#Local Politics

[montmorillionite]

I went to give public comment at my county's library board meeting this week. The library board was considering requests to ban books presented by a local far right group. They included Flamer, Genderqueer, All Boys Aren't Blue, Zenobia July, Looking for Alaska, and a couple others I don't remember.

The collections manager for the library system gave an excellent presentation on the laws and policies that govern collection management and also brought a copy of a Holocaust history book (I think it was Why The Germans, Why The Jews) in to show that it had been defaced with swastikas and antisemitic phrases and talk about the quiet censorship problem in our libraries.

The actual meeting itself lasted 5 hours, and the board chair refused to eject members of the far right faction who were disrupting the meeting and trying to pick fights. One of them even said "let's take this outside" to someone asking them to be quiet and let the meeting continue.

I'm pretty used to seeing and receiving hateful rhetoric and messages online. Comes with the territory of being an out trans woman online. But it felt different spending 5 hours in a room with people who are openly calling you a groomer and saying you're sexualizing kids. Who are trying to claim that the exclusion of queer people from public life is just "common sense" and "having community standards".

They also claimed that the director of the American Library Association wanted to turn all libraries in the country into transgender Marxist recruiting centers and because of the the local library system should cut ties with the ALA.

I guess I'm probably mostly writing this down to process it. It was a lot, and also a powerful reminder that the fascists are here. They're in our communities, they're trying (and at least here, partially succeeding) to control local politics. For me at least it's one thing to see it online. That feels at least a little removed. Seeing it in person was scary, but it feels good to have been part of resisting it and successfully opposing book bans locally.

[reasonsforhope]

"Construction of a massive municipal park—over 20 years in the making, is finally underway in the city of Irvine.

They say if California became its own country, it would have one of the world’s largest economies. The new Great Park of Irvine is a reflection of the always lofty ambitions of the state, and is expected to dwarf Central Park by more than 500 acres.

It was on May 23rd this year that the “Great Park Project” broke ground on the long-derelict El Toro Marine Corps Base, 21 years after voters approved a ballot measure ordering the state to create a park on the site.

Expected to take another 10 years to complete, the park will span 1,300 acres and include several museums, an amphitheater, a veterans memorial garden, an aquatics center, a sports complex, and not one but two lakes.

“After many years of community input and after the last year of intensive planning and design, we are excited to be launching what is a $1 billion investment to establish the world’s next great metropolitan park,” said Irvine City Councilman Michael Carroll who serves as Chairman of the Great Park Board...

First item of work on the agenda is to demolish and clear away 77 old military buildings while leaving the El Toro air traffic control tower which will be leased by the FAA. However a portion of the Irvine Great Park, as it’s being called, is already open to visitors and includes a soccer pitch and some other amenities including tethered balloons to take visitors up into the sky."

-via Good News Network, July 12, 2023

--

More of this, please!!!

Also, I checked, and somehow the tethered balloon thing is not only real it's actually free. They go up 400 ft in the air

[flowerishness]

Aubrieta deltoidea (purple rock cress), Salvia nemorosa, (woodland sage) and Fragaria × ananassa (garden strawberry)

Escape artists

A few years ago, our local city council created a fancy boulevard sidewalk on the road leading down to the beach. The intention was to create a carefully-maintained, flower-laden, tourist route to endless fish and chips and ice cream cones.

Of course, one city council's 'pet project' is the next city council's 'waste of money' and that "carefully-maintained" part never happened. Unfortunately, the little flowerbeds soon went to wrack and ruin. On the other hand, it's interesting to see these successful garden escapees making a go of it in extremely poor soil. Now why doesn't my strawberry patch look this good?

[flameraven]

[acesolaris]

A basic point of Solarpunk is it's focus on local communities. So, get to know your communities!

Local Politics

How does your local Govenment work? Who are the people involved in it?

What is the main political climate and view in your area?

What are the most active community organisations?

What are Grasrootmovements in your areas?

Are there known leftist organisations or communities?

