#was feeding their communities! mutual aid etc

[eileennatural]

can i say something possibly controversial. white male leftists fantasize about revolution for the same reason white male conservatives fantasize about their homes being invaded. it's not likely to happen, but if it did they would suddenly be justified in committing a whole lot of violence

[queeranarchism]

Hi! What are your thoughts on how best to affect real political change as an anarchist?

Feed people who need food. House people who need shelter. Riot whenever the cops harm someone. Take care of people's kids while they're off rioting. Squat and build autonomous spaces. Support migrants. Support people in prisons and those who've escaped. Support people in psychiatric incarceration and those who've escaped. Participate in transformative justice. Address all forms of bigotry. Fight fascists. Make racists afraid again. Organize in a revolutionary union. Commit unpredictable acts of violence against the state. Start a network of radical trans people that produce and distribute hormones without diagnosis. Never try to storm the biggest government building, there is no power in those stones. Take over spaces of production or empty housing instead. Occupy a forest. Block a pipeline. Sabotage the industries of pollution. Make people who get rich of pollution afraid for their lives. Distribute skills on how to fight fascists, riot, shoplift, build spaces, do transformative justice, feed people, house people, etc. Celebrate your victories and your community, eat great food together, have great sex together, mourn together, cry together.

Political change is not achieved through one revolutionary moment, but through a disobedient community that expands in size and strength because of mutual aid and solidarity. As they grow they improve their lives and they are capable of claiming bigger and bigger autonomous spaces, participating in bigger and bigger uprisings and existing more outside of the control of the state and without needing the state.

[roaring-screaming-20s]

Sourdough is solar punk and communism and all the good things

Sourdough is the gift that keeps giving. It's an ancient tradition that's been shared and passed down between neighbors, friends, families, lovers, and communities. You can create the magic goo (sourdough starter) yourself from just flour and water, then spread it to others, or get a starter from someone else, often one that's decades (or even centuries!) old. Once you have starter, you don't have to buy yeast from the megacorporations that are killing the planet grocery stores. Or sandwich bread. Or dinner rolls. Or cinnamon rolls. Cookies. Tortillas. Bagels. Pie crusts. Pizza. Naans. Flatbread. Croutons. Bread crumbs. Pancakes. Waffles. Crumpets. Garlic knots... you see my point. And I'm certain there's way more.

You will still have to buy flour for feeding starter and baking ingredients for whatever you're making, and a water that's acceptable for your starter. However, you'll know what's in your food, you know how it's made- with love/care in it, as fresh as you can get it. And you will support the systems that devastate our planet and bodies and country slightly less. If you can secure a direct supply of grains (then mill them yourself) or flour, say from a farmer's market or friend, you can be completely independent for stuff that's purely bread- loafs, sandwiches, buns, etc. You can also source most baking ingredients in sustainable ways, such as farmer's markets or growing them. You can choose how deep you want to go with this. Think about how much of your diet is bread/grains, and how much that affects your wallet and health (not the carbs, but the preservatives/fake ingredients/contaminants)

What about disabled people? Busy people?

That's the beauty in sourdough. While establishing a new starter can be tricky, if you buy/are gifted and established one, it's VERY forgiving and can be flexible. You can feed it daily and make stuff multiple times a week, OR you can stick that bad girl in the fridge and feed a little flour and water every two weeks to every few months- whenever you have time to bake and are feeling excited/able! Baking takes some time, sure, but most of that time is letting the thing just sit, so it's not too bad labor wise. And the discard that you accumulate is both an ingredient AND a back up starter in the event your starter dies. Reactivate it by setting it out and feeding or simply dry it out, powder it, and store for up to, oh, a few thousand years. You can then rehydrate it and reactivate when you're ready.

It's good for your gut, great for diabetics, AND most recipes are friendly to peeps with gluten issues because the longer doughs does the big ferment, the less gluten it has!

If you're not self sufficient and homesteading or whatever the ideal solar punk communist dream is, that's ok. You will still have to buy some things. But sourdough is one of many steps you can take to make yourself less dependent on the rich jerks who own everything and poison us. Happy baking! Get involved! Talk to people about it! Trade starter/baked goods for other things! Mutual aid and mutual support!

(all pics are my baking)

[cryptidcodex]

Boundaries:

Obviously we know we can’t actually force anyone to follow any of these things, nor will we try to play enforcement. We will speak up if something makes us uncomfortable. If that is ignored, we will block and/or take space. If you are blocked and don’t know why, refer to this list. We reserve the right to build whatever space makes us comfortable and happy, and will not be taking notes or arguments on these matters. I have a team of advisors, and you are not on it.

