solarpunk-shenanigans

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

I'm from the USA and am trying to take hope and inspiration from our queer predecessors who faced dark times in the past. How did they keep going even when it felt like the world was ending?Do you have any recommendations for queer historical essays, poems, books, anything to find comfort and hope for these dark times?

Yes, I have a couple of stories for this.

Claude Cahun

A queer surrealist photographer from 1920's paris, Claude was Jewish and recognized the rise of antisemitism in their home country and watched it become fascism. Here is a quote from their article:

"In 1937 Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore cut off many connections because of the war and ran to Jersey to avoid anti-Semitic violence. Upon arrival, they went back to using their birth names and laid low until the Germans took Jersey. Moore and Cahun set to work. They used their experience with art and disguising their genders to create works that spread misinformation, seeds of rebellion and implied that there was a large-scale resistance happening when in reality, it was just the two of them. Though some of their work was based on confusing the soldiers, they also translated and transcribed BBC transmissions into German, detailing the war crimes that were being committed. They would have these translations on pieces of paper that they would slip into soldier's pockets, matchboxes, and anywhere a soldier may stumble across it and possibly read it. An investigation was started, and Nazi authorities believed there to be a group of people doing this. When the two were discovered to be behind the actions, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were sentenced to death. Fortunately, the sentence was never carried out because the island of Jersey was liberated from German rule only a year later. Claude took a picture upon their release in front of the camps with a Nazi eagle pin between their teeth."

And Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz

who wrote:

"Poetry readings and concert attendance—and often a chat over vodka—were not only forms

of escapism, but also a search for better, more substantive aspects of human beings, a search

which would end, more often than not, in complete disillusionment. If it could be possible, to

discern, in these notes even if only for a moment a measure of humanity in that time of

inhumanity, the goal of this publication would be fulfilled.”

I think his whole article is worth reading.

Also here are some books to read:

Your Art Will Save Your Life

Beth Pickens

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

Ben MacIntyre

Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color

Christopher Soto

The New Queer Conscience

Adam Eli

(Some of the links are affiliate links)

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

I couldn’t reboot it for some reason

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dear usamerican high schoolers looking for a way to resist fascism: sit through the pledge of allegiance.

no getting up. no looking at the flag.

everyone will be looking at you. you'll be sweating like a fucking hippopotamus. your teacher will sternly tell you to get up. you'll feel stupid and that maybe its not worth it because you're just a kid in a classroom. but I'm here to remind you that there are no real life consequences to detention. there are however real life consequences to resisting a thoughtless performance of nationalism.

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

The word you are looking for is “selfish.” Not narcissist, not sociopath, selfish.

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As we see a barrage of evil executive orders come in, they are not immediately enforceable and will takes months or years to implement.

That’s still not great, but don’t let these pile up to the point of hopelessness. Take a breath, and look community leaders who will fight it every step of the way.

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

I am Sami and my children in the picture lost their mother who passed away a few days ago due to low immunity and the severe cold in the tent. We are in dire need of your help now with a simple

donation that makes a big difference so that we can buy some clothes and protect our children in a safe shelter. Your participation also helps us save the remaining family members alive.

Donate here 🍁

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

something my mum always taught us was to look for the resources we're entitled to, and use them. public land? know your access rights and responsibilities, go there and exercise them. libraries? go there and talk to librarians and read community notice boards, find out what other people are doing around you, ask questions, use the printers. public records offices? go in there, learn what they hold and what you can access, look at old maps, get your full birth certificate copied, check out the census from your neighbourhood a hundred years ago. are you entitled to social support? find out, take it, use it. does the local art college have facilities open to the public? go in, look around, check out their exhibit on ancient looms or whatever, shop in their campus art supply store. it applies online too, there is so much shit in the world that belongs to the public commons that you can access and use if you just take a minute to wonder what might exist!!!

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

No one wants to leave the country they grew up in, but news like this shows how difficult it is to live in Gaza with homes, schools and hospitals destroyed.

So I hope you can help me evacuate my family from Gaza so that my father can get treatment abroad. I beg everyone who sees this to either donate or participate so that we can get out of this nightmare.

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

hey chat did you guys know there's a whole website with informational videos on the rights you hold when interacting with ICE or witnessing interactions with ICE. all written by immigrants and for immigrants. idk man it'd be a shame if people watched these informational videos y'know.

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

now that trump has tiktok, twitter, facebook and insta in his pocket, get ready for a massive wave of internet censorship. one of trump's greatest weapons has always been misinformation; it's going to become harder and harder to spread facts and criticism going forward. posts that aren't made invisible will be magically ignored by the algorithm. dissidents will have their accounts deleted and voices erased.

this is a suppression tactic. this is another stage of fascism.

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just saw the perforated baton rope making demonstration video for the first time and i 😲

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So many people do not understand the relationship between climate change and cold weather.

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Trump is appointing three washed-up actors as "ambassador to Hollywood" in order to bring back the "Golden Age of Hollywood". Which has historical precedent: there was an ambassador to Hollywood in the Golden Age, too. His name was Georg Gyssling and he was sent by Hitler to monitor the activities of Hollywood studios. To make sure their films didn't say anything anti-Nazi, resulting in many attempts at anti-fascist films being shut down by the Hays Code. Just a fun historical Hollywood fact there

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

I can't stress enough how much I miss StumbleUpon

[solarpunk-shenanigans]

just gonna share some resources on preventing and treating activist burnout (and other trauma) from mutual aid disaster reliefs resource list

weve got 4 long years ahead of us, and after that many more years until the american empire is dead and capitalism is defeated and all are free. we need resilience. we need to learn how to make resistance a regular, sustainable part of our lives. let this radicalize u instead of lead u to despair

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: Navigating Trauma

Trauma_OverviewPreventing BurnoutUnderstanding and Coping with Traumatic StressUnderstanding and Addressing Vicarious Trauma

Grounding and Centering for Activists

Rising Up Without Burning Out

Sustainable Activism and Avoiding Burnout

Psychological First AidActivist Trauma and Recovery

Trauma and Therapeutic Art: Information for Children, Families and Volunteers

Community Trauma Toolkit

Coping With_Climate_Change_Distress