Inauguration? What Inauguration?

Feminist resistance to inspire us beyond January 20. Plus, Rest in power, Cecile Richards

Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash

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Inauguration Day and MLK Day have only overlapped twice before, when Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were sworn into office.

Dr. King’s daughter, the civil rights activist Bernice A. King sees today’s overlap as a chance to keep pushing for the dream we believe in.

Instead of letting Trump control the meaning of the day, people should see the day “as opportunity to hear about the real vision for our world that’s steeped in humanity and what it means to be a compassionate nation,” King told the 19th.

King knows that Trump and his people have masterfully controlled the narrative. They’ve won the war for attention, filling podcasts and YouTube channels with their racism, xenophobia and misogyny.

The manosphere won the election with funding from billionaires, money that Democrats and progressive simply don’t have.

And all that attention distracts us from what’s also true: Half the country voted for a person who only had four months to campaign, and they voted for health care, and paid sick leave and progressive policies that would benefit us all.

But instead of remembering that fact, too many of us, including Democratic leaders, are behaving like we were trounced.

“Instead of acting like they have the advantage on multiple issues and lost a very narrow popular vote in an era of anti-incumbent fervor with a doddering and unpopular president in the White House,” writes Rebecca Traister,

“Many Democrats have spent the postelection period cowering, which threatens to turn their helplessness into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

So today’s links are all about keeping our attention focused on what really matters: Staying awake to the reality of the madness that’s upon us, and keeping our eyes out for the possibilities of fighting back.

To the links!

Lane drove home the horrors of the “grievance presidency:” A crew of pathetic man-babies, raging against a perception of injustice.

The male grievance presidency

Even though white men dominate across government, business and wealth accumulation, they remain aggrieved. Why? Because the billionaires promising to bring back their jobs, “are weaponizing “masculinity” to consolidate their own power and massive fortunes, not to actually share it with the bruvs,” she writes.

“They thrive on the inequality they create and it hurts everyone, including men. Under patriarchy, men only get proximity to power, not the actual power to improve their lives (wait and see if Musk and Trump bring back “car jobs”…don’t hold your breath, guys!)”

Soraya Chemaly, in her new newsletter, breaks down the invisible ways that male supremacy permeates all aspects of our lives. She also spells out the power of feminist refusal.

“Each of us matters every day,” she writes, “Every act of resistance, every demonstration of quiet solidarity, every open-mouthed laugh, and every unapologetic no is part of making new worlds real.”

Bess Kalb took a moment today to remind us that “as much as this is our day of reckoning,” the midterm elections – only two years away! – will be MAGA’s day. And then she took heart as she watched her kids go sledding.

“When they held each others puffer coat bodies on a plastic sled, shrieking with joy in a place they trudge across every day, I was reminded that nothing is permanent. Everything transforms. We just need a change of seasons, and a tiny push.”

Rest in power, Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s longest-serving President, who died today. She remained super-clear about how ferocious the battle for reproductive justice remains:

“For people who face challenges based on race, geography, income, and more, these inequities are deep-seated, intersectional and much more difficult to eradicate. We need to be ready for a multi-year fight.”