Rep. Jayapal Announces ‘Resistance Labs’ During Burien Town Hall

At the May 27 Burien Town Hall, summarized in this recent story, Rep. Pramila Jayapal delivered prepared comments for 30 minutes, followed by audience members’ questions and comments. Several times, Rep. Jayapal mentioned an upcoming session for citizens called Resistance Training.

The first time I heard her say this, my thought was “is this a program with weights that is aimed at building muscle mass?” No, she’s referring to a June 1 workshop and also to a broader set of programs designed to boost the effectiveness of citizen activists. The “Resistance Lab” workshop is mentioned briefly in the previous story.

Resistance Lab Details

The intent of the program seems to be resistance to the Trump administration. But the techniques could also apply to other areas as well, they just weren’t mentioned.

For example, one question from an attendee was about the negative impacts of Seatac Airport on residents of the Seattle area. Jayapal briefly discussed some of the work she’s done for testing and other items, and added that the region needs another airport. But she did not say “attend resistance training to learn some techniques that can be used to fight against air and noise pollution.”

The goal of the training on June 1, as stated on her campaign website  https://www.pramilaforcongress.com/the-resistance-lab, is to empower citizens. The implied and sometimes stated goal is resistance to Trump administration topics.

Unmentioned is whether the training could also be helpful at other levels, such as city, county, port, school, state, and other local government levels. Also unmentioned is whether the techniques are appropriate for non-governmental actors, for example, a major foundation in the Seattle area that has pushed ineffective solutions in schools for reading, writing, and math.

In addition to the workshop, the website lists other opportunities.