Forming The New American Resistance

Redefining FAFO Can Guide You to Stand Up to the Coming Orange Tyranny. Here is How.

Authors Note: I have just returned from a speaking tour in Egypt about how the World War 2 era Commando Force, the Special Air Service (SAS) was founded. It was born of the critical necessity to do something, anything, to stop a seemingly inevitable Nazi victory. So the British High Command decided to allow small, self starting groups to figure out what needed to be done and just go do them! Their radical and disruptive acts often succeeded where traditional organizations had not. Clearing my head in the Egyptian desert has given me the clarity to write what you all need to hear. We Need a New American Resistance.

Bottom Line Up Front, People! We Need a Resistance!

It is time to organize a New Model American Resistance movement that is aggressive, and persistent. We need a recognizable resistance that will represent the disenfranchised, frustrated, and unmotivated voter base that just got its legs kicked out from under them.

But let’s get something straight. The job of my new model of resistance is not to run massive protests and mobilize millions to hit the streets so Antifa can cause riots and Trump will suspend the laws to crush us. We must harness the rules of psychological warfare and strike Trump in a way to cause personal psychic injury. Our tactics must be deep enough to escape notice till the moment they happen and then have news media driving impact.

I propose everyone be given simple, easy-to-understand goals to carry out the first impactful protest acts in such a way that the entire narrative of the Trump administration is challenged in the real space right in the face of Red America.

In 1940 when France was occupied by the Germans and their government became a tool of a dictator, the French people did not comply … they acted like they complied, and then every moment when the enemy was not watching they ALL carried out resistance. Sometimes it was as simple as showing personal disdain and passively resisting by closing shops or showing patriotism by flying even more French flags everywhere. The point was not just to make the feeling of resistance known to the enemy, but to use the feeling to mobilize those who just tolerated the occupation. Until real opposition formed in London with the Free French, the locals did their subversive acts, right in the face of the Nazis. That’s how we must act. No one is talking about blowing up train lines, felling trees, or hurting people. In the present context that is just the excuse Trump will be looking for, so get it out of your head. However, subversion can take on national importance if done simultaneously, everywhere, and in the real world. Let’s suspend bitching on Bluesky and Twitter about the latest Trump outrage. Let us steer the conversation with our own brand of subversion, well protected by the First Amendment.

What About a National Opposition?

Distinguished attorney and outspoken defender of democracy Marc Elias has spent years bringing the fight to Trump in the courts. He recently wrote an excellent piece on Democracy Docket arguing that resistance to Trump’s first administration was squandered when what was needed was an organized opposition. Elias argues correctly that “We must develop and foster new movements, structures, tactics, platforms, and leaders to oppose Trump and articulate a positive vision.”

Optimally this would be an iron alliance of the Democratic party, Political Action Committees, and patriotic influencers, but I am not seeing this. The Democratic party is so cowed they barely publicly opposed anything Trump has proposed

But as we saw in 2017 with the Women’s March against Trump, it takes time to organize an opposition and that never really formed. The typical democratic infighting for money, TV face time, and influence set the wide, diverse coalition to start acting like a bag of proverbial cats.

For a short time, The Indivisible Guide provided a grassroots way for people to organize but it never amounted to more than a PDF and a name. As their national HQ collected money and a very short-lived notoriety, the people, who wanted guidance and direction never received much more direction than the guide book which essentially said “Start an Indivisible group!” My Indivisible NY-19 group was very effective locally but it was self-starting and aimless. None of the effective tactics they developed locally was ever shared nationally.

But while the national opposition takes time to set up, each of us can form a wall of opposition ourselves that can perform collective actions with national impact.

MAGA focused on what they wanted; an embrace of an authoritarian, white supremacy, and economic favoritism oriented to MAGA. They wanted to rule over America and focused, laser-like, on that goal. Everything else was a distraction.

On the other side Democrats, progressives, and never-Trumpers focused on flipping out over the latest outrage or astonishment at Trump’s never-ending lies. Karl Rove once characterized their policy of Distract, Rule, and Rewrite History when he said:

“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

Let’s just stop studying their manufactured unreality and make our own. The Democratic party’s job is to maintain a loyal opposition that will defend the Constitution and the American people at the legislative level. However, we have already seen Democratic Congressmen and Senators start to fold and comply with Trump’s insane cabinet choices. They think the guardrails will hold if they just play decently and do not upset MAGA too much. That is a form of national and party suicide.

The 2024 election revealed people aren’t necessarily voting against someone who is a wrecking ball. For all the accurate talk about weirdness, lack of normalcy, and mountains of documentable lies, they want to see what the wrecking ball can do to people they hate. And just 31% of the eligible voters elected to usher in the end of democracy.

The time for playing nice is over.

The Resistance must eventually become strong enough and loud enough to push reluctant democrats to do the right thing. It must also warn the apathetic non-voting public about what is happening. In simple, easy-to-digest words and images.

Let’s Form a New SuperPAC and call it the, I don’t know …FAFO PAC!

I, for one, do not see the Trump regime as legitimate. Yes, he was legally elected, but it is a cabal of open criminals, Christian fascist crusaders, and super-rich oligarchs who are pushing America into a post-Constitutional autocracy. I reject that wholeheartedly. I spent every minute of my life defending the nation against foreign enemies and now that the domestic ones have reared their ugly heads we must not compromise ourselves, our values, or our founding principles. MAGA uses the patriotism of America as a figleaf to cover their faithless and deceitful exploitation of the people. We can express our disdain in a simple acronym: FAFO … as fun as that sounds, it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s a hijacking of the acronym to mean Focused Action with Focused Objectives.

