Cope how you need to, but don't infight over blame. Don't be dramatic, and don't make toothless gestures. Act and plan.

If you've had the privilege of feeling safe until now, respect that Black, Brown, Indigenous, immigrant, and trans folks have not. Listen when they say they don't need you to wear a blue bracelet or change your profile picture. They need you to act. They need you to stand against oppression. They need you to call your people out both for supporting the aggressive oppression of Trump and the “kinder and gentler” oppression of the Democrats.

Quit writing off entire minority demographics because many of them voted for Trump, and quit writing off the many good people facing violence and oppression in red states.

Are you leaving the US? Most of us probably aren't going to flee. Many will not be able to. And if there is a hope of the US not being a superpower version of Hungary, we need people here fighting.

This will be worse than last time, and it will keep getting worse. But the administration will most likely start doing horrible things with a veil of legitimacy and normalcy.

They will start attacking immigrants immediately. They are threatening to use the military to deport 20 million people starting day one.

So, that's the best place to start: protecting immigrants. Find organizations with experience with standing up for immigrants and join, follow, or support them. Support legal and community defense. Support local legislation to protect immigrants. Support immigrant businesses.

Longer-term, join a local, grassroots org that supports your values. It will keep you engaged, give you a source of history and tactics in the struggle, and help you stay informed of actions you can take. We build a better future through mass movements, which we build through orgs, unions, and community groups.

Don't be so wrapped up in domestic matters that you forget there is a genocide happening in Palestine. Trump is signaling his administration will be even more supportive of Israeli aggression.

What we are fighting and how we fight it will be influenced by the goals of its originators. Trump, for example, may waffle on an issue like abortion to keep popularity. We may be spared full-on fascism simply because Trump is lazy and mostly wants to grift and be adored by his followers. Stephen Miller, however, is a white nationalist who will implement the most violent, evil policies he can against immigrants.

There is a small but real chance that the upcoming years will see a 1930s Berlin moment where marginalized groups and political rivals are targeted. Don't just blather on about leaving the US. Get your damned passport. Do research on your options for leaving. Skip spending on some comforts, if you can, and put aside some cash.

Last time, a lot of us wasted energy doom-scrolling and waiting for the levers of democracy to save us from the Trump nightmare. We now know better. We can save most of that wasted hope and energy for tangible action against the administration's actions.

If you are targeted for oppression because of your activism or political views, look at our history. When victims of political repression stay silent and stick together, they fair better than when someone decides to turn. Innocent people have had their lives ruined by one fucking snitch. Don't be that snitch. Surround yourself with people you trust.

Look at your information security. Clear out unnecessary data that could be used to target you for your views or activities. Get a VPN. Secure your accounts. Take biometric security (which you can legally be forced to activate) off your phone. Stop saying things on social media or in chat groups you would not want repeated in court on trial for being "an enemy of the state”. Expect infiltration and surveillance, but avoid bad-jacketing.

Consider how you will deal with political harassment and violence towards yourself and others. What can you do? How do you make sure your choices do not increase risk to yourself and others?

Being an activist, advocate, mutual aid worker, truth teller, or even just a political rival has just gotten more dangerous. It's time to figure out your place in that. We can't all handle the risks, and that is okay. But if a lot of folks do not stand up, I don't see how we get out of this. Whatever you do, as things tend towards fascism, don't be complicit and don't be a collaborator.

Don’t do the work of a reactionary with leftist infighting. We have bigger problems. You don't like how some socialist or anarchist group works? That's nice. Have a fucking cookie and go do something that matters. If you are not an op who is helping authorities repress activists, don't act like one.

We can hope there are still free elections in two years and hope that liberals will take enough power back to reduce some of the harm done by Trump. But we sure can't count on it, and it is time for progressives to face that the Democrats will keep moving to the right. They will not stand up to the rich or the far right in any meaningful way. We need mass organizing, and we need to wrestle power back from the rich.

We have to mass organize. We have to stand together. We have to educate and fight misinformation. Even without Trump or Vance, we are running out of time on climate change, the growth of far-right power internationally, and on the congealing international oligarchy of billionaires.

But we have to be well enough for the fight. One of the most important things you can do right now is take care of yourself and your people. We can neither fight nor flee if our bodies and spirit are broken.

I mean no shame - I am struggling with this too - but now is a great time to go on a walk instead of drowning your sorrow in a tub of ice cream. It’s a great time to buy some good outdoor gear (for protests or border crossings!) instead of your preferred forms of escapism. We need to be able to protest. We need to be able to survive an even-worse healthcare system. We may need to make ourselves useful immigrants somewhere, if it comes to that. Take care of yourself the best you can. Keep living your life the best you can. Take care of people the best you can.

If grief or fear is crippling you, work on just doing the next thing you need to do, and go from there.

None of us really knows how bad this will be. It could be just a slightly worse version of his last presidency (which is real bad, obviously). It could be so inept and corrupt that it topples the grotesque neo-liberal hold on American politics since the eighties. It could be the beginning of an authoritarian theocratic kleptocracy. We need to be ready to deal with whatever happens.

Their intent is to overwhelm you into inaction. The fear is supposed to paralyze you. The doubt is supposed to make you turn on other victims of the rich and powerful. The manufactured outrage is supposed to turn you against allies. Don't fall for it. Plan, organize, and act.