The Resistance Holiday Playbook

Nov 23, 2025

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of our 50501 CO newsletter!

In this newsletter, we share some tips on how to handle political discussions during the holidays. In addition, you’ll find information on upcoming activities from the 50501 calendar, actions you can take outside of protesting, and also find out about additional ways to connect with us.

See you on the streets! ✊✊✊

Actions and Activities

(The below list contains details on all actions this week and next week which have been submitted to our 50501 CO calendar; click the link above for more details and the full calendar)

Arvada

11/25: 3:00 - 4:30pm - Visibility Brigade (26th St Pedpass over I-70, GPS: 2650 Alkire St.)
11/30: 11:00am - 12:00pm - Pop Up Rally (Safeway at 80th and Wadsworth in Arvada)
12/2: 3:00 - 4:30pm - Visibility Brigade (26th St Pedpass over I-70, GPS: 2650 Alkire St.)

Denver

11/18: 4:00 - 6:00pm - Just Say NO to Fracking Near the Aurora Reservoir (1120 Lincoln St, Denver, CO 80203)

Littleton

11/29: 11:00 - 1:00pm - Protest Against Tyranny (5700 South Broadway)
12/6: 11:00 - 1:00pm - Protest Against Tyranny (5700 South Broadway)

Loveland

11/29: 12:00 - 2:00pm - Hands Off (US 287 from US34/Sprouts to Tesla)
12/6: 12:00 - 2:00pm - Hands Off (US 287 from US34/Sprouts to Tesla)

Superior

11/29: 10:30am - 12:00pm - Weekly Rally in Superior (2 S Marshall Rd)
12/6: 10:30am - 12:00pm - Weekly Rally in Superior (2 S Marshall Rd)

Thornton

11/28: 4:00 - 6:00pm - 4th Friday Intersection protest (112th avenue and Colorado Boulevard)

Westminster

11/28: 10:00am - Blackout Friday Protest (9210 Sheridan Blvd)

The Resistance Holiday Playbook

The holidays arrive right on schedule, even as the country feels uneasy—its foundations rattling under the noise of power. The headlines are grim, the shutdown drags on, and half the nation is being told that protest equals disloyalty. Yet here we are, November again, trying to pass the mashed potatoes and keep faith with democracy at the same time.

Authoritarianism thrives on ritual. It wants the calendar to keep rolling, the sales to keep buzzing, and the citizens to stay polite. It counts on you to say, “Let’s not talk politics at dinner,” while the erosion of rights goes unmentioned in the next room. So this year, let’s rewrite the script. Here’s your Resistance Holiday Playbook.

1. Set the Table, Not the Trap.
Every family has at least one relative who drops a provocation between courses. Don’t take the bait. Ask real questions instead of trading sound bites: “Where did you hear that?” “What makes you feel that way?” Curiosity isn’t surrender—it’s strategy. Facts land better through dialogue than through combat. Keep conversation grounded in the concrete—food prices, veterans’ benefits, health care—places where democracy still lives close to home.

2. Make Joy Deliberate.
Joy isn’t denial—it’s proof of life. Authoritarianism wants exhaustion, predictability, and silence; joy scrambles that formula. Make it intentional this year. Host a potluck for furloughed workers. Turn a neighborhood lighting night into a food drive. Play music in the streets after a rally. Hang your lights a little earlier and brighter. Share art, laughter, and meals that remind people why community matters. Laughter around a table full of difference is the sound authoritarianism can’t choreograph. Celebrate on purpose, not by habit.

3. Buy, Give, and Gather Ethically.
Spending is speech. Choose local, union-made, independent, or mutual-aid gifts. Skip the companies funding the agenda you’re fighting. Use your shopping list as a micro-budget for democracy. If you can’t afford to spend, organize a donation drive or volunteer at a community meal. The point isn’t consumer virtue—it’s solidarity.

4. Hold the Line on Truth.
Disinformation doesn’t take holidays. Before you forward that dramatic headline or viral clip, verify it. When a rumor hits the table, pause the conversation and check it together. “Let’s look it up” isn’t rude—it’s civic hygiene. Small corrections made calmly prevent big lies from taking root.

5. Protect the Vulnerable.
Authoritarian culture works by isolating targets. Use the season to close those gaps. Invite the neighbor who’s been harassed, the friend whose family cut them off, the coworker facing a hostile workplace. Every inclusion chips away at the machinery of exclusion. A dinner invitation can be political armor.

6. Rest Without Retreat.
Exhaustion is a strategy of control. The regime wants you too tired to organize. Rest is not withdrawal—it’s maintenance. Take walks. Sleep. Turn off the feed. Let the mind defrost so January doesn’t feel impossible. The point of the pause is to return to the fight replenished.

7. Remember What the Rest Is For.
When the dishes are done and the noise fades, take a minute to remember why we rest. It’s not to forget the fight—it’s to be ready for it. Gratitude means nothing if it doesn’t renew our willingness to protect what we’re thankful for. Rest is rehearsal for the next round.

Authoritarianism measures its success in silence—streets quiet, citizens compliant, conversations shallow. Democracy measures its health in noise—voices, debate, laughter, disagreement, song. The table you set this Thanksgiving can be either kind of place. Make yours the noisy one.

The work ahead is serious, but the spirit of it doesn’t have to be grim. Resistance isn’t just what we do in crisis; it’s how we choose to live every ordinary day—feeding each other, caring for neighbors, telling the truth out loud.

So eat. Argue kindly. Laugh loudly. Rest fiercely.
And when you raise your glass, let the toast be simple:
To freedom.

Non-Protest Actions Bingo

The below bingo card contains a list of actions you can take (other than protesting) to help further the cause. If you get a bingo, tag us on social media to let us know!