We're not alone, & they won't win
The saga ends
They win by making you think you’re alone.
Partway through The Rise of Skywalker, the movie’s band of heroes are in one of the galaxy’s innumerable planets. Oscar Isaac’s character, Poe Dameron, is pulling lookout duty with a former colleague of his. They have the usual conversation about why Dameron left his former crew to join the rebellion, and one of them - I think it’s his colleague - drops the quote above.
Without dropping any spoilers, it’s one of the themes of the movie: resistance to power is futile, because we’re all alone, and no one’s joining us.
I can’t speak to The Rise of Skywalker (because, NO SPOILERS!), but it’s definitely not true here, where we are. Right now, they — Trump, Stephen Miller, the GOP, and so on — are winning, because we think we’re alone.
We’re not.
Before joining my friends to see the movie, I joined another group of friends in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in Queens. A band of us got together, and we marched - accompanied by a brass band, because that’s how we roll - together with immigrants and street vendors to a subway station a few blocks away.
There, we protested increasing the number of cops on the subway, and we did a little bit of street theater, where we mimicked innkeepers opening the doors to weary immigrants. The street theater was based on the traditional Mexican novena Las Posadas; you can listen to the traditional carol here:
Basically, the commemoration replays Joseph’s desperate search for shelter right before the birth of Jesus (in other words, the traditional Christmas story). The twist is that it emphasizes what Joseph and Mary were: refugees.
The action went well. People danced in the station, we sang songs, and people ate free churros. And then we went our separate ways.
The reason I mention this is because I want us to remember that we’re not alone. Last Tuesday, people across America hit the streets demanding Trump be held accountable. This week, we’ll celebrate holidays; we’ll rest.
And we’ll remember that we’re not alone — and they won’t win.
I’m really grateful to all of you. I love you all. Happy holidays. I’m in New York City, hanging with my cats; if you need anything, let me know.