Earlier this month I spent four hours on a Shabbat afternoon in a huge church sanctuary in Brooklyn with hundreds of other people. We were there to participate in a training led by Hands Off NYC, a coalition formed to resist the deportation machine in New York City. Hands Off NYC represents more than 200 groups including Indivisible NYC, NAACP, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.

I had never participated in a training of that size and I was impressed by the organizers’ ability to cover meaningful content, respond to audience questions, and prioritize relationship building. At the end of the time, I had met a bunch of my neighbors in Bedstuy and we had planned multiple actions for the very next weekend in order to educate and protect our neighbors.

I left the training invigorated. While the training included some incredibly sobering and scary moments, more than anything it affirmed my belief that the majority of people in this country do not support authoritarianism. They just need opportunities to resist at the level that feels right for them. If we can do this, create these opportunities and carry them out together, I believe that we will win.

This year started on such a dark note. Trump’s pursuit of power, foretold by Project 2025, still shocked me. His administration, and a largely compliant media, treated his consolidation was inevitable. But as the shock wore off, it became clear that Trump’s authoritarian takeover wasn’t inevitable after all. Hands Off NYC’s training was the latest and most powerful reminder I received of that reality this year, and I’m taking it with me into 2026.

The Authoritarian Playbook vs. The People’s Playbook

After introductions, the training offered some political education. The trainers laid out the key moves from the authoritarian playbook, almost all of which have been enacted in the past year. For example, one of the authoritarian maneuvers is undermining the rule of law by rewarding lawlessness (like pardoning the January 6th insurrectionists as well as a growing number of corrupt criminals) and deploying the legal system against enemies. Other authoritarian moves include using the army against civilians, rewarding loyalists, and consolidating power by undermining civil and political institutions. All of this has happened, and it has happened at a shocking pace.

But in the past year, an organized resistance has also grown. These acts of defiance are part of what the trainers called “The People’s Playbook.” This year saw a wide range of resistance from individuals and institutions: from community members in Charlotte, North Carolina chasing ICE out of their city to colleges and universities forming alliances to stand up to Trump. In the new year, we will need to continue to cultivate broad and diverse groups in order to educate, mobilize, and fight back. Fighting back will need to include boycotts, strikes, and other tools in order to dismantle the pillars of support for Trump’s authoritarianism (particularly corporations, elected officials, and the military).

A Culture of Defiance

After laying out the tools of the authoritarian playbook in contrast to the People’s Playbook, the organizers walked us through some basics of resisting deportations. They explained the different types of federal officers who are a part of the deportation machine, provided a brief Know Your Rights training, and ended with a primer on using the SALUTE acronym and whistles if we see deportation officers in our neighborhoods.

Throughout the training, the organizers stressed the need to build a culture of defiance. They offered role models and concrete examples. They made it clear that everyone has different levels of risk they are willing and able to take. However, what matters most is that we work to get to know our neighbors and cultivate a habit of looking out for each other. As they explained to us, fighting deportations is an urgent and necessary front in the fight against fascism. But it’s also only part of the overall struggle.

The 2026 elections may be our last chance to fight Trump’s consolidation of power. It is highly likely that Republicans will try to steal these elections. That is why we have to be ready to mobilize in our communities and take unprecedented collective action to defend our democracy.

Nothing is Inevitable

I will admit to feeling helplessness and despair this past year. The way corporate media and the Supreme Court have enabled Trump’s power grab has been particularly demoralizing. Not to mention a feeling of powerlessness to stop the genocide in Gaza.

When I think about the year ahead, I’m reminded of a teaching from Mariame Kaba. To paraphrase her, she explains that we don’t know if our actions will succeed. But we know the outcome of doing nothing. So we might as well do something!

Despite the way so many powerful institutions have aligned themselves with Trump, it is clear that the majority of people do not support him. They know it is wrong to terrorize communities by tearing parents from their children. They know it’s wrong to take away people’s healthcare and food benefits. Whether they consider themselves “political” or not, there’s a sinking feeling in our collective stomachs that tells us that this is wrong. It is that sense of morality that we must tap into to resist Trump’s authoritarian consolidation.

This resistance begins by talking to our neighbors. Experts on authoritarianism such as Hannah Arendt teach that authoritarianism thrives in a culture of isolation. Then we can build on this culture of connection by taking small, but growing acts of care and defiance.

The week after the training, I was walking through a park in my neighborhood with a friend and a couple of strangers. We passed out whistles and flyers with information about resisting deportation. Aside from a couple of people who gave us the typical New York brush off, people were genuinely enthusiastic and grateful to connect with us. This is the energy I am taking into the new year: a year when nothing is inevitable, and we choose connection over isolation and defiance over defeatism.