So despite my resolve to write more, the past year has not been kind. I can’t even keep track of the topics I want to cover because the hits keep coming faster than I can process: Fenrir discourse, Diana Paxson/Troth blowup, Neil Gaiman, issues impacting heathens in my local and regional community, Luigi and the hope he’s inspired, the election, Neil Gaiman again (seriously: fuck you, Neil), and, well, everything… Before I can even process and dig deep for an informed response to some of the events or issues, the next one has come along and knocked me off balance once again. And that doesn’t even take into account personal struggles with which I’ve been dealing. “Overwhelmed” doesn’t even scratch the surface.

But the last two weeks? I’ve been shaken out of my stupor and I’m ready to make some noise.

We all know that in the two weeks following the inauguration, MAGA has been busy deploying shock and awe tactics. The blitz of Executive Orders, each one more horrifying than the last, being signed and reported on in order to overwhelm and confuse the public. The goal of course is to get people to shut down and freeze. I was already in a state of suspended animation, mentally and emotionally speaking, before the inauguration. Elon’s blatantly shameless Sieg Heils yanked me out of hibernation, and the rage has only intensified each day since 20 Jan.

Listen: I grew up in West Germany in the ’80s. The first Army base my father worked at overseas had been an SS Training camp 40 years before. Our neighbors when we lived off base had been staff at the SS camp. We lived among people for whom the Third Reich was a vivid memory and a soul-crushing regret. Education about the Nazis and the Holocaust was incredibly direct and incredibly intense. My parents made sure I was armed with enough knowledge and visual examples to ensure I would never sit by & comply with fascism.

There is no possible way to express just how horrified and enraged I am. I want nothing more right now than to declare war against the system and lead a charge on DC. I want to call upon Loki’s aspect of World Breaker and build a ship of dead men’s fingernails and sail it down the Potomac. 

I. Am. Furious.

However, there’s a smarter way to go about this. If it wasn’t for K, I’d either be a scrambled radical or in jail for stabbing someone in the face with a fork, as I so desperately wanted to do last week upon hearing of an ICE raid the next town over. K has more experience in community action and mutual aid work and somehow managed to convince me that going Nestor Makhno on a cop wouldn’t do much in the long run. Besides, one person can’t stop fascism on their own, even if their face-stabbing fork is an amazing iridescent rainbow of Pride symbolism.

What we need to do is build community networks and resources. We need to make noise – a cacophony (IYKYK) is more effective than a single voice.

– Call and email your state reps to tell them MAGAS ideas and intentions are unconstitutional and their constituents ARE paying attention and WILL hold them accountable. Sites like HTTPS://5CALLS.ORG and HTTPS://RESIST.BOT can help you with scripts on what to say if you want to make sure you keep your train of thought and to help ease the anxiety that can come with making a phone call like this. These sites can also help with email and faxes. And check sites like WWW.USA.GOV/ELECTED-OFFICIALS for contact information for national, state, and local reps. 

– Prepare for a food crisis. Not only are prices only going to go up, but the agricultural industry has already been impacted by the ICE raids. If the tariff wars actually happen, it’s only going to compound the availability and affordability of food. And gods only know what’s going to happen to food safety regulations with Brain Worm Kennedy on duty.

– If you are able, stock up on enough to help members of your community who have been stripped of their SNAP/WIC/disability/government assistance benefits. If we’re to survive as a people, those with the resources ought to help those without resources. Unfortunately, in this dystopian hellscape of late-stage capitalism where wages are stagnant and inflation soaring, far fewer of us have the kind of purchasing power we used to. We’re already in a housing crisis; I’m sure a food crisis is soon to follow.

– On the topic of housing: if you have the space and means to provide shelter for immigrants and/or trans and LGBTQ/At people who are in danger, please consider making your home available to domestic refugees. Check out Rainbow Railroad and local community chatter to get involved.

– Get involved with community action and mutual aid groups in your area. Food Not Bombs is an excellent such group, speaking from experience with chapters I’ve met in the Tri-State Area. Not only do they serve and assist people in your towns and cities, these groups help build a larger network and framework for the resistance.

– Don’t riot until there’s no other discourse left for us. I know the temptation is strong, believe me. But stay calm (I say to myself even as I write this). Riots will result in Martial Law being declared. That’s what MAGA wants– it’s the next step in moving this country to a fascist dictatorship.

– If Martial Law is declared, remember how massive this country is. There’s more of us than there are of them. And we know what the Third Reich did. We will not allow it to happen again.

