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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Geneseo chapter.

I am writing this a few months after the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Within all of the jokes about The New York Police Department only finding Monopoly money and a jacket inside the assassin’s backpack having been published on apps like TikTok, Rednote, and X, as well as all of the thirst traps and collective internet falling for the twenty-six-year-old assassin Luigi Mangione, there are a lot of discussions about reigniting the old flames of the past, ones that scream loud and proud: Vive la Résistance. 

It was indeed Kamala Harris who called Generation Z, “impatient for change”. This sentiment has shown to be reaching a boiling point on social media with the apathetic reaction to Thompson’s death. Americans, who have long been taken advantage of by the healthcare system see this as something long overdue. CNN got it wrong when they called social media’s reaction to Thompson’s death “hateful”. Americans’ reactions to Thompson’s death are the echo of the tired and the disadvantaged. I bring up the term Vive la Résistance, in response to many of the TikToks I have seen of people recording themselves with captions like, “It’s time we had another French Revolution” with the voice of Édith Piaf singing, “Ah, ça ira, ça ira, ça ira! Les aristocrats, on les pendra!”, which translates roughly to, “It’ll be alright, We’ll hang all the Aristocrats”. Combined with those quoting Sir John Glubb with the idea that “Empires only last 250 years” and with people who believe in astrology saying that Pluto’s alignment with the Aquarius constellation is the same as it was when the French Revolution began, people on the internet are quick to jump onto the bandwagon that we should kill all the Musks, the Trumps, and the Thompsons of the world, and that America is due to no longer be the powerhouse of a country that it’s people have been taught that it is for decades. 

Jumping more into this sentiment, it has grown much stronger since Donald Trump has taken office for a second time. With the enactment of a multitude of executive orders that are not only directly from the manifesto of the right-winged officiates who created Project 2025, but directly affect the livelihoods of millions of Americans. The loud minority has taken over office and it has shown that America is in for a firestorm of destruction and pain for all but the most rich and powerful. As someone who will be affected by his presidency, I deeply feel the pain and despair of the thousands of women living in this country. It is shameful to live in such a country where people who look and think like me are seen as lesser beings who deserve to be killed, raped, and silenced for being our most authentic selves. 

While I cannot speak for the people for certain on whether or not it shall be time to sharpen the pitchforks and march down the streets, I will speak in my own opinion. Change is going strongly backward. The past few decades of progress have been coming undone under the force of a group meant to keep us stable. And I am expecting more and more to be undone over the next three years. Change as of right now cannot be afforded to be a slow merry-go-round of progress. Change must be swiftly brought on by a strong force. I refuse to stand by and let my government slowly choke me to death. So, in agreeance with the internet, I will cry out: Vive la Résistance!

Hi I’m Wrileigh I’m a junior in college I like crocheting