On moving forward in Trump's America as a vegan and an activist

I promise to keep this shorter than my usual posts. I have been, like many, shocked at the developments of the election and terrified about the potential consequences for my rights and the rights of those I love. I've also been reflecting on the potential activist repression we'll see, and how we as a movement can move forward. Here's what I've come to:

1. We need to become more radical and more intersectional. There are a lot of people in the US who are scared and hurting. Many of them are part of the vegan community, and many are not. But regardless of that, we absolutely must let these people know that they are safe with us. That in addition to animal rights, vegans will put their bodies on the line to protect immigrants, Muslims, PoC, those with disabilities, queer people, women, and all those feeling threatened today. If we build an activist movement based on protecting ALL marginalized groups (human and nonhuman) we can help so many of our hurting siblings and strengthen our movement. This has always been essential, but I hope that the state of our country now will demonstrate exactly how desperately we need to fight all forms of oppression. 2. We need to protect our people first and foremost, even at the expense of the perceived progress of our movement. Movements are made of people, and if we fail to protect our people, our movement will wither and die. This means supporting those suffering from the backwards progress we're likely to see. It means lifting them up, amplifying their voices, and being the community they can fall back on when our government tries to take away their rights. It means allowing them time and space for self-care and trusting that they know what's best for them. 3. Just as we've seen a hateful and oppressive backlash after so much progress in this country, Trump and his supporters will undoubtedly bring a progressive backlash. We can ride that backlash for the benefit of humans and nonhumans, but again, we must emphasize the fight against ALL oppressions. Enough of the neoliberal ideals of silent, passive support that leads to little changes in the status quo. Every single one of us must become active. We also must focus on shaping a movement of radical love rather than radical hate, always sticking to our principles of nonviolence and justice. 4. We have four years to change the dialogue in this country. Four years to become a force so strong that the next presidential candidates will argue with each other about who can be MORE loving toward POC, Muslims, immigrants, those with disabilities, queer people, women, and yes, animals. I want to see candidates expressing their support for open rescue and nonviolent direct action during national debates. I want to see a resurgence of activism like this country has never seen before. I want to see millions in the streets, peacefully marching for the rights of EVERYONE. And we can get there, but it's going to take dedication and work from all of us. So today, rest. Mourn. Take care of yourselves and your families. Tomorrow, we're going to build an intersectional liberation movement so full of radical love that the bigots' voices can't even be heard.

I'd like to take a small step in building this movement by saying this: Vegan or not, if you are scared or hurting after this election, please know that you are safe with me. You are welcome and loved and I'll stand with you. I will go to jail to prevent anyone from hurting you. I hope you'll stand with me too. Together, we can create a movement for the liberation of every sentient being in our society.