Resist

Pls FF to share this simple, yet inspirational cheer; meant to inspire to organize and mobilize the struggle to build a grassroots popular movement for REAL democracy. And not give in to fear, or allow our joy to be taken away. The following are examples of Resistance movements we celebrate, lessons learned, actions taken, and the yearning of our ancestors on whose shoulders we sit.

-May 1 “Mayday”, 1886, a historic turning point for the labor movement in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, which helped improve working conditions from a 12 hr to 8 hr workday.

-Fast forward to May 1, 2025; a glimmer of hope as tens of thousands marched in cities across the U.S. following a record 5.5 million at April 5’s “Hands Off Democracy” rallies. (The commercial media, not surprisingly, suppressed its magnitude. The Sunday NY Times, for example, rather than feature it on the front page, relegated it to p. 19 and minimized the numbers, only reporting the initial sign-up of 600,000).

-Minneapolis Mayday, May 4, 2025 (see video above) honors the Labor Movement and is always about “Cultural Resistance”; large colorful, vibrant puppets, masks, street theater, music, dance that appeals to all ages, cuts across political divides and is meant to bring people, neighbors, and communities together. And that it does, typically 50,000 strong. Completely people-powered and created from paper mache, all manner of art and craft, carpenters, metalworkers, painters, seamstresses and the like.

-Cinco de Mayo, May 5, honoring Mexican triumph over the French invaders, 1862. In all, the Mexican people had overcome 3 centuries of Spanish empire rule. Invading Spanish “conquistadors” in 1519, plundered their gold, seized their farmland converting it into large Haciendas, ruled by a few wealthy land owners. Eventually Peasant rebellions broke up the Haciendas returning them to the native Indian ancestral lands. The United States also invaded Mexico in 1846.

-May 25, 2025 will commemorate the George Floyd Uprising 5 yrs on, which brought worldwide awareness to police violence and brutality, particularly targeting Blacks, Native Americans and People of Color, to cities across the U.S. . As U.S. racial capitalism gives rise to fascism nearly all population groups of society are becoming affected. And here’s where not only Resistance is key, but so is Solidarity and Unity because, frankly, we are everywhere.

And can overcome the “tyranny of the minority”. Resistance includes attempts at civilized conversations among otherwise divided and “polarized” groups thru concrete human connections. The “Braver Angels” is one among several groups promoting this. I’ve attended their workshop and recommend it. Ref:https://braverangels.org/

-Today, May 8th, 2025, is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to end World War II. Ironically, the systems put in place 80 years ago to prevent genocide- NATO, International Courts and Laws- are now being eroded as fascism and oligarchy have replaced democracies in many countries: Russia, Turkey, Hungary, Israel, U.S. among others.

Thus, studying the history of fascism, its “playbook” and the Resistance movements that stood up, is paramount. Especially important is our understanding of worse case scenarios: Nazi Germany’s Holocaust, the Ottoman Turk Armenian genocide of 1915, indeed, ALL genocides and the unmistakably common patterns leading up to them. These common characteristics are documented in a recently released film called “The Broken Promise.” It is clear that such Regimes depend on:

1. collaborators within populations, especially to facilitate, administer and even carry out the dirty work and brutality, and

2. large segments to remain silent and normalize the situation.

That is how the “banality of evil” operates to make it all seem like just another day. It is Resistance Movements, their allies, support systems, and networks, expressed in their various ways and forms which has in very real ways saved humanity by bringing out our humanity. I have read many memoirs over the years, and viewed several documentaries of Resistance movements and survivors of the worst atrocities. One survivor that stood out is a woman, Madeline Riffaud, whom survived the Holocaust by joining the French Resistance who said, quote: “the essential thing was not to give in”, she said, when asked about her resistance years. “When you resisted, you were already a Victor you had already won.”