Resistance in the Age of the Political Pile-on
As a public figure, I get accused of all kinds of things. When I was in parliament, the social media rage machine had me identified as a commie, a WEF hack, a reactionary, and at times both Anti-Semitic and pro-Zionist.
Through my work with The Resistance, I find that the social media platforms can still be bizarre barometers.
If I am not positive enough about what the PM is doing, I get accused of being “just like PP” (Pierre Poilievre). But if I write about good decisions the government has made, I can be denounced as a “Carney shill.”
Sometimes it forms into a social media storm — on X, Facebook or Bluesky.
It’s like the game we used to play in the school yard. One boy would be singled out. Another student would trip him, and then all the other boys would jump on him, shouting “Pile-on!”
It was dumb. It was mean. It was pointless. But we were bored grade five boys killing time in a northern school yard. In the adult world, the pile-on is a favoured activity for winning the hill on social media.
The social media pile-on flattens nuanced discussion to the level of “no I didn’t – yes you did” binary, backed up by a troll army of those shouting “yes you did.”
I’ve got a pretty thick skin. Most days it’s like being stoned to death with popcorn.
But the other day, during a pile-on, someone accused me of having “trademarked the resistance” to bolster “the establishment” (by this I think they meant the Canadian government).
This accusation caught my eye. After all, human life would be in a very anemic way if one person could somehow trademark the action of resistance.
Still, it made me think again about why I chose that word in the first place and why we all have a role to play in the resistance.
I named this Substack and my existing social media accounts Charlie Angus / The Resistance early in the days of the Trump ascendancy.
People were frightened and disoriented. I was too.
I didn’t have a plan, but I knew that I needed to do something in the face of what seemed like an unstoppable onslaught of the far right. I was half expecting people to roll their eyes or ignore me. After all, what did I know about leading any kind of resistance?
Instead, people reached out from across Canada, the United States and eventually from all over the world. There was clearly a yearning for someone to show people how to resist amidst the vacuum of democratic leadership.
And so I sat down to write and to try to articulate what resistance could be.
The word itself is derived from the Latin resistere — “to take a stand.”
I wanted to conjure the spirit of the resistance in the Second World War. But the word also has a scientific meaning.
Resistance slows momentum. Resistance interrupts the flow of energy.
That became my hope.
If enough ordinary people found ways to be individual resisters and slow down the momentum of the extreme right, then it would become possible to organize an effective and powerful democratic pushback.
Over the last year and a half, that has become my life’s focus.
We have published 425 essays and produced over 500 Meidas Canada videos.
The Resistance Tour has travelled from one end of the country to the other, where I have the privilege of speaking with local activists and resisters at rallies and community events.
It is a gruelling pace. Some days I get it right. Some days not. But every day I sit down and try to make sense of what is happening in the world.
The constant menace and organized political insanity are about slowing down our willingness to keep fighting. The issues are becoming more complicated. People are tired and frustrated. They want to get back to their lives.
I suppose this is why some prefer the quick buzz of the online pile-on and denunciation. It’s immediate. It’s emotional. It also offers a temporary satisfaction.
But that’s not resistance.
What inspires me are the people making resistance a part of their lives.
I am overwhelmed by the daily engagement with people who are thinking things through and want to be part of a powerful global conversation rooted in solidarity and democratic values.
So let me finish with a simple request.
If you believe in this work, would you consider becoming a paid subscriber?
Paid subscriptions make it possible to reach communities, document rallies, and do the work here and on Meidas Canada Network day after day without ceasing.
We have built a small team and are actively engaged in travelling the country to build democratic resistance. Some days this is done on a wing and a prayer.
We don’t receive any outside funding. Everything we do is powered by you.
If you’d prefer to continue as a free subscriber, we thank you, we value your willingness to engage in the conversation. This is public engagement and the essays and full archive will always be available to whoever wants to read.
We are going to keep kicking at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.
Thank you.
— Charlie
P.S. If you’d like to make a one time contribution beyond a subscription, please get in touch with our team at info@charlieangus.ca