"We are in our documentary moment." - Jane Fonda

American Authoritarianism isn't normal.

“Have you ever watched a documentary of one of the great social movements, like apartheid, civil rights, or Stonewall, and asked yourself, would you be brave enough to walk the bridge?” Jane Fonda asks the star-studded crowd at the 2025 SAG Awards, “We don’t have to wonder anymore because we are in our documentary moment.”

Thank you, Jane Fonda, for using the words I’ve searched for since inauguration day: our documentary moment.

She described that feeling we get when watching a documentary—the complexity of wondering what we would have done if we lived during World War I or II, the French Revolution, the Gilded Age, Stonewall, segregation, slavery, or whatever future historians will call America’s descent into autocracy.

Speaking about fascism or singing Charli XCX? Maybe both?

I recently spoke at NYC’s LGBT Center wearing a shirt with a quote from Jane’s SAG Awards speech, “Woke just means you give a damn about other people.”

I stood in the very room Act Up! began in 1987, speaking about the rise of fascism in our country, about how the the queer community is still fucking at-risk, calling my fellow activists, my fellow queer folks, my fellow people who give a damn about other people to use their voices. To not change our united ethos of peace.

This Isn’t Normal

I can’t pretend everything is fine and “get back to work” because all of my jobs (journalism, college speaking gigs, owning a drink brand, and non-profits) are all in jeopardy due to MAGA 2.0. Resistance is my work now. I’m happy to protest and donate, but we clearly need to take real action.

• It’s not normal for politicians to be arrested for asking questions.

• It’s not normal for men dressed in street clothes and facemasks with no warrants or badges to kidnap people, disappearing them.

• It’s not normal for women to fear pregnancy because a miscarriage could result in being arrested or dying.

• It’s not normal for the military to be on American streets, shooting citizens who disagree with the President.

• It’s not normal to bully children for wanting to play sports or use the bathroom.

• It’s not normal for American citizens to carry multiple forms of ID in case ICE stops them.

• It’s not normal for full-time workers to be homeless or live in poverty while billionaires call them lazy for not picking themselves up by their bootstraps. Meritocracy is a myth.

• It’s not normal for oligarchs to control EVERYTHING.

• It’s not normal to defend the January 6th insurrection while condemning our constitutional right to peaceful protest.

• It’s not normal to fund the extinction of a population.

• It’s not normal to justify this government-sanctioned cruelty using bible verses.

Jane Fonda’s infamous 1970 mugshot

“A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, by what is coming our way… We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future.” - Jane Fonda at the 2025 SAG Awards

Join Me. Please.

I discuss the importance of asking for help in my book and speaking engagements. It’s OK to admit when we’re lost or struggling or don’t know what the next right action is. So I’m taking my own advice by asking you to help me. Use your voice to fight fascism in the United States. Please.

Don’t know where to start? As Jane said, stay in community. Join me in the comments.

A few prompts:

• Write your own “it’s not normal” list.

• How are you processing American Authoritarianism?

• How is your job impacted by MAGA 2.0?

• How have family dynamics shifted since inauguration day?

• Disagree with me and think I’m being dramatic? Let’s discuss.

Writing about your documentary moment in the comments might inspire someone else to share theirs. Please. We really need your voice.

XO,

Tawny