We need Good Anxiety

The Hands Off! protesters told neighbors it is okay find Donald Trump disturbing. Protest reporting assured a broader receptive audience. Thankfully, progressives are past the Washington march obsession and focus local—town halls, street corners and state capitals. Indivisible has done yeoman’s work changing the strategic mindset. This is all positive.

Too many happy people

However, April 5 also troubled me. Took a few days to figure why I found social media feeds awash with happy people protesting Trump and Musk concerning. The happiest people and the best protest visuals arose from where catchments are already full with Trump opposition. The protest lacked direction and felt equal parts stress relief and a self-congratulation for awareness as to any gain against fascism. While helpful, a progressive weakness shows through these protests.

Progressives prefer to stick with their own at a rally or through a Facebook page, versus talking with a neighbor or a Thanksgiving uncle. We often latch onto notions to assuage our fears and rationalize inaction every election cycle, versus pressing for real change. Particularly those Whole Foods progressives who spent several election cycles assuming people of color or Generation Z will clean up on aisle Democracy. So close polls in some deep red state are accepted without skepticism of polling. Trump’s crowds leave early, so that must mean growing dissatisfaction. (Which is nonsense —MAGA folks just leave early to “beat traffic.”) Harris has remarkable and growing rally turnouts, So she’s going to win. But at the end, all was irrelevant and we lost.

Not quite Good Trouble

John Lewis' notion “Good Trouble” is in trouble now as the phrase unfurls across the progressive universe. Any edge the Congressman connotated within it is dulled. Look up trouble in the Oxford English Dictionary, a trope comp teachers urge avoiding but is useful here. In over a dozen definitions, none said anything close to a good natured loud public gathering to make a point. Disturbing, unsettling, confusing, distressing, threatening, confrontation, those are the common words.

Good Trouble is not happy cheering, but more challenge privilege. More chance of jail trouble, not a find parking by the National Mall for a protest trouble. Not that all Good Trouble requires tear gas and National Guard units, but does require at least a twinge of uncertainty. Actions must not be entirely comfortable, but instead put something at risk. Not necessarily of life or liberty, but perhaps spending time in a place with people doing something that makes you less than comfortable.

Good thought experiment

Imagine a project called “Patriot Books.” You and a few associates drive a large truck into a small rural town. Go rent one of the many vacant Main Street storefronts or a dead strip mall space, then you all unveil a pop-up bookstore called Patriot Books. In there are all the books banned by local government. And some Rachael Maddow and Howard Zinn too. Perhaps a few computers with good internet connections. A good progressive resource to buy or borrow books. Your job is stay in town, be helpful and teach some civics classes. Obviously, many 2^nd amendment loving locals will not take kindly to your presense, but nothing illegal is afoot. Of course, Freedom Riders were not doing anything illegal either, so you will feel risk.

Would you do this Good Trouble? No judgement here if no, but that feeling you had while reading this description==that feeling gets you to what Good Trouble must be to fight fascism.

Good Trouble is a term progressives today cannot decode in a meaningful way. They find the term closer to the game with Pop-o-matic dice, an enjoyable group activity without consequence, not understanding a 1960’s civil rights worker might see trouble connected with uneasiness and risk. So, in this era of emotional support animals and side impact air bags, I will translate this idea into a more relatable form.

Good anxiety

What we need is Good Anxiety. The persistent nagging feeling there is always more to do. One more person to talk to. One more email to send. The next protest more attended than the last. Progressives seize on omens of success to avoid the anxiety and feel safe with inaction, rather than pressing for more. To be woke today must mean be anxious, then do something about it. Always look for some other way to reach people you do not know with anti-fascist information. Find the less privileged and resourced Trump victims and learn how to advocate with them. And never conflate any feeling of success with actual progress. The question must always be—are unexpected people participating? Who new is in a crowd or at the meeting? If the faces are pretty much the same as in the last event, nothing is truly changing.

With so many progressives already anxious about Trump, we must convert these feelings every day into actions that matter—embrace Good Anxiety.