Lemon LIVE Special | Joy Reid Farewell Watch Party!
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How does Joy Reid frame resisting a 'crisis of democracy' in her opening monologue?
We begin tonight with what I think is the question. When you are in the midst of a crisis, and specifically a crisis of democracy, How do you resist? When fascism isn't just coming, it's already here.
All right, Joy Reed.
So what, if anything, can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can try to learn from history, from what people in this situation, in countries around the world, and in America have done before. As my friend Rachel Maddow always says, history is here to help. America hasn't always been a free country for everyone. And we've had resistance movements from day one, from enslaved people fighting their captivity. Shout out to Harriet Tubman, who was a 92 percenter before 92-percenting was cool. And even taking up arms during the Civil War. To the women's movement and the workers' rights movement and the Stonewall gay rights movement, they've all been versions of the fight to make this a free country for everyone and to have a true multiracial democracy.
And that is history's most important lesson, right? That the most important thing, the first rule is to fight back, to never stop resisting. Do not obey in advance, as Tim Snyder put it. Do not take the knee to throw in a Game of Thrones reference. Even if it's scary or uncomfortable or inconvenient, just keep saying no or finding creative ways to say no in small ways and large. Medgar Evers said, do not shop where they will not employ you. Dr. King championed the Montgomery bus boycotts to become the leader of the civil rights movement. The labor rights movement shut down factories and hobbled industries to win the 40-hour work week that you enjoy right now, and more recently, to ensure the right of workers to work from home during COVID.
People have marched against the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq and against the decimation of Gaza using our tax dollars, You don't always win every battle, but the whole thing is about resisting. Last week, federal employees received an Orwellian email from the Office of Personnel Management, the government's HR department. following a tweet from their apparent real boss, the world's richest billionaire, Elon Musk, head of the fictional and Orwellian Department of Government Efficiency, stating that, consistent with President Trump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.
The email that followed literally had the same subject line. What did you do last week? And came from the Office of Personnel Management's new HR email address, but had no signature. Here's the full email. Please reply to this email with approximately five bullets of what you accomplished last week and CC your manager. Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 1159 p.m.
EST.
The Saturday email kicked off a flurry of, shall we say, varied responses from the various podcasters, reality show hosts, and semi-famous people who run the agencies in our trumped-out federal government. Some, including Kash Patel, who alarmingly enough runs the FBI, told their employees to hold off given that, per his email, the FBI, through the office of the director, is in charge of all our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses. Others, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., emailed his department that the OPM email was legitimate and instructed them to read and respond for the instructions by the Monday evening deadline.
However, per Sam Stein of the Bulwark, one agency under HHS took the opposite stance. Matthew Memoli, the acting director of the National Institutes of Health, emailed his team. I love that Joy is doing a regular show and incorporating this into her show.
Can you make some popcorn, do you mind?
Tim's going to make some popcorn. Hi, Barkley. You've got to get my glasses.
You can grab my glasses whenever you come back.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How does Joy Reid frame resisting a 'crisis of democracy' in her opening monologue?
0:12–11:22
2
What was the federal 'What did you do last week?' email controversy and how did people respond?
11:22–23:39
3
How do panelists describe grassroots resistance and recent protests against Elon Musk and policy changes?
23:39–54:57
4
What international comparisons (Germany, Europe) explain the rise of crypto‑fascism and populism?
54:57–1:19:36
5
What legal avenues and court actions could check the administration’s freeze of foreign aid?
1:19:36–1:33:33
Speakers
9 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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