Local Infrastrucure

Libraries and Archives

independent buisnesses like bakerys, bookstores etc

central community centres

Thrift stores

Nature preservation centres or organisations

Food kitchens

package-free and bulk stores

Local Newspapers

Bus lines and scedules

Bike repair shops

Queer Bars and Centres

Tailors and shoe repair shops

abandoned or empty buildings/ properites

Local History

How did people live in your area 50 Years ago? 100? 200? 500? What are their trades, culture, how did they get their food?

What is the geological and ecological history of your area? The quality of the soil? The availability of water? Local Plants?

What are some major historical events your area went through? How did they shape the peoples point of view?

What are the oldest buildings in Town? Research the architecture and building materials, as they commonly are localy sourced and help with sustainable building in your area!

These are just some ideas so please feel free to add!

[iwriteaboutfeminism]

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All seven members are women.

Six are women of color.

All are under 40.

All are Democrats.

Well done, St. Paul!

[azeutreciathewicked]

Keep doing the work

The debate last night was great. We're feeling good. Taylor Swift has endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign.

Guess what?

The work hasn't changed. We still have to keep doing the work.

The most necessary: make sure you're registered to vote, confirm you are still registered before the deadline (set a calendar reminder!) in case someone shady unregisters you. Make a plan to vote. Check on family and friends to make sure they will be able to vote.

Even better: talk to people. Tell them about the good stuff. Send them videos of speeches by honorable Republicans like Adam Kinzinger at the DNC who talk about patriotism and doing what is right. Give reluctant voters permission to vote blue this year. Be understanding of their concerns, and share the good news, the hope, the ways that voting for the best candidate will give us opportunities to fix the problems that matter to them.

There are a lot of people who aren't sure what to do, so they're putting up a face of being ornery. They are trying to act like they're discerning, but they're really just scared and overwhelmed. Be the light for them. And even if they aren't hot on the Presidential vote, get them to vote for your local elections. See if you can get them to vote blue for Congress - Representative and Senator. Definitely Governor. Secretary of State. Local state representation. These are SUPER important. Get them to get out to vote for the ballot measures - reproductive rights and cannabis legalization - and see if they'll stick around to vote blue too.

I would be saying exactly the same thing (as I have before about doing the work) if the debate had gone terribly. It's political theater, not a real debate about informing voters (I say this as a former speech/debate coach and former political activist). Most Americans don't actually learn from these events for a variety of reasons. They learn from conversations with people they know and trust.

If we do the work, we will win. We will win with a decisive mandate.

Good feelings are nice, but good work is necessary.

Ride the wave of good feels and let it propel you to do some work - if we all pull a bit, we'll move mountains together.

[ainawgsd]

The city council voted tonight! Chickens are now allowed in town!

[1000-silverfish-in-a-hoodie]

So much fear mongering about communism and then you join a local communist group and it’s like “we hand out flyers and try too give food to homeless people”

[alwaysbewoke]

[lookninjas]

This is gonna be a one-woman crab rave over here, but:

[usauthoritarianism]

[pratchettquotes]

The relationship between the University and the Patrician, absolute ruler and nearly benevolent dictator of Ankh-Morpork, was a complex and subtle one.

The wizards held that, as servants of higher truth, they were not subject to the mundane laws of the city.

The Patrician said that, indeed, this was the case, but they would bloody well pay their taxes like everyone else.

Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

[bethelctpride]

Lots of terrible bullshit going on and it feels like you can't do things to help queer folk in other parts of the country.

And by and large, you're right. You, random person in safe spot, can't do much about politician in unsafe spot. They don't give a shit about their own constituents, you rate even lower. You can howl and rail from afar and it does nothing but tire you out.

This does not mean do nothing.

DO provide aid to queer orgs in those states that ask for help. But provide the help they ask for. Provide what's asked for, if able. If you can't provide that help, there are others that can. Put your savior complex away.

