti, many of whom serve essential roles in Boston’s Human Services industry, leaving the most vulnerable people in our communities at risk of neglect.
Thanks for making Good Trouble with us
Thank you all for braving the heat to make Good Trouble with us last Thursday! We made our voices heard marching down Boylston Street. Once we got to the Common, we danced to the music of the Good Trouble Brass Band. Then, we got down to business with speakers from multiple organizations sharing what they think Good Trouble means to them.
A Movement’s Search for Meaning
The real enemy of this movement is existential; a dreadful fear for the future that grinds us down to the nub as each insult irritates the yawning chasm that leaves us unable to rest. The force of this dread is something we must learn to endure. Your self-care toolkit shouldn’t be just rest and relaxation, but also a healthy understanding of the mind's weaknesses and limitations, and taking deliberate action through a thoughtful framing of the day’s events to improve it.
Secession and Other Forms of Appeasement
The current administration seeks nothing more than for us to give up and abandon our fellow Americans. To fight back effectively, we must stand together with people of good will in every corner of this tattered but still intact republic.