The (hopefully) Paranoid Person’s Guide for What to Do Next

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It does kind of feel like we are at code red right now – and this is a list I hoped I’d never make. However, we are right here, and we need to start talking about some real shit.

Between the apparent rupture of the democratic party and the fascist take-over of the republican party, Project 2025, Agenda 47, and the rage stream of hate coming from the Republican Convention, it feels like we are no longer theorizing about the impending fall of the most powerful democracy in modern history – and maybe there will be a hail Mary political play somewhere, maybe Trump or Biden could die, and the landscape of the hell we are in will be different overnight –

but if you’re not ALL of the following things -white, male, rich, able-bodied, republican, straight, and a conservative-looking Christian- you do have real, significant reasons to be terrified about what’s on the horizon.  

It is almost impossible not to feel helpless right now. However, before you crawl under your bed in hopes of riding out the storm, here are some things you can and should do that might make a difference in the days, weeks, and months moving forward.

1. Get your digital houses in order. Strip any information off your websites that might make it possible for a nut job to locate you. Get yourself behind a reputable VPN. Start using a secured email address, like a proton mail account. Get in the habit of communicating with friends and family on secured messaging platforms now – no platform is perfect, but I suggest Signal. It might be time to stop using devices you know are monitoring you and tightening the bolts on the privacy settings on every device you own.  
2. Down ticket campaigns have never mattered more. Sure, it might look like the government is collapsing. However, your city council, county commission, and state elected officials may just be the only thing standing between us and complete chaos in the near future. No matter how long you’ve been registered, verify your registration status to ensure everything is up to date. Make a plan and vote like your life depends on it because, well, you know…
3. Get your legal shit handled right now. If you’ve got an adoption pending, get it done. If you need to get married or divorced, get it done. If you need to renew your passport or state driver’s license, do so now. Do not procrastinate. This kind of stuff could get really complicated really quickly.
4. Get your birth control managed, and if at all possible, make a long-term or permanent choice. If you or your partner is considering a vasectomy, do it now. If you live in a blue state, start acting like you live in a red state – delete your period trackers, and stop talking to your doctor or anyone else about when your last period was. Make an appointment at Planned Parenthood so you can be an established patient at a clinic that is most likely to protect your privacy in the future should that become important.
5. For the love of Goddess and all things holy, learn some shit about herbalism. Buy some physical books. Figure out what you can wild forage for medicine if you need to. Find out what you might need that you can’t find locally, and buy it now. Learn to make medicine, particularly medicine to treat women.
6. Identify your second place and your third place. Where would you go if your neighborhood or community became unsafe, and how would you get there? What is your plan if the big shit hits the fan and you need to get completely out of dodge? How would you connect with loved ones if everyone was evacuating? What would the meet-up location be? Who is the shared emergency contact?
7. Figure out community care. Get to know your neighbors and learn what you can offer each other now and in an emergency. Start hosting neighborhood meals or conversations. You will need to know each other better than on a first-name basis, greeting each other in passing. Figure out what churches you have access to that you can trust, and yes, there probably are some. Figure out what organizations and organizational structures are in place right now that are providing support and services on a community level. Figure out what local government community resources are available to you that are not funded by federal or state dollars.
8. Rape is already rapidly being legalized. Take self-defense classes. I am not talking about taking karate at the Y. I am talking about taking a Krav Maga class focused specifically on self-defense or finding someone who teaches something like the SCAR method. You’re not looking for a black belt. If they want you to buy a Gi, you are in the wrong place for right now. You need to learn how to kill a man who is attacking you in your work clothes. The places that are gonna teach you that don’t care what you wear to class. Go to the hunting and camping gear store and buy yourself some bear spray. Start practicing extreme situational awareness.  
9. Find, fund, and know how to contact Civil Rights Legal organizations like, but not limited to the following:  Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, NAACP American Civil Liberties Union, Native American Rights Fund, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Womens Law Center, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Southern Poverty Law Center, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Organization for Women, Minority Rights Group International
10. Practice shutting the fuck up. Role-play it with your kids. Get it through your head once and for all that you will never talk to the police or answer questions from law enforcement of any kind without council present for any reason. Gone are the days of the good girl who politely went along with the requests of law enforcement. Don’t tell them where you’re going. Don’t tell them how fast you think you were going. Don’t tell them where you’ve been. Don’t tell them if you know why you’ve been pulled over. Do not talk to them. You can not trust them now. You, one hundred percent for sure, won’t be able to trust them if things get worse. I don’t care how white you are. There is no white enough to provide cover at this point. Get very familiar with how people of color have experienced cops all along. Law enforcement is not your friend. Do not talk to cops or cop-adjacent people with badges or people who look like they might have a badge.  
11. For the next few weeks and months, think twice about what you post and every interaction you have on social media. Think long and hard about going to protests, rallies, or marches of any kind. DO NOT comment on or interact with political or political adjacent content on social media posted by people you do not know. Do not engage in political discourse with people you do not know in the real physical universe, either.