Fuck #TheResistance.
You’ve seen that hashtag everywhere. It has a calming feeling, I suppose, to engage in what feels like activism in this age of Donald J. Trump.
I’m a mom. I live in an upper middle-class suburb right outside of New York City. I have two daughters, one 14 (don’t ask), one 8. After living in NYC for decades, we finally made the decision to move to this insufferable suburb. (Schools.) Plus, my husband works in finance in North Jersey anyway. (Go ahead, judge. I dare you.)
Given all of this, I have plenty of authority to explain the “resistance women” phenomenon. In my dealings, many of these people supported Hillary Clinton in the primary. When I say “support,” I mean doing zero research into the other Democratic candidates and blindly supporting Hillary.
When the election was over, women I had NEVER had a political discussion with were suddenly talking about politics. At first, I thought this was great. As much as I didn’t want Trump as president, at least there was all this new activism happening.
Yeah, well, unfortunately, a year later, it’s more than obvious what this #resistance “movement” amounts to. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve asked, “Are you excited so many people are talking about universal healthcare?” Response: “Um, my husband and I think it’ll raise our taxes.” Or I’ll ask, “How do you feel about the fifteen dollars an hour fight?” Response: “Yeah, but that’s not really doable and my husband and I think it’s not fair to business owners,” or some other bullshit excuse.
You see the problem I’m having with the faux-resistance? See *why* it needs to be called the fuck out? These are the same women that prior to Trump NEVER, and I mean NEVER, talked about politics (at least to me). These are women that live comfortable lives and all’s good as long as their kids are getting good grades in school, their husbands pay five minutes of attention to them, they can get their nails done and go to Garden State Plaza mall.
Sure, they hate Trump. Yes, some have called Republican senators begging them to stop the latest version of TrumpCare, but as long as life for them continues on comfortably, they really aren’t engaged. Not like you might think.
Now, you may be saying, um, Mary, YOU live in the same area, YOUR husband is a senior analyst, aren’t you talking about YOURSELF? Damn right. I DO fit the profile. But I didn’t always. I lived in NYC for decades and struggled for years as I worked my way through the music industry. I also come from an immigrant background. My dad is from Sicily, right outside of Palermo. My grandparents lived with us off and on when I was a young kid.
So maybe all of that’s *why* I can see these fake-ass “resistance” moms for what they are. Maybe that’s *why* I see right through their bullshit.
I went to a cringe-worthy Indivisible meeting (way too long and boring to give details, trust me). With the exception of a couple of other people inspired by Bernie Sanders (we went for coffee after and laughed our asses off), this was a collection of annoying, low-info, Joy Reid-watching, PTA-attending moms that I make a conscious decision to avoid at all costs.
These are the, “There’s nothing wrong with the Democrat Party!” types. These are the ones that refuse to look at the party’s years of failure. These are the ones that prior to Trump couldn’t have given fuck all about the plights of poor WOMEN in this country. These are women that go to Home Goods, Wegman’s and Target because it’s “hip.” (They were literally talking about SHOPPING at this Indivisible meeting.)
So as the “resistance” retweets neocons like David Frum and Bill Kristol (they do), as they breathlessly wait for an Orrin Hatch presidency (you’d have to follow nut job, Loiuise Mensch to know what I’m talking about), as they “resist” all things Bernie (they do), just understand WHO THEY ARE.
Bottom line, it’s great that people get engaged in the political process, but Jesus Christ, examine *why* you’re engaging in activism. Do you want to see a just society for all? Do you want social, racial and ECONOMIC justice for all? If you are “resisting” Congressman John Conyers’s Single Payer healthcare bill and Bernie’s Medicare for all bill, you are NOT for equality. If you’re NOT for a living wage (#fight4fifteen), you’re NOT for equality. The same goes for other issues, like tuition-free public college.
So to sum up, I’m officially “resisting” #TheResistance. It’s full of shit and at its heart just wants to return to an imaginary place during the Obama years when everything was “fine.” Well, it wasn’t fine for millions.
So take your pink pussy hats, take your stupid #resistance hashtag and go masturbate to pictures of “resistance warriors” like David Frum.
