Red-State Progressives Hold the Blueprint for the Trump Resistance
On November 9th, millions of Americans woke up to a nightmare: The election of a hyper-right-wing, single-party government led by people whose values they didn't share, and who didn't reflect the cultural, racial and gender diversity of their hometowns and neighborhoods.
It's a nightmare that a lot of red-staters have been calling "reality" for a long time.
Candice Russell was watching election-night coverage with friends in her hometown of Seattle when the returns came in.
"They were so afraid," Russell, who's now a reproductive justice advocate in Texas, recalls. And yet, a voice in the back of her head didn't feel particularly charitable toward her company: You're safe! You're fine! You're the last people he's going to come for!
Russell's mind turned to the state she now calls home, the place she thought she might leave for good after last summer's Supreme Court ruling striking down parts of Texas' omnibus anti-abortion law: "What would my life look like back home if I chose to go back [to Texas] as a Jewish, queer Latina who talks about abortion on TV?" she wondered. "What happens to me in a Trump administration?"
She decided to find out. Russell cut short a planned two-month West Coast vacation, packed up her dog, and drove halfway across the country to resume the work that has changed and challenged her – and even caused her to lose a job after an employer saw Russell tell her abortion story on CNN.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/red-state-progressives-hold-the-blueprint-for-the-trump-resistance-w469320?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=022717_16