Gumming Up The Fascist Machinery

"Resistance Is Gonna Come In So May Forms -🙃"

I awoke to a text from a friend: “Resistance is gonna come in so many forms -🙃.”

She sent along an article from Huffington Post about how activists are hilariously overwhelming the federal anti-DEI snitch line.

In case you missed it, in week one, Trump dismissed all employees whose job entails ensuring fair workplace practices and ordered federal employees to report any coworkers who support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs aimed at undoing hundreds of years of workplace bias and discrimination.

Activists responded by flooding the email DEIAtruth@opm.gov with creative distractions: submitting entire movie scripts like “The Bee Movie” and “Space Balls,” sharing crude jokes from “The Simpsons,” signing it up for porn subscriptions, LinkedIn spam, and even memberships in the Satanic Temple. Others filed complaints accusing Trump appointees of being unqualified hires or took the chance to troll Elon Musk.

It was a reminder that when injustice tightens its grip, ingenuity and humor become powerful tools of resistance. Activists weren’t just venting frustration—they turned a tool of oppression into absurdity. Authoritarian regimes count on fear and overwhelm to make people docile and compliant. It is vital to stay grounded and not give in to despair. Moments like these demand resolve, creativity, and even mischief to expose absurdity and defy tyranny, turning oppression into an opportunity for resistance.
They embrace a Nazi-saluting billionaire troll. We unleash the Ministry of Silly Walks.

This tactic isn’t new. Throughout history, acts of non-cooperation have been vital to dismantling oppression. Gandhi’s philosophy of satyagraha (truth force) emphasized refusing to cooperate with injustice. Whether boycotting British goods or clogging colonial bureaucracy, Gandhi’s movement showed how fragile oppression becomes when people simply say “no.”

But the strategy doesn’t require high-mindedness. In Texas in 2021, the government passed an anti-abortion law that encouraged private citizens to report anyone helping others access abortions. Activists overwhelmed the reporting system with fake tips, jokes, and absurd submissions, effectively turning the surveillance tool into a useless farce.

The spirit behind the DEI snitch line protest reminds us not to let fear or intimidation stifle creativity or joy in defending our freedoms. We can be endlessly buffeted by bad news, so savoring the moments we throw sand in their gears is essential nourishment, not useless nonsense. Resistance works when it seizes the tools of oppression and transforms them into tools of liberation. It sends a clear message: if you build systems to harm, we will dismantle them with courage, wit, and especially collective action.

History offers countless examples of this. The Montgomery Bus Boycott crippled a transit system that upheld segregation. Polish Solidarity workers used strikes to challenge a Soviet-backed regime. The Underground Railroad’s secret network of safe houses helped enslaved people escape to freedom using coded songs and signals. During World War II, the French Resistance sabotaged Nazi operations, spread propaganda, and warned Jewish families of impending raids. These efforts, often led by ordinary people, show how collective resistance can dismantle even the most oppressive systems.

In today’s digital age, non-cooperation has evolved but retains its core principles. Flooding the DEI hotline or Texas’ abortion reporting tool are modern iterations of these tactics. Online resistance is scalable, participatory, and often joyful—reminding us that acts of defiance don’t always take the form of mass protests. Sometimes, it’s a flood of memes or fake emails that exposes an unjust system’s fragility.

These disruptions aren’t just about inconvenience. They carry a deeper message: we refuse to be complicit in our oppression. By forcing oppressive systems to expend energy on resistance, activists weaken their ability to inflict harm. It’s a way of saying, “You can’t run this machine without our consent, and we withdraw it.”

Gumming up the machinery of fascism isn’t just a tactic—it’s a tradition. It’s the snarky humor of people who refuse to be crushed. It’s the creativity of a generation armed with keyboards and hashtags. And it’s the relentless courage of those who understand that even small acts of defiance can weaken oppressive systems.

Resistance, after all, comes in so many forms. 🙃