This OTYCD entry originally posted in May 2017.

 

Believe it. You matter to other people. 

 

One of the most pernicious lies that authoritarians and their ilk try to push is that you don’t matter. That’s bullshit. You matter. If you didn’t matter, Trump and those who do his bidding wouldn’t be so hot and bothered about suppressing the vote under the guise of routing out voter fraud.

 

No matter who you are, no matter where you are, you have people who care about you and your opinions. For serious.

 

You can push back against Trump by believing, wholeheartedly, that you matter, and that the people around you care about what you have to say.

 

Stand up. Be calm. Be respectful. Be heard. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

Keep speaking out against Trump and his sick, destructive worldview.

 

And most of all, keep finding ways to invite people to join you in your resistance. You are powerful alone, but you are more powerful with friends.

 

Don’t be put off if they say no. Keep asking people who you like to join you until someone says yes. If you are kind and deferential and no-strings-attached about it, someone will, eventually.

 

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