Preparation
Deciding how to make a tentative plan/ preparation for the next presidential term?
Many people are currently in a place of concern when it comes to the outcome of the election and the soon-to-be 47th president of the United States of America, Donald Trump. We agree that this news comes with concern, caution, and conflict in a lot of ways; however, we want to make sure that everyone knows where to focus their attention during this time. Planning for your safety in America during this time, you need to fully understand your placement in this effort. There are people who are disabled, or have medical conditions that require more needs from the plan they need to make. Some of us need access to regular medications, treatments, or healthcare, that hinders some people from traveling in specific ways. For some people knowing that their identities, such as queer identities, will be protected in the state or country that they plan to flee to, if it becomes necessary. All of these factors are extremely influential in the confidence each of us have in planning anything for ourselves, even if its a last-minute or very grey tentative plan.
Each of us should do our best to at least be aware of the needs and wants we have when it comes to the plan or tentative safety precautions we prefer to take. Having a good list of needs and organizing your lists based on that, will allow you to narrow down some options you may feel best about. Keep in mind that the more research one does, the better; there is rarely a time where less information is a disservice.
If you are having trouble reading this information when looking through media, or looking for mental health resources, please click on the corresponding need.
Going to a 'safe state'
What does it mean to go to a safer state?
Many people for various reasons find themselves moving in masses to safer areas of their state or to completely different states deemed safer overall. The majority of these states are considered safe based on their community presence in the centralized cities, the state laws, and access to healthcare or measures of support. When making these moves, it is vital that we make sure we take all of our documentation and assets that we can obtain with us. If you don’t already have a passport, make sure you have your birth certificate and social security card, or any other documentation you may need. Renew, and obtain any documentation that you don’t have access to by requesting from the state you were born in.
In these moves we are having a lot of people become houseless and potentially vulnerable, because the affordable areas are less centralized without the stronger community in the city areas. It is important that when traveling to a new place for safety that we are extremely cautious and aware of our surroundings and our location. No matter how seemingly safe an area can seem, we always have to be aware of the potential risks that come with being in a new place where we are unfamiliar.
Getting to know the people in your new state or city is extremely important, and developing a small community for yourself to check in with will allow you to be safer in any given situation.
If affording the move is something you are stressing about, but you just need to leave, please make sure you are being cautious about what exactly you need to bring with you and what forms of transportation you have access to. Buses, Trains, and Flights, can be less expensive than driving if you don't have access to a car, or bringing a car with you is not an option. Picking your airline and types of transportation carefully, can still allow you to bring a lot of your belongings with you. In the USA we don’t have the best public transportation system, but there are a lot of forms of private mass transportation that people may not know about. If you live on the East Coast you may be familiar with the bus system that runs along the majority of the major cities from the North East to South East. If you are looking to head West to the states on the West Coast, then flying may be one of the best options without a car.
Leaving the Country
Deciding to leave the country is a delicate decision that can only be made by you. We want to make sure we are covering all the options, but we are not saying that people must flee. We simply want people to be able to if the time comes to need to leave.
It's important to have a passport and know what countries you would feel comfortable traveling to or through if you have to leave the country of the United States.
Staying no matter what
Some people believe in putting roots down and having the resources here to hold strong and be in control of what happens on their property. We definitely support this ideal, but we also want to be aware that the money and resources poured into these locations could always become a place we have to flee from. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of only having their resources in one place, or with the reality that they may not be able to take their resources with them.
What are we putting our purchasing power towards?
Putting our money back into our community, will always have more weight to it. If we can try to focus on the possibilities of supporting one another and in our abilities to provide for ourselves and our community, then we can have a greater impact with our spending and our energy when expanding such resources.
If we can re-allocate those resources to our own communities, we are less likely to help the corporations or government with the taxes from our labor and means of production. In the United States, we make up a large percentage of the GDP, that doesn’t result in the payment for that production. For example, many women/AFAB people in their relationships, especially those who have children, are responsible for over 100,000 GDP per year without payment. This could be in reflection of sex work, child-bearing, fertility journey, child-care, and continuous education of those children. All of this is done without the payment to the woman in the household, and is just one example of how many people are responsible for free labor in this society based on their placement in society.
Small Businesses
Small businesses is where it all starts, they have access to the resources (Ex. wholesale prices) of having a LLC or CORP, but can use their resources to create healthy company practices to benefit their consumers.
Small businesses can be started by anyone, so remember that you can always start your own and encourage people in your community to buy their everyday products from you instead of larger corporations, you and your community can benefit from the profits instead of the larger corporations that use it to pay their investors.
Strategic Supplies
Buying supplies that we need to survive, supplies that we can pack out easily, and things that will benefit us, while allowing us to save money in the short term for any immediate needs.
This may look like stocking up on dry soap, dry foods, and long-term stable items that are necessary for surviving anytime without access to readily available goods provided by large corporations. If strikes occur or failures happen within the corporate system, we would not have all these readily available goods.
Preparing for leaving the Country
If you want to have the option to leave the country, you must first decide what form of international identification you have access to: passport, passport card, and birth certificate. Reminder that you may still be required to have a passport as a legal form of international identification even if you have a birth certificate or passport card, the booklet is the necessary piece.
Keeping yourself, and your identity safe:
Why do we want to keep our identities and ourselves safe during this time, and how do we go about doing so? It does not get lost on us that sometimes we have to affirm our identities in private, in ways that we cannot do in public, for our own safety and for other reasons. We believe in presenting and doing whatever makes you feel most comfortable when it comes to your identity. However, we believe it's vital to discuss how the increase of social tenseness mixed with increased surveillance post-election, can continue to identify with certain pieces of our identities, many of which we can not control or decide.
We believe that there are steps to deciding to protect your identity, and only you can decide what that means to you. Some people may buy more modest and basic clothing that will allow them to work through the world unnoticed by their typical style or choice of clothing. That could look like conforming to more Acquiring a bag, accessory, or makeup, in order to show a status of protection when moving throughout the world around them. Making sure you own a passport, and have all of your personal documents needed for protecting your identity. Organizing yourself with friends to go outside in groups which allows them to monitor their surroundings better and more closely when out in the world. There are many ways that our power in our identities can affect how we protect our identities. It’s important that we prioritize what makes us feel the best in our identities, so that we can be the best reflection of our society.