FAFO – Focused Action, Focused Objectives

The Resistance must organize into a unified machine but through simultaneous individual acts of defiance. Why? Your life as an American with rights may be in mortal danger. Some of us will end up in physical danger. Your way of life has already changed with compliant media and politicians genuflecting to Trump weeks before he is in power.

The only way out of this hole is to focus on carrying out single, unitary actions that achieve singular objectives simultaneously.

I call it FAFO – Focused Actions with Focused Objectives.

The very definition of being liberal or progressive meant thinking for one’s self, and acting in one’s interest based on a wide variety of social and personal beliefs. It’s admirable that we have such a big tent, but every one of those self-interested behaviors lets the right-wing unity of message steamroller us.

Let us commit to three simple acts that will allow us to solidify our resistance to the incoming regime and give ourselves some focused points of solidarity until we flesh out a real opposition. Best of all, everyone can participate, simply by not going along with Trump’s horrifying unreality.

P-Day: January 20, 2025. The National Day of Resistance

The last time a major street protest was organized against Donald Trump garnered an enormous amount of media and brought millions of people together worldwide. Then the biggest story was how it fizzled out and left Trump standing.

Our new model of resistance allows us to strike at Trump and the news media where it hurts the most… a complete and total absence of anyone or anything that would make his inauguration noteworthy. Then we will disappear until the next FAFO happens. The news story will become “What will FAFO do next?”

FAFO #1 - Participate in the National Inauguration Blackout

A major part of the legitimacy of Trump’s authoritarian rule is the way that the national news media has already bent its knee and decided to capitalize on the chaos and mayhem of his threats to their livelihood. All of the major cable channels and national news organizations will be heavily represented at the inauguration with the intent to see outlandish statements Trump will make on the inauguration day. They will also be there to enlighten us with commentary on how the Democrat’s peaceful transition of power may be the last we ever see. One FAFO (focused action with a focused objective) every resistant can carry out is to commit to a complete and total blackout for 100 hours.

The FA: Do not watch any inauguration or news media events for 100 hours. Read a book. Participate in a hobby. Enjoy time with family. Do ANYTHING except watch cable news or read any online or print news about the inauguration. This includes social media. Take that week back for yourself. Read the Federalist papers or history books. When the weekend comes you can ease back into it and process the carnage with a clear head. Encourage all others in your family and social circle to just not participate with a tyrannical regime and its compliant news media that intends to do us all harm.

The FO: We will financially impact the news media for a period of time they want all eyes on the inauguration. This will in turn show them that their advertising bottom line can be damaged and that complying has consequences. It will show the Trump regime that not only are we NOT watching but that when we do focus our attention it will be laser-like and grassroots. It will give good politicians something to hold onto and bad ones a warning that they could find that FAFO can be brought to bear against them also.

How Long: 100 hours

Start: 08:00 ET Monday, January 20, 2025

End: 08:00 ET Saturday, January 25, 2025.

FAFO#2 - Participate in T-Day: The Great Twitter Walk-Away

The FA: This action is to punish the Twitter propaganda machine for enabling the end of democracy by destroying a public square. Since the election, I have been encouraging people to maintain their Twitter accounts. Over the next 30 days take time to copy and download your posts and prepare to delete your account … at the exact moment Trump is sworn in. We know Elon Musk will likely be holding the Bible for him on the Capitol steps and we can make our displeasure known.

High noon on inauguration day will be the time to walk away from this destructive propaganda device. Some resisters will want to keep putting their defiance it into MAGA’s face and remain on Twitter. That’s fine but if we can get the 25 million new followers on BlueSky to delete their Twitter accounts simultaneously the impact will be enormous. It will be one of the biggest stories of the week … which you can read about the following weekend after it is done. We will no longer participate in an alternative reality where Nazis and MAGA violence are threatened without consequence.

When: 1200 Noon ET, January 20, 2025

FAFO#3 - Make Your Own Alternative Protests - We cannot afford a massive protest in Washington DC in which malicious players provoke a violent reaction from the MAGA who will come to the inauguration or the government that just took power minutes before. Columnist Dan Savage created a philosophy that I think will work well for us. We will show our protest our displeasure through our absence and lack of participation. Some of the alternative methods of protest are quite simple and legal.

· Get Inauguration Tickets and Don’t Show - One example is to order your tickets to attend the inauguration now through your congressman or representative. Then simply do not show up. Protest with your absence.

· Silent Protest on the March Route - Another alternative is to carry out a silent protest along the inauguration parade route, but carrying signs that will symbolize your displeasure. One of my favorites was developed by the late Scottish comedian Janey Godley, who quietly held up a sign “Trump is a C*nt”. That sign is now considered a Scottish national treasure. She didn’t have to say one word, but the sign said it all. If 20-30,000 people were to show up with similar signage and line the inauguration route it would also become one of the top stories of the week. Don’t forget to mask it with a TRUMP sign and whip it out at the right moment.

· National Imperial March on a Kazoo Day - While the silent protest has appeal, I believe in designating January 20 as a National Day of Resistance through music. One of the top resistors in social media is the Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker, better known as the actor Mark Hamill. In his honor, let every person spend the next month buying a kazoo and the moment after they delete their Twitter accounts, they play the Imperial March on their kazoos. It’s what the Orange Vader deserves. Then splash your videos during your weeklong blackout onto social media. This way you could have some fun and make up your own inauguration March with finger puppets, paper cutouts or Claymation with the appropriate music … on a Kazoo.

As amusing as it may all sound these Resistance FAFO techniques are only effective if millions of us commit to them rather than one or two of us posting it on social media. We have a short time to start to organize. Let’s make it count.