Trump won — now it's time to prepare

I'll be the first to admit: I didn't think Donald Trump would win again. I thought Harris would win in a blowout. I was wrong. Preparedness shouldn't rely on who wins an election. There are no benevolent dictators. We can't rely on the goodwill of the system to guarantee our safety. Nevertheless, a Trump presidency will pose different and more severe risks, and we have just over two months to get ourselves and our communities ready to survive what is to come.

This post can't cover everything you need to get ready for a collapsing state—consider it an amuse-bouche for what this blog is going to be about. Instead, I want to start with some simple things you can do in the next two months to get ready for whatever nonsense is to come. It's a non-exhaustive list that's just intended to help you get started, especially if you're feeling aimless post-election.

Medical needs

Now is a great time to take care of healthcare needs. Some things to consider:

• make appointments with specialists, as these often require months of lead time;
• get a three-month supply of prescriptions;
• explore and test alternative means of obtaining prescriptions;
• if you can afford it, Open Enrollment started this month for new healthcare signups;
• consider getting or replacing an IUD if pregnancy is a concern for you;
• check the expiration dates supply and acquire a fresh supply of condoms or other sexual prophylactics, as they do expire after a few years.

Financial preparedness

We don't know how Trump's economy will shake out. What we do know is he intends to levy heavy tariffs on imported goods that will have ripple effects on the economy that will hurt low-income people the most. Some actions you can take:

• pay down any variable interest debt, if you can afford to do so;
• set aside $100-500 in paper cash that can help in emergencies;
• make any big purchases you were planning now, before the cost of goods increases dramatically;
• take care of any car or home repairs you might need to do;
• check and renew your auto registration;
• check your credit cards' expiration dates and order replacements;
• set up financial accounts for accepting payments now: Paypal, Venmo, or alternative bank accounts. Doing so will help ensure you have access to the flow of funds in case one of your other streams is disrupted.

Identity care

People of all walks of life often have things they need to do to clean up their identities: name changes after a marriage, gender marker changes, passport and drivers license renewals, etc. Some tips:

• complete any outstanding name change work you might need, whether for gender identity reasons, marriage (or divorce) reasons, or any reason at all;
• check and renew your drivers license;
• check and renew your passport;
• correct your name on any accounts, e.g. banks, loans, etc.;
• invest in a safe to help keep your documents secure;
• buy a paper shredder^[1] to securely discard junk mail or old documents.

Digital care

Life is online. The biggest threat vector people face for identity theft, harassment and abuse is digital. There will be a lot of content covering digital safety and preparedness in the future. But for now, here are some things you can do:

• update your phones' and computers' operating systems;
• change your phone password to something stronger, at least 8 characters, ideally alphanumeric characters;
• disable Face ID and biometrics;
• delete unused social media accounts;
• purge posts from social media accounts you wish to retain;
• use a service like DeleteMe to remove your data from data brokers^[2];
• enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all of your sites;
• install and use a password manager;
• turn off locationt tracking on your phone;
• invest in paper maps and learn how to read them;
• install and use Signal;
• purchase and set up a Yubikey^[3].

Physical safety

At the end of the day, the most important thing to keep safe is your person. It's impossible to guarantee safety, but you can always do things to help you stay safe in the event of violence, natural disaster, or any other unforeseeable event. Some ideas:

• set up a Go Bag^[4];
• take inventory of who has keys to your home/apartment/residence/office and change locks if needed;
• make a phone tree of friends/relatives who can help you to safety;
• make sure any firearms you own are secure and locked;
• if you own firearms, make sure you have a trusted friend who can take them if you find yourself in crisis;
• secure a reasonable stockpile of necessary food, medicine and toiletries.

Community care

At the end of the day, we keep us safe. Individual survival is impossible. Only communities can endure the storm. To that end, it's never been a better time to:

• get to know your neighbors and their needs;
• engage in skill-shares;
• have known community gathering points and drill for them;
• know your escape routes;
• make a list of critical resources that can help in times of need, e.g. people who own a truck with a winch who can help remove a fallen tree;
• learn a new skill to help communities get through hard times;
• establish community spaces and funds.

That's just a small and nonexhaustive list of things to do, but at the same time it's more than anyone can really do in two months. The goal isn't to check everything off the list, it's to give you something to get started on. There will be more content to come, but if you needed something to give you a little bit of direction today, I hope this helps in some small way.