Love Thy MAGA Neighbor

“It’s hard to want to hurt your neighbor if you know them… this movement starts block by block.” 

When Representative Ocasio-Cortez said this during her Fight the Oligarchy rally with Senator Bernie Sanders, I felt both empowered and a little challenged by this message. Knowing your neighbor is an essential fight against the methods of Trumpian authoritarianism that thrive on hate and division.

The idea of knowing your neighbor feels simple when your neighbor has a Harris for President sign in their yard. But what do we do with our MAGA neighbors? Loving our MAGA neighbor? That’s a tall order.

I won’t pretend to be a good role model for loving thy MAGA neighbor. I avoid neighbors I suspect voted for Trump and have even cut ties with acquaintances who supported him. And honestly, it’s been exhausting. I’m tired of constantly assessing whether someone voted for Trump when I meet them. I’m tired of hating. And I do think this exhaustion is part of Trump’s plan.

So, is continuing relationships and finding common ground a necessary part of resisting Trump authoritarianism? I don’t know. And I don’t know if I’m capable right now.

Maybe the real challenge isn’t about loving our MAGA neighbors in a come over for a cup of tea kind of way. Maybe it’s about resisting the urge to dehumanize them the way Trump and his supporters dehumanize so many of us. We don’t have to tolerate bigotry or compromise our values, but we can choose to stay rooted in our own values like compassion, social justice, and democracy instead of mirroring the hatred that fueled Trump’s rise to the Presidency. And if it is in Trump’s grand plan to tire us, let’s focus our energy on the resistance instead of exhausting ourselves with hate.

Are you feeling isolated or didn’t have many Harris for President signs in your neighborhood?  Join one of InvisibleNOCO’s “I’m Your Woke Neighbor” events.  See when and where here: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/762091/