Drop your own congressman and senators a brief note about it. Let them go lean on those guys way over there. That's their job. Occasionally check in to tell them what you support/oppose but otherwise, your job dealing with something far out of your reach, is done.

Now look at your own home. Not even the state, just your town. You have lots of power there to move both politicians, bureaucracies, and local businesses, even if it doesn't always feel like it.

You have the power to become the local "oh shit, it's them" for local politicians.

"But everything's fine here!"

Is it? Is it really? Or is it just for you? Or is it just okay in comparison to the shitshow elsewhere?

It's probably just Okay for you. Spend the time, energy, and money you have making it BETTER. Yes, this helps you and your local folks, but it also helps the people in those more distant places you have no power over because it provides the counter example.

So many of these current laws are driven by "but if Moral Panic Thing happens we'll have Terrible Disaster!" Nah. Make that Thing happen. Expose the lie. Oh no, we let queer people live their life, and society didn't end!

Take away the fascist lie that the past was better and there is no future and that "we can't do that." Do it. Make it happen. Even if it's small steps. Make those small steps so they just become second nature. This become reality. Make that reality so attractive, so normal, that it is easier to make the future better than it is to fight for a fantasy of the past.

But what to DO?

We recently had a long term planning charette here I got invited to on the future of the town and they also invited a few current high school students. (excellent job, a+ for planning office!) This is long term plan so most of their concerns won't be addressed 'til they graduated, but one thing they said was a "we can fix this NOW" thing I got on the first selectman's ass about. There is a men's and women's golf team. But the women's golf team could only practice one day a week because the place they went to only allowed women in one day a week (which they can still do, as a private club). And I got on him about it of "a public school should not give a private institution money to discriminate against students." Is the problem fully resolved yet? TBD next school year!

But that's the kind of small fight you can personally win. Long term, that fixes a title IX violation. A place that was getting money for discriminating no longer will. A bunch of students that were experience entrenched gender based discrimination, won't anymore. and an adult finally LISTENED to them about the system being wrong and went "yeah, you're right. let's fix it."

Did it solve everything else going on? No. But it's true that "many hands make light work". Small wins build. Pick a thing to fight for locally. If you can't go in person to annoy your town government, send letters to the various boards about what you care about. They have to enter them into official record. Sometimes they'll also read them aloud during meetings. But it gets on the record that someone said something. (if you have a local paper, you can write letters to the editor as well)

If you're utterly overwhelmed about where to start to make things better, go to your local Planning & Zoning or Housing Authority meetings. Go to the big planning meetings for Plan of Development. And you fight for better, denser, more affordable housing.

But that's not a queer issue.

The hell it isn't. How often is that the reason cited that people have to stay with family that hurts them, stay closeted, or a stay in a state trying to kill them? "I can't afford to move." So many of the people who are unhoused are queer folks.

Go fight for that, where you live. Tell people "yes, I want THOSE neighbors". Go say YES to the low income housing. Say yes to the assisted living. Say yes to the group home.

This does not mean support, uncritically. You can still say yes to things and critique how it's implemented. I went to support a new apartment block on my own street, but opposed the proposed layout because it put the driveway directly in a blind curve. Apartments have now been built... but the driveway is no longer a dangerous deathtrap.

Those small wins pile up and surprise, you arrive as a better future! Things get better because people added the little bit they could, even if it seemed like nothing compared to others efforts.

[lyndentree63]

Oh NO I think I'm slowly falling into local politics and activism (falling? nah girl, you fell ages ago when you volunteered for a city council board) but anyways I've thought I don't have enough stick-to-it to be involved in politics in a meaningful way.

I underestimated my hatred of pickup trucks.

Well ok technically it's my love of being a pedestrian and like, being alive. But I'm starting to research how one would campaign against the increasing size of pickup trucks and SUVs and whoopsie, I think I'm doing an Activism.

(Anyways y'all should go watch These Stupid Trucks Are Literally Killing Us to know what I'm talking about.)

[parttimepunner]

“Hello, I am Don L Rivers and I am running for governor of Washington State because I am seasoned.”