The internet crowdsourced a guide on how to survive a Trump presidency
In the immediate days following the election, people across the US - from Chicago to Miami - protested Trump's win. Many more are planning a mass march in Washington DC when he takes office in January.
For those feeling uneasy, there's now a "survival guide" for planning the next four years.
Called "Oh Crap! What Now?," the guide answers questions related to physical and emotional well-being, including ones about immigrant rights ("Is my green card at risk?"), trans healthcare ("Will I still be able to gain access to hormones?"), hate crimes ("How do I de-escalate harassment?"), and reproductive healthcare ("How do I access birth control and legal abortion if restrictions are imposed?").
When the guide originally launched on November 10, it was a collaborative Google Doc that anyone could edit. She posted it on Facebook Thursday morning, and by noon, it had more than 100 active viewers, the highest count a Google Doc allows. People were adding information about resources for mental health, chronic illnesses, immigration issues, and more.
The guide's creator, Ariel Federow, tells Business Insider that she was shocked by the huge interest in it - within the first two days, she received over 150 emails about adding content to the guide. A Tumblr post that links to it has garnered over 25,700 likes and shares.
To keep the information organized (and to make sure everything was correct), Federow turned the document into a website on Sunday night. Anyone that emails her can still request to edit the site, which has received over 100,000 views as of Tuesday afternoon. She hopes it will continue to be a collaborative project.
"There is a long history of this kind of thing in communities of color, disabled communities, queer communities, immigrant communities, and other communities that need to share information about how to navigate safely within a hostile world," Federow says. "This comes out of that tradition."
The resource is geared toward immigrants, women, LGBT folks, and People of Color - those who Federow says could have the most to worry under Trump's presidency.
She gives the example of immigrants who live in the US thanks to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): a policy passed by Obama that allows undocumented immigrants who entered the US before their 16th birthday to stay and work. The future fate of DACA remains uncertain, and a number of immigration lawyers predict it will be repealed.
LGBT folks have expressed concerns as well, including employment discrimination and trans rights, both of which some policy experts say will be at a standstill. Other worries include the possibility that Trump will repeal Obamacare, block access to legal abortion, and downplay the nationwide issue of sexual assault (in light of his dismissal of his lewd comments about women as "locker room talk").
By offering actionable steps, the "Oh Crap! What Now?" guide is designed to calm people's worries about Trump's imminent presidency, Federow says.
"I hope it reminds a lot of people how much we already know," she says. "There is going to be a lot of need for resistance over the next four years."