The Shutdown Is Nonviolent Resistance

If Democrats hold on against the crashing shutdown waves for a week, they will show how to end Trump

Hanging on

My son was in his elementary school’s Chess Club—something his jazz musician college student self would not cop to now. The instructor taught classic chess, with the openings, developing pieces, and other terms of art I have forgotten.

I went to his club’s first tournament. A few hundred kids gathered in a forgettable, sprawling room with rows of long tables covered by an orderly spread of chessboards and timers. A strong contingent came from blitz chess programs—their matches are a few minutes, not the hour or so in classical. For them, play is all about speed and attack. That was not our school team.

So our club was getting thrashed by the blitz players, who would open attacking and knock our kids out before any knew what hit them. But while walking the perimeter and watching matches, I saw something interesting. If our classical kids could just survive the initial blitz attack, the odds swung their way every time. The blitz players, young as well, knew their opening attacks but had little experience past those and did not know what to do if a game got to the middle, leaving them pushing pieces around without a plan. Our side had developed their pieces, controlled the board’s center, and whatever else one is supposed to do to win classically.

Trump has no middle game

For the government shutdown, my sense is Trump and the fascists do not have a middle game. Their plan is to quickly develop pressure so the Democrats will cave. Who even knows at this moment how much of what Trump says and does now is bluff, leaving him without moves in a week? But if we do get into weeks with Trump’s vicious and sadistic retributions, the case will slowly turn against him as he just cruelly pushes pieces around the board. His logic will not hold up against even the mainstream media’s generally ineffective reporting.

Once people see their insurance premiums soar—they will get it. Once they grasp the depth of Trump’s depravity as vital government services cease, workers are fired, and recession takes root needlessly just because the Republicans refuse Democrats’ rightful insistence on providing the health care people were promised—they will get it. Democrats just need to stay in the game long enough to reach this point.

This will sound laughable, but sometimes the most difficult thing to do in politics is nothing. Constituents and supporters press on what they want electeds to do now, and political panic sets in, convincing officials to act from fear of being wrong. But for this government shutdown, there is little Democrats should do but be available to negotiate while they narrate what is happening on the ground—tell stories from everywhere—and stand firm.

This is Nonviolent Resistance

An important notion in nonviolent resistance is that the violent reaction to your nonviolence reveals truths about the oppressor. What Trump does now will show to anyone who cares at all what MAGA really is. No “messaging” will accomplish as much as what undecided people witness firsthand in their communities.

This will only work if Democrats remain resolved in the face of Trump’s blitz. Do not make the mistakes that will let him win quickly. Stand up against the crashing waves. Develop your pieces, take the positions, and then move on to his endgame.

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Sun Tzu said “First put yourself beyond the possibility of defeat, then look for opportunities to defeat the enemy.” Facing Trump 2.0, re-examining progressive strategic thinking is critical. I put this work together, commenting on The Art of War to frame it for our needs today. Take a look and I hope you all find this useful.