How to Defeat an Attempted Coup
We can’t know ahead of time what will happen on Election Day or what will happen in the weeks following. I hope that Biden wins with such a landslide that Trump and his supporters see that they have no choice but to accept the results. However we do need to be prepared for the possibility that Trump meant it when he said he would only accept the results if he wins. If he prevents the votes from being counted or tries to stay in office after losing the election, that’s a coup, an illegal power-grab.
If that happens, everyone who cares about justice, democracy, racial justice and climate change must participate fully in an outpouring of opposition. None of us can “wait and see”. All of us must act. All of us who can, must show up in the streets in the days and weeks after the election – well masked, socially distancing to the extent that we can, following safety guidelines, non-violent, and unified. Those who are unable to go into the streets must deluge governmental offices, political figures and the media with unceasing daily demands (by phone, email, letter, social media) that all the votes be counted. Probably a million people who don’t understand Twitter should learn to tweet and dominate that medium with demands for electoral justice.
Winning the battle for legitimacy
Once the voting is over, there will be numerous legal and political actions and tactics, but the deciding factor will ultimately be whether or not the vast majority of the population, especially the center of the political spectrum, will see those protesting the attempted coup and calling for counting the votes and protecting the results as having more legitimacy, or view Trump and his claims as having more legitimacy. The usual default position of the center, especially after an election, is to sit back and let things play out. But they can be brought to support a position that appears to them to have greater legitimacy and greater promise for a workable future.
How do we win? Four keys
How do we win this battle for the support of the bulk of the country? First, our key demand is to “Count every vote!” This appeals to basic fairness and is how many people, perhaps most, think democracy has operated for centuries in our country. Second, we must show that millions of people care about this enough to show up in the streets and to deluge politicians, media, and social media with demands that every vote be counted. We must make a believable claim that we will not desist until every vote is counted. Third, we must act with disciplined non-violence at all times. Fourth, it must be clear over time that if we need to, we will shut down the country to protect the integrity of the democratic process. I’m sure we will find many additional effective strategies — strikes, boycotts, new alliances –as we go through this together.
We can do this peacefully. We can demonstrate our love for an inclusive democracy, justice, and fairness, and for the people. We will stand in marked contrast to the anger, threats of violence, attacks, outrageous claims, and demands that votes not be counted of Trump and his minions. If we can win the battle for legitimacy in this way, many will join us. In urging non-violence, Matthew Levinger writes, “Authoritarian rulers fear peaceful resistance above all else. … [N]onviolent protesters are more capable of winning support from moderates, including pillars of establishment power such as the military and civil service, by appealing to the conscience of the nation.”
Being pragmatic
This will require a change in tactics and tone from many of us. While we may have been non-violent, in building progressive movements on the left we have often vented our anger and advocated radical positions. When we need to win over the vast majority of the center, expressions of anger and positions out-of-the-mainstream will not serve us well. Many potential supporters will head the other way and look for a different political home if our anger is a predominant feature of our public actions. Many of us have wanted to shout at Trump supporters that they are racist and that Trump is a despot. It may feel therapeutic to shout these sentiments, but in this case the streets are not the place for our therapy sessions. The streets are the place to be strategic and pragmatic and to make the very reasonable demand to “Count every vote!” A determined and joyful resistance is likely our best approach. (Of course Trump’s supporters are enacting racism and white supremacy, but an attitude of moral superiority and contempt on our part will work against us.)
Violence
I’ve talked with quite a number of progressives who deeply want to oppose a Trump coup, but are afraid of the possibility of violence initiated by Trump supporters, white nationalists, or the police. It makes sense to think about keeping ourselves safe in the streets. How great is the danger? I’ve been researching this question over the last few weeks. I take considerable comfort from what the Washington Post learned when it examined 7,305 Black Lives Matter protests, rallies, and marches that occurred during 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. They found that these actions were “overwhelmingly peaceful”, with zero reported injuries in 98.4% of them. These occurred in urban, suburban and rural areas, in white and black and brown communities. You didn’t hear from most of the mainstream media how peaceful and safe they were, but that’s the reality.
Those who study these things find that the vast majority of violence occurs when both sides escalate the rhetoric, anger and tension of a situation. If one side is committed to non-violence and adheres to established de-escalation strategies, violence is very rare. All over the country organizers and activists are being trained in non-violence, learning strategies to keep people safe and avoid violence. Leaders of progressive movements are learning not to seek to provoke the other side, but rather to focus on winning broad support. I encourage you to make sure that the leaders of a rally that you might participate in are, in fact, committed to non-violence. I will do the same. It will make us much safer.
Resilience, joy, and love
Democracy itself may hang in the balance. The fate of the humanity worldwide facing deadly climate change may hang in the balance. The dismantling of white supremacy may hang in the balance. Let us put our weight actively on the side of justice. One of the Black trainers from The Frontline, Ash-Lee Woodward Henderson, said the other night, “We are building with resilience, joy, and love.” She invited all of us to be part of that building together. Let’s do it.
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One way to connect with events in many parts of the country is through the website at Protect the Results where you can put in your zip code and see what events are near you.
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The photo above is the Pacific coast in the state of Washington — by Russ Vernon-Jones.
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