We are NOT going to lose our country!
10 Guidelines on How to Stop a Coup
Prior to the 2020 election, Daniel Hunter published this article in The Commons, Social Change Library. We’ve already missed the best step … #10, but the other 9 are excellent. I recommend reading the entire article but here’s the overview:
1. Don’t expect results election night.
2. Do call it a coup. One reason to use the language of a coup is that people know it’s wrong and a violation of Democratic norms — even if they’re not familiar with the exact definition of a coup.
3. Know that coups have been stopped by regular folks. To start preparing, talk to at least 5 people who would go into the streets with you — the safest way to take to the streets is with people you know and trust.
4. Be ready to act quickly — and not alone. A group of D.C. insiders called the Transition Integrity Project ran multiple simulations, such as what might happen if Biden wins by a slim margin or if Trump simply declares victory when there’s no clear winner. In every simulation they concluded that a “show of numbers in the streets may be decisive.” Regular people make the difference.
5. Focus on widely shared democratic values, not on individuals. Coups are not a time to just watch and wait until “someone else” figures it out. No matter who you are you can be a part of choosing democracy.
6. Convince people not to freeze or just go along. In all the research on preventing coups, there’s one common theme: People stop doing what the coup plotters tell them to do.
7. Commit to actions that represent rule of law, stability and nonviolence. Mass resistance to coups wins by using walk-outs and strikes, refusing orders and shutting down civil society.
8. Yes, a coup can happen in the United States. Interesting story about when it happened before.
9. Center in calm, not fear.
10. Prepare to deter a coup before the election. The best way to stop a coup is to deter it.
In that spirit, Choose Democracy has created a pledge:
We will vote.
We will refuse to accept election results until all the votes are counted.
We will nonviolently take to the streets if a coup is attempted.
If we need to, we will shut down this country to protect the integrity of the democratic process.