Union plans are not always great. The ACA grandfathered them in and they don’t have to meet the same requirements as other employer-based insurance plans. When the Union consists of blue-collar men who don’t go to their kids’ well checks, they sometimes vote not to cover standard childhood vaccines.

Will they think that it’s patriotic to lose their children’s healthcare coverage?

Got my thread count a bit mixed up, but this sociologist’s points can go in any order. I am not made for character limits or an app that doesn’t allow editing!!! 😂😬🤦🏻‍♀️

🧵/9

Remember: They want you scattered. Your focus is resistance.

🧵/8

4) Practice going slow: Wait 48hrs before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context

5) Build community: Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload.

🧵/6

2) Use aggregators & experts: Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events.

3) Remember: Feeling overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon.

🧵/6

What now?

1) Set boundaries: Pick 2-3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there. You can't track everything - that's by design. Impact comes from sustained focus, not scattered awareness.

🧵/4 Agenda-setting theory explains the strategy: When multiple major policies compete for attention simultaneously, it fragments public discourse. Traditional media can't keep up with the pace, leading to superficial coverage.

The result? Weakened democratic oversight and reduced public engagement.

🧵/3 Media theorist McLuhan predicted this: When humans face information overload, they become passive and disengaged. The rapid-fire executive orders create a cognitive bottleneck, making it nearly impossible for citizens and media to thoroughly analyze any single policy.

🧵2 The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump's first days exemplifies Naomi Klein's "shock doctrine"- using chaos and crisis to push through radical changes while people are too disoriented to effectively resist. This isn't just politics as usual- it's a strategic exploitation of cognitive limits.

🧵/1 - Wise and important words from sociologist Jennifer Walter about what is happening in our country right now and what to do about it:

"As a sociologist, I need to tell you:
Your overwhelm is the goal.

(cont’d below)

Done!

🧵/6

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

- Pastor Martin Niemöller

🧵/5

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

🧵/4

I have family members proclaiming that today is what my Grandpa fought for. That is damn near blasphemous. Grandpa would have been horrified by Trump, et al. I’m horrified, sad, and - yes - afraid of the darkness that is descending upon the nation that I love. Now is not the time to be silent.

🧵/3

Today we have a president who espouses the central premises of facism, an unelected billionaire giving a Nazi salute, executive orders that are meant to overturn or negate established and democratically-crafted law, and policies that viciously endanger our immigrant and LGBTQIA+ neighbors.