Donald Trump spent Tuesday rolling out massive tariffs on the U.S.’s largest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, attacking his political enemies, and sharing disinformation with Congress about the assault on the federal workforce. In cities and towns across the United States, angered citizens spent another day gathered in protest. Hundreds of San Antonio-area residents opposing Trump’s efforts converged on City Hall to be heard displaying myriad signs and banners. They objected to Trump’s unprecedented power grab, expressing fears over the decimation of previously independent federal agencies and regulatory bodies. They decried the gathering Republican budget that analysts expect to, coupled with the chainsawing of federal employees by unappointed Trump lieutenant Elon Musk, to severely harm social programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Veterans in attendance warned of Trump’s efforts to bring military and federal policing powers fully within the office of a president, who has long promised to unleash the military on U.S. citizens. Many of those interviewed by Deceleration said that they expect democracy in the U.S. to hold out in the nation for weeks to months unless Congress, the courts, and the people of the nation don’t rise up to bring his actions quickly to heel.
Deceleration spoke with Martha Spinks, Bexar County Democratic Party’s Rapid-Response Lead, about the rally, her expanding activism efforts, and recommendations for those who may still be looking for a place to start in the resistance. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Deceleration: Introduce yourself and speak to what motivated you to help organize this rally.
Martha Spinks: I’m the lead, of the rapid response team that was put together by the Bexar County Democrats. And the reason that we’ve done that and the reason that you see this event today with a lot of other organizations is that we are alarmed by what’s happening in Washington. But we’re also increasingly skeptical that there’s gonna be anybody in Washington who saves us. Clearly, I think this is our Paul Revere moment. This is the time when we realize that we have got to get out, raise the alarm, and be sure that people understand how serious this is and how quickly it’s moving.
The only thing that will change it or stop it is from the grassroots. It will be from people like us who realize that there are many more of us than everybody else. And we demand that our government be restored to what it should be.
Deceleration: What were the specific events that set your alarm? That told you that you’ve got to do more?
Well, frankly, ever since the 2016 election I realized I needed to do more. And that was my sort of my entryway into politics. And after Donald Trump won this time, when he seemed so unmistakably unqualified to do the job, not only because of the skill, but also because of temperament and morals, I really thought all Americans could see that. It seemed so apparent that we would choose the better candidate. But after he won the election, I realized that he was going to remove all of the guardrails that kept him from doing what he wanted to do the first time. He came with a plan and a lot of people from Heritage Foundation and elsewhere who were going to help him. And now I would say in particular in the last month I’ve become even more alarmed because of the rapidity with which they’re moving through the government. And I really don’t think we have a long time to stop it.
What would be three actions that people can take to try to shut down what has been called a bureaucratic coup?
As I’ve talked to people since the election, they’ve all talked about big things like, ‘Oh, we have to change the message,’ or, ‘We need to abandon certain people.’
That sounds like internal Democratic Party conversation…
Yes. That’s that’s not unique to me. This is what I’m hearing. And as they do that, I say back to them, I don’t think there’s anything that you can do to affect that personally. If there is something that’s gonna make a difference, it will be because you decide something needs to be done and you do it. So that’s the first and most important thing. The next most important thing is: you shouldn’t be hiding because you’re afraid of what the government might do. Because we are all familiar with the old adage about first they came for one group and I didn’t do anything, then they came for me next. Eventually, they’ll get to you. And you need to be well aware of that.
Thirdly, I really believe in community. And in the last, I’d say since the 1970s, our civic life has broken down. And the things that are happening in our government today are not because [anti-democratic MAGA forces] are brilliant strategists, it’s because they exploited a situation where we’ve ignored: our civic life. And so I would say to people, go join something.
I don’t care if you join the Democratic party or a pickleball club. Go join something. Start talking to people. Bring them to your home instead of meeting them at Starbucks. And let’s restore that trust and understanding that we’ve had of each other historically.
March 4 In Pictures
Full-size images available for purchase/download at Emerge.photos.