– Unionize. This isn’t just a fight against fascism, it’s based on the fight labor rights. We as the working class need to recognize just how much power we actually have – we are the ones fueling the economy, and we can wreck the economy if we refuse to work. Our work is what generates the means of wealth, and the powers that be have nothing without us. Tyranny has been able to take hold of this country because the wealth disparity is so extreme that the working class is desperate. Instead of allowing these rich fucks to trample our rights and the safety and welfare of our fellow citizens and immigrants, we need to build our own power base to have a voice against the corporate overlords who are making it impossible to survive. If we unionize and build worker protections and fair pay, we’re in a better position to defend and protect our civil and human rights. Now, I’ve only ever worked for smaller family owned businesses and I’ve never been in an industry that had a union. . . but I’ve always supported unions, and you can, too. Boycott the companies and industries that go on strike, don’t cross picket lines, don’t scab. Don’t buy the narrative that we’re peasants – we are the ones with the real power.

– This sounds contrary to everything I’ve just written, but go easy on yourself. Last week, I was a wreck because I was so angry at myself for being reactive instead of proactive. After all, on 6 Nov my first reaction was to declare the need to brush up on what the various resistance groups did in Europe in the 1930s and ’40s and learn how to adapt their techniques to 21ˢᵗ Century United States. But I was quickly distracted by work issues, personal health, financial stress, and the thousand other news items dividing my attention. The hideous headlines are coming fast and furious, and it’s overwhelming by design. Don’t feel as though you have to keep up with each Executive Order, each soundbite from the White House. Pick maybe two or three issues that are pissing you off the most and focus on those. Keep calling and emailing your state reps and senators and holding them accountable. And if their voice mails are full or you have poor reception, it’s because thousands of others are doing the exact same thing you are. Keep overloading the phone lines and flooding their inboxes. Hell, reach out to the offices of other major players on the Hill as well, make it known loud and clear that the whole damn country is watching them and placing responsibility for the nation’s welfare squarely on their shoulders. It is, after all, what they were elected to do.

Allow yourself to step back from the 24/7 news cycle when you’re feeling too much despair and anxiety. It isn’t any single person’s responsibility to keep up, understand specifics, and act. Do what you can when you can. If you’re not able to be the one sharing food with your neighbors, but rather the one asking for food, that’s okay. There’s no shame in asking for help – that’s why those of us who can share are doing what we’re doing. If you’re scared to go to a protest because you’d risk losing your job/being arrested, and you’ve got children or people who depend on you, that’s okay, too. Those of us without dependents and/or have flexible work schedules will stand up and shout on your behalf. Sometimes securing your family’s future and survival means being there for them – it’s hard to raise a child from behind bars. I’m one of the thousands of child free women who can – and will – speak up for you. This is the whole point and purpose of having a community – those who have will share, those who can speak will shout. This is not about being heroic. It’s about being human. 

These are some truly scary times with a hell of a lot of uncertainties. I’m seething with fury even as I try to encourage others to stay calm and prepare for what’s ahead. It absolutely boggles my mind that it hasn’t even been a century since the goddamn fascist dictatorships were dubbed the Axis of Evil, and yet the current administration is attempting to speed run the fourth Reich into these United States. The deportations, the bid for allowing a third term, the gutting of all federal agencies of employees in order to staff them with MAGA loyalists, the trade wars, the chaos and the hate and the destruction of what decent people hold dear… It’s honestly too much to comprehend. It doesn’t feel real – how could it? We fought against authoritarianism to build this country, and we fought against facism and racism to preserve this country – Everything this administration stands for is anti-American.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m patriotic and love this country. I’ve been deeply disappointed these last ten plus at the rise of anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, racism, disregard for human rights, declining civil rights, nonexistent healthcare rights, the astounding greed and sociopathy in the ruling class… I could go on. But I still love the idea of what this country is SUPPOSED to be, the ideal we’ve collectively had for generations. This is supposed to be the land of opportunity for ALL. This is supposed to be a society of equality and plenty. This is supposed to be a refuge from dictatorships. We’re supposed to be a society of innovation, diversity, and forward progression. Right now, this country is the opposite of everything it’s supposed to be. Call me naive, but I genuinely believe we can get this population back on track. I also believe things are going to get markedly worse before they get better. So we need to prepare and be ready to help one another survive as we revolt against fascism and corporate and political greed.

Loki, World-Breaker, please help us navigate what’s to come with purpose. May we never lose sight of our goal of freedom, safety, and equality. Lend us your strength and wit to resist against those who mean to doom us all. 

And Sigyn, Spark of Hope, may we never lose our sense of compassion for those who suffer. Please help us to help those who are being targeted by this administration. Please help us hold the bowl for humanity.

Oðinn: “I ask not to be safe from my enemies but dangerous to them.” (The Anarchist Prayer, one of many)