What do you do if you are an activist?
A Los Angeles Times article is a great story to inspires folks to stand up against homophobia and misinformation.
Olivia is a 19-year-old Texan is a “queer, plus-size, disabled Latina.” She’s the kind of person whom Trump thugs love to target and troll. But she can easily fight back.
Using the nonprofit Gen-Z for Change, her strategies should be a lesson for Democrats: bring some Texas swagger to the war over democracy.
What are you doing to fight for progressives?
Olivia raised more than $2 million for abortion funds in response to body-shaming from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is under investigation on suspicion of sex trafficking.
In a hateful July speech, Gaetz described pro-choice activists as “disgusting,” saying they tend to be 5’2” and weigh 350 pounds. “Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he said.
Olivia, who tweeted: “I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place.”
She began raising money for abortion access in his name, and in less than a week, she had the $2 million and nearly 1 million followers.
She has done digital battle with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and out-of-state politicians such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
She led a campaign that crashed an abortion-reporting website in Texas and another that sabotaged a tip line aimed at “divisive” teaching in Virginia.
She said “They’ve painted liberals and Democrats to be hyper-sensitive snowflakes who can’t deal with criticism,” she went on to say: “when the reality is, these grown men in positions of power are some of the most whiny spoiled brats you will ever talk to in your entire life.”
Now she supports her enemies’ opponents in Texas, such as Beto O’Rourke for governor, Rochelle Garza for attorney general and Mike Collier for lieutenant governor.
O’Rourke said “Like millions of Texans, she isn’t waiting for someone to come ride to her rescue — she’s stepping up to do what she can.”
What are you doing however small?
Olivia has said“There comes a time where we have to fight fire with fire,” Olivia told me. “We are no longer disagreeing with people about tax policy or about investments in certain projects. We’re quite literally disagreeing about our fundamental rights and basic privacy.”
Backlashes are a powerful force.
Remember California’s Prop. 187 in 1994 sought to strip undocumented immigrants of access to public education and healthcare? Backlash fueled unprecedented voter registration among Latinos and dealing a fatal blow to Republican control over the state. Now, Texas may face a similar fate.
Olivia and the young Latinos who led protests in California have a lot in common. When politicians went out of their way to denigrate them and to make them feel undesirable and worthless, the backlash wins.
A surge in voter registrations among women and youths signals that Republicans may have triggered another backlash. But this time it won’t remain local. The new activists are masters of social media and reach millions from their iPhones.
What is your backlash>
The Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade is a war on Latinas who earn less than all other women; many can’t afford travel for abortions. There are language barriers. The undocumented ones lack access to healthcare in many cases.
Those who live within the 100-mile border zone where Border Patrol can set up checkpoints can’t travel without risking deportation.
The disproportionate impact on Latinas is one reason Olivia is such an important voice in the struggle for abortion access and other rights.
What is your struggle?
As right-wing trolls target Latinos and other voters of color with disinformation and threats, here at the NA we should be ready to smack down the misinformation and get out the vote.
The NABWMT Political team has Over the last months the team has sent out 5000 texts, 150 letters, and 50 postcards to voters to get out the vote in:
NJ OH CO TX AZ NC FL NM MI PA IL NE MD all befor the Midterms.
This is the work of NA members and allies using modern communication apps to outreach and provide precise and immediate responses on how to vote. These have been shown in research to work.
What is your work to fight for our values.