Congresswoman Maxine Waters, left, and activist Alyssa Milano


Donald Trump delivers his first official State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m., CST. I am sure that if you want to watch it, it won’t be too difficult to find some TV channel broadcasting it, or you can find it online somewhere.
But it’s likely there will be a pretty large number of people actively NOT watching Trump’s speech.
There have been widespread calls across social media platforms for people to boycott the State of the Union speech and deny Trump the high ratings he so desperately craves. If you boycott, you won’t be alone.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said Jan. 5 that he would be in his district rather than attending the speech. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. — a hero of the Civil Rights Movement and a staunch advocate for LGBT rights — declared Jan. 12, in response to Trump’s “shithole nations” comments, that he was boycotting.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has become an internet sensation with her adamant — and colorful — opposition to Trump, has said she won’t attend or watch Trump’s speech because “Trump doesn’t deserve my attention.” She will, however, deliver her own remarks right after Trump’s speech, during Angela Rye’s State of the Union program on BET. (I bet her speech will be more intelligent, better delivered and more informative and entertaining.)
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, the Florida Democrat who called out Trump for his ridiculously rude and insensitive phone call to the widow of U.S. Army Sgt. LaDavid Johnson after Johnson was killed in action in Niger last October, is boycotting Trump’s State of the Union.
The list also includes U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who cited Trump’s “racism and hatred;” U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, who said since Trump doesn’t respect him he can’t give Trump the respect of attending; U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, who said many of his constituents are offended by Trump’s rhetoric and behavior; U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. (Oakland); U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., citing the travel bans, Trump’s response to the Nazi march in Charlottesville, Va., and his “shithole countries” comments.
Other options
If you are looking for something else to watch, start tonight with the “People’s State of the Union,” a program of speeches and music organized by Mark Ruffalo, Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg and others in The Resistance. Host organizations include unions, organizers of the Women’s March and Planned Parenthood. The event will be live-streamed at peoplessotu.org.
On Tuesday, when Trump is taking the podium in D.C., Alyssa Milano is urging everyone else to take to the internet for “resist and persist counter-programming” in the form of her “State of the Dream” digital initiative. Milano is asking Americans to record their own brief videos (60 seconds max) describing their dreams for the country, and the videos will be posted on Twitter and other social media simultaneously just as Trump begins his address.
“Our digital #StateOfTheDream address will support our dreamers and immigrants, call for a DREAM Act, lean into the Senate fundraiser for United We Dream, and express our vision for a more inclusive, progressive America,” Milano noted.
Those who will attend
U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., has been chosen to deliver the official Democratic response to Trump’s speech. He has also invited a transgender soldier, Staff Sgt. Patricia King, to attend the State of the Union as his guest.
He’s not the only making a statement via the choice of whom to invite to the speech. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic members of Congress have said they would be inviting DREAMers and other immigrants to the address. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., has invited Cindy Garcia, whose husband was deported to Mexico after spending nearly three decades living and raising a family in Michigan. Several House Democrats invited members of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements: U.S. Reps. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., respectively invited National Women’s Law Center President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves, the niece of Recy Taylor, a black woman raped by white men in Alabama in 1944, and Moms Rising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner.
There are others. The list goes on and on.
As for me, I’ll read about it after the fact. Tomorrow night, I plan to be stationed somewhere with my camera and a tripod, taking photos of the SuperBlueBlood Moon.