Blog

The Resistance Brief: Hard Pass on Authoritarian Rule

Blog by Ricardo Martinez (he/him), Executive Director

What once felt unthinkable is now unfolding in plain sight: the United States of America teeters precariously between freedom and authoritarianism. 

Contempt for those from marginalized communities, especially immigrants and LGBTQ people, attempted suppression of dissent by military force in Los Angeles, curtailing of due process, individual rights, and freedoms, the utilization of propaganda and disinformation, the upcoming authoritarian-like military display scheduled in DC, overt racism, and xenophobia have become increasingly common in our country.  

These malignant beliefs and practices aim to replace widespread values of equality, care for the common good, and trust in the rule of law. It is no surprise that many of us are finding it hard to keep our heads above water. Especially for so many of us living intersecting identities as queer immigrants. 

I’m a child of immigrants. My parents left their families and the lives they built in Mexico for the possibility that their children could build on their sacrifice. My mom worked cleaning houses, and my dad was a line cook. We lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment without a lot of furniture. The security guard at my elementary school helped us obtain school uniforms, and neighbors donated used furniture to help make an empty apartment feel like home. At night, my mom would manually manufacture pens – blistering her hands for twenty-five dollars a bulk-box. My parents worked so hard, and it was expected that my siblings and I would work just as hard in school. 

We didn’t live an affluent life, but we did lead a dignified one. It was a life that valued hard work, centered on family and a community of Black, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Russian neighbors, and felt autonomous and full of possibility. 

I grew up knowing many families who shared elements of my story: the struggle to make ends meet, fortitude for navigating language and cultural barriers, and the practice of adaptability that allowed us to unite across difference. This was the pathway to the “American Dream.”   

So, when I see videos of the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are detaining people on their daily journey to a better life at their workplaces, courthouses, and schools, it feels deeply personal. It’s hard not to see my parents’ and neighbors’ faces on the bodies that ICE agents are aggressively apprehending. I know I’m not the only one who recognizes the inhumane treatment of our neighbors – the lack of care and refusal to honor the dignity and innate value of human beings. Recognizing what we are up against is of paramount importance. Dehumanization, scapegoating, reminiscing about a romanticized past, and weaponizing agencies are all part of a broader plan. 

They have been using vulnerable communities with limited power to personify divisive political issues, creating the widespread passivity they need to normalize political violence and broader institutional control and, ultimately, destruction. 

We are all sensing this systematic destruction and are struggling with how to respond. And that is by design. The closer to the wreckage – the more pronounced the hurt and despair. This gives those who feel far away from destruction a false sense of safety and the administration more time to slowly and methodically maintain a pace of attack that no longer feels like a crisis.    

But it is a crisis. 

The stress test on just how much brutalization towards marginalized communities we will tolerate will continue until more people recognize that attacks on immigrants put every American at risk for denial of due process; attacks on transgender healthcare lead to the destruction of established medical institutions and research; PrEP coverage challenges lead to the dismantling of preventive care like mammograms, and vaccines; and school sports investigations are just one more vehicle to undermine our public education system. 

So what can we do to reject authoritarianism? 

First, you have to recognize that we are part of a greater whole, a movement, and cannot do it alone. You can choose to lean into the area of the social justice movement you feel passionate about and where your skills, talents, privilege, influence, risk-tolerance, and power have the greatest impact. And that would be enough. All actions, big or small, contribute to protecting the democratic freedoms this administration is hellbent on taking away from us. 

It’s our job to make a choice to contribute. If you can donate, give monthly. If you can protest, turn out to peaceful public demonstrations. If you have influence online, uplift the need for advocacy and the expansion of civic engagement space. If you can lead, become a leader in your community. If you make art – record the moment to history. 

The best thing GLAD Law can do is continue to show up in the ways we have – using all aspects of the law to champion LGBTQ+ rights. We are part of a greater ecosystem of organizations focused on social justice – each contributing to the whole in our areas of specialty – converging in strategic ways to protect the best things about this country and reassemble the rubble of structures that no longer serve us. 

We need to think innovatively about how we respond and also dream of a future that is being held in trust for all of us. A future where we all have an equal shot at living a good life, with access to affordable housing and healthcare, and where we can provide for ourselves and our families. A future where we don’t have to calculate risk when entering spaces that we’re unfamiliar with. A future where there is endless possibility for immigrant families living in the US. Where all LGBTQ+ people can live freely and safely. And where access to the American Dream is not anchored in white supremacy and afforded to only those who fit neatly into boxes and categories deemed worthy. The needle is being pushed toward authoritarianism, and we must push back.     

What to know, what to do: 

• Read the blog: Jennifer Levi, Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights, describes the administration’s “institutional destruction”.
• Contact your legislators: tell them to oppose anti-civil rights, anti-trans bills in Maine. 
• Rachel Maddow: Showing up is vital, and it’s working.

Read more editions of the Resistance Brief.