- By MACC
A Statement from the Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC NYC) [Graphic]
For months now, President Donald Trump and his followers, including both uniformed and civilian white supremacists, right-wing terrorist organizations, and civil war boosters, have been threatening to carry out a dictatorial coup, either through use of Republican-run courts, or through violence in the streets. This would discredit the national elections and end even the limited democracy the U.S. currently enjoys. What will actually happen we do not yet know; the majority of the population is presently against this, seemingly including much of the ruling rich and the establishment. But any such attempt will need to be stopped with direct action. Hoping things turn out for the best is not enough.
We cannot trust the Democrats, or the rest of the ruling elite, to defend democracy and freedom. They have supported all longstanding limitations on true democracy in the United States: the Electoral College, the unrepresentative Senate, the gerrymandering of congressional districts, private funding of all election campaigns, judges appointed for life, and so on. Voter suppression is rampant, particularly in non-white communities. Native American communities face the double injustice of having their sovereignty trampled as well as being systematically disenfranchised in U.S. elections. We live in a capitalist economy in which a tiny few have power over hundreds of millions. All the Democrats and the professional “resistance” know is process, procedure, and institutions - and they will no doubt naively seek refuge in these state apparatus even as the threat of fascism is upon us.
We the people can only rely on ourselves. Any actions by pro-Trump partisans, including Proud Boys, white nationalists, and far-right militia members, must be met by massive popular demonstrations throughout the country. Our rulers must fear that they will lose control of the population. The more militant the protests, the better. Only by a massive show of force can Trump and his authoritarian allies be convinced that stealing power is simply not worth it.
Demonstrations, however, will not be enough. Working people have a special power. There must be strikes in important sections of the economy. There must be general strikes in cities throughout the country, as well as rent strikes and consumer boycotts. On a local and international level, activists are doing their part to organize workers against a possible coup. Here in New York City, we support calls for a Peoples’ State of Emergency/Days of Rage to flood the streets on November 4th. Resources, from protest guides to lists of events, for post-election mobilization are being gathered under the slogan Everybody Out! All of these efforts must be applauded and supported.
We may have disagreements with other leftist and liberal groups, but this moment in history calls for setting those differences aside: we will work with anyone who will help build a movement against an attempted coup. As for ourselves, we are anarchists, libertarian socialists, and autonomists. Our goal is a true, popular democracy in which we all have a say in all aspects of our daily lives. We seek to build a movement which rejects the white supremacy, both implicit and explicit, and patriarchal authority that Trump and the far-right have sought to defend. A movement that is revolutionary, anti-capitalist, and anti-statist - one that will continue to organize even if the Democrats take power.