SPEAK NOW, DEMOCRACY
Lessons From Harry Potter
*Please read our message of support for the LGBTQ+ community here, and understand that Harry Potter inspires us regardless of the political views of J.K. Rowling.
Being Clear About
What We're Dealing With
It kept coming to me that these archetypes in the Trump administration, are pretty much the story of Harry Potter. We're at the part of our story where Lord Voldemort is back (Trump) and Dolores Umbridge (the Republican party) has taken over Hogwarts.
I paused before posting this - wondering if it would be taken the wrong way. I imagined some sort of backlash, or even "support," that went too far. So let's all just remember that these are stories - the characters aren't real - yet they transcend the limited perspective of their creator.
It's also important to be clear that there are people in the Trump administration teaching hate, teaching bigotry, taking our rights, stealing from others, shaming and celebrating pain. This administration seeks to stomp out democracy, limit our freedom, and suppress our happiness.
Like Voldemort, Trump wants to break your spirit.
This includes trying to incite violence and riots.
As Trump deports our friends, our neighbors, and hardworking people who have made our communities better - it's entirely understandable that we are incredibly upset. Yet we also must keep in mind that Trump is trying to incite violence because - then - he has the power and the control.
Trump wants to point to the people and leaders resisting his actions, and he wants to be able to demonstrate that we're the "problem." And he wants to turn us into people like him - who would inflict violence and pain on others. Trump breaks the Posse Comitatus Act by setting our own Marine Troops against us, and he chooses the Marines because they are not specified in the act because they had not yet existed.
Trump wants you to feel powerless, isolated, and alone.
Even when it's hard,
remember the way through is:
love and connection + persistence and knowhow.
The way through is not violence, or hate.
Let's remember what Harry Potter says to Voldemort, after Voldemort has taken Harry's godfather from him.
Harry is in immense pain, and Voldemort tortures him further and tells Harry he is, "so weak. So vulnerable."
Harry concentrates on his friendships, and he sees he is not alone.
And he tells Lord Voldemort, "You're the weak one. And you'll never know love, or friendship, and I feel sorry for you."
Remember that the next time you see Marjorie Taylor Greene acting cruel, or Trump relentlessly bullying. They don't have the awareness to act differently.
At the same time, we can't let people like that stay in power, and that wasn't the end of Harry Potter's fight for freedom, right? So let's understand what else we're learning.
Harry Potter understands that he has to take Voldemort's power away by diminishing his pillars of support, one by one.
So what are Trump's pillars of support?
Immense Wealth
A couple months before being elected Trump only had hundreds of millions onhand and could not afford the hundreds of millions he owes others. While in office he acquired billions, making policy decisions that financially benefitted him - not the US or our allies. He will try to stay in power, & away from accountability.
We fight this pillar by speaking aloud this corruption & electing a democratic congress.
Russia
Russia is Trump's oldest and biggest business partner (prior to his billion dollar deals in the middle east). Trump throws our longtime allies under the bus, but he won't move outright against Putin. Not because that's in U.S. interests, but because that's in Trump's interest.
We fight this pillar by speaking aloud this corruption.
Republicans
The Republican party is willing to let Trump do whatever he wants. They allow Trump to make billions in office, take payments for foreign policy deals, unconstitutionally manage the tariffs for his own financial benefit and control.
We fight this pillar by speaking aloud the corruption.
Corporations
Trump has given corporations a massive tax cut to make up for the pain of the tariffs he inflicts, but he can also offer beneficial tariffs or punitive ones. All of this enables him to control the corporations and their actions. We must remind them it's our money.
We fight this pillar by spending our money in alignment with desired outcomes.
Conservative Values
Some Christians excuse how Trump treats others because they prioritize the advancement of Christian "values." But God never asks anyone to make a deal with the devil, and they break some of the tenets of their religion by supporting these actions.
We fight this pillar by directly acknowledging hate and embodying what moral integrity really is.
Media Control
Trump has his own social media platform where he can lie at will, as well as on Fox and Newmax. But he also exerts media control by threatening freedom of the press with multiple lawsuits, as well as using his power over corporations to weaken the financial resources of outlets that share the truth.
We fight this pillar by grassroot information campaigns, as well as regaining control over corporations.
Poll: Which Harry Potter Villain Would Each Member of the Trump Regime Play?
Trump is Voldemort - of course. Please vote on the character you think each person in the Trump administration most embodies. Because in all of this corruption it's also important to laugh, to speak directly, and to say Voldemort's name outloud. It's the silence that gives it power.
