Now what?
So, by now, many are aware that the gauntlet has been thrown by the Trump administration and about the strongest reaction I’ve seen from people so far has been much teeth chattering on-line and little else.
Oh, sure, there’s lots of angry TikToks and I guess there’s people upset on BlueSky? I wouldn’t know…but in terms of people actually doing anything it’s been quiet. Eerily quiet.
It’s telling that more people were willing to take to the streets over TikTok than government thugs snatching children from their schools.
Yes, I think that about says it all about where we’re at as a nation.
If the wholesale demonization of Raza, in turn with Nazi Germany style tactics to disappear an entire population of Brown people, is not enough to finally push people to, at the very least, organize, then nothing will.
And that, gente, is a bitter realization of what we’re dealing with here.
When Michael Brown was murdered by the police in Ferguson, MO in 2014, the black community responded and took to the streets in rage and solidarity. The same occurred with George Floyd.
And yet, over a decade later, nothing has changed in the US in regards to policing or policy. If anything, many states have enacted stricter laws against civil unrest and disobedience and the current administration is seeking to grant killer cops even more immunity.
Despite there not being a definitive victory for the Black community, at least they fought back. At least they stood up, because they know, as a community, a war has many battles.
But no matter what this country does to Latinos, the response is always the same: there isn’t one.
The government is currently raiding and hunting people down who look “illegal” and the response from the Latino community at large has been anger, fear, apathy and confusion. Sadly, the majority of this reaction has been solely on-line.
There are no Latino leaders; ones with a D or R behind their name do not count. Entertainers or athletes do not count either.
The national organizations (Unidos/LULAC) are doing nothing except using this as an excuse to bolster for membership and posturing for the next election.
“Know your rights!” they say.
A lot of good that does. As if this administration gives a good goddamn about anyone’s rights.
No, in 2025, Latinos are divided and conquered and there is no savior waiting in the wings.
As some have noticed, this administration seems hellbent on targeting Mexicanos. That fact alone is also telling about this country and how we are perceived by it.
For all those who argue that Mexican is a nationality and not a race I guess we’re not “white” enough this time around. Funny that.
Each decade that passes we drift further and further away from our activist roots. Each decade, the past gets a little more watered down, the murals faded and the pages yellowed.
I have been highly critical of the new era social media movements who see fit to lure the youth away from activism, organizing and history and instead towards self deprecating representation on-line, all in the name of monetization and going “viral.”
I have pointed to the dangers of making yourself the butt of every joke and selling out to the Hollywood machine just to have a seat at the table and eat crumbs.
I have pushed back against the hyper-normalization of prison worship culture on-line.
The response? Crickets and clowning.
All of this has resulted in what we’re seeing unfold before our eyes: we are the ultimate scapegoat of the 21st century and no one is coming to save us.
Even our so-called allies only see us as cheap (good natured!) labor. They’re so sad about it, they made a TikTok!
There are only two options at this point: defeat or rebellion.
It might be chic to quote Zapata on-line but I’ve yet to see it in practice. All I’ve seen thus far is people perfectly happy to live on their knees, so long as their convenience isn’t interrupted and no one takes away their precious TikTok.
The solution to the Trump problem is simple: organize.
There is strength in numbers and we have the numbers, we simply lack the focus and the leadership.
We, collectively, need to stop waiting for a political party to save us or lead us to the promise land. That’s a fucking fairytale.
We, collectively, need to pry away the youth from the ills of social media and mass media.
We, collectively, need to educate the youth about our history and our legacy.
Poet Gil Scott-Heron said the revolution will not be televised and that quote is widely misunderstood.
The revolution will not be televised because the revolution first has to occur in the mind and it is precisely the minds of our children that have been captured in this era. It is those minds that need to be freed before any revolution can occur.
Organizing works. Boycotts work. Education works. Walkouts and strikes work!
This country understands two things: money and violence.
We are nowhere near organized enough to start the revolution but the revolution can mean many things and one of those is monetary.
This country would come to a standstill if we ever leveraged our economic power across all of Latinidad. The fire only needs a spark to ignite; the question is, who’s going to finally spark it?
S/C