Fronting matters. We struggle very heavily with amnesia, and will not tolerate being talked down to or having our struggles ignored. Please take fronting into consideration when addressing us.

We will not give attention to reactivity. It is ok to ask a good faith question, but accusations or leading questions and bad faith interactions will result in a block.

If you’re going to troll, make it funny. If you do want our attention for your bad takes, at least make it meme worthy.

I am not obligated to respond immediately. If I am being spammed with the same comment, question, criticism etc multiple times I will ban freely. Check the comments before blowing up my notifications.

Do not quietly block then unblock without reaching out. We will give some grace for time needed to process or distance, and we understand we can’t actually force people to follow this. But we are sensitive, and do not have the energy to constantly be guessing. My dms have always been open, and I am willing to give out discord without question or reason. Failure to follow this will result in a block.

Do not argue in the comments. We do not have the patience or desire to make a difference of opinion or interpersonal conflict a public performance. Again, our dms are always and have always been open.

Do not vague post about us, especially if you know we’re following you and can see it. I will just block without question. It’s hurtful and petty.

Do not speak over our experiences. Being a system does not mean you know what’s best for us. Being older does not mean you know what’s best for us. Being more well read does not mean you know what’s best for us. Good faith questions and intellectual conversations should not be condescending or patronizing.

No unsolicited advice. Unsolicited advice is criticism, and unless you are feeding me, financing me, or fucking me, your opinion should only be shared with consent.

No unsolicited trauma dumping. If it is relevant to the post I make an exception because I make my spaces a safe space. But if it is only marginally related or in dms, ask first.

No unsolicited lewds or nudes of the personal, artistic, or meme variety. You may ask.

No unsolicited friend requests. You may ask.

I will respect the safety of the collective before the safety or comfort of the individual. You are not welcome in my space if you give any part of my intersectional communities reason to be uncomfortable or afraid.

MA requests: we accept all mutual aid without bias. This is the only exception to circumventing blocks, and all requests will remain anonymous unless otherwise specified.

Littles can not consent. Our littles have caretakers actively looking out for them and advocating for them, and their boundaries are negotiated in collaboration with our bigs. Unless you have spoken directly to a big, you do not have consent from a little.

We have a zero tolerance policy for lying. We believe lying to be intentional telling of mistruths or omission of details to mislead. Amnesia and false memories do not count as lying, but we do still expect an acknowledgement of harm.

No is a complete sentence

Do not tell us who to associate with. Informing of behavior patterns is welcome, but we take thorough communication and privacy very seriously, and will not tolerate being told what to do.

If you feel unsure about my presence in your feed, don’t follow me. I don’t have patience for wishy washy and indecisive, and this relates back to the random blocking and unblocking. This also means that if we find you have expressed opinions of us to people that do not match our interactions, we will block you. It’s fine if you don’t like us. Just don’t lead us to believe you do.

Do not announce your departure from our spaces. It is petty and hurtful, as well as extremely self centered.

You are welcome to reach out to request reasons for blocking or understanding and compromise. As long as you don’t come looking for an argument or validation, and the conversation can remain respectful and open, we are ok with talking things out.

We will deactivate/log out at anytime to take care of our mental health, Jacksepticeye style, but will always return.

[musicboxghost]

I'm really over philanthropists in comic books.

I keep reading books that try to be about community and positive social change, but they center a kind-hearted billionaire who can be trusted with his riches. 🙄

Dick Grayson in his current Nightwing run, Hawkeye in the iconic Matt Fraction run where he buys a whole building and becomes a landlord, almost any variation of Batman or Iron Man...

And there's varying degrees of this, even in those examples.

I just wish that instead of deciding the fate of communities from their ivory Avengers Tower or the remote estate of Wayne Manor, these heroes were part of the community and used connections to their neighbors/collective power to solve problems instead of more money.

Part of the issue is elites making decisions because in the context of the story, they know best.

Part of it is pushing the narrative that has been championed from Rockefeller to Bill Gates; that the rich can be good, thoughtful stewards of disgustingly bloated bank accounts and therefore should be able to hoard it. Because they give it out incrementally to pet causes of their choosing.

And part of it is the rugged individualism of it all. That our problems can be solved by one good man. One great man. Instead of us joining together. Even neighborhood heroes like Daredevil are trying to conquer a whole city's problems largely on his own. And of course he's wealthy and well-educated and connected. A relative elite.

I want to see more poor people heroes. I want to see more heroes using their powers and their time to do mutual aid, not just beating on neighbors and feeding them into the prison industrial complex. I want to see heroes engaged in acts of civil disobedience. I want to see heroes supporting tenants unions.

I know Spider-Man exists, and I appreciate every characterization of him that brings him back to his working class roots. (As a small aside, can you imagine how much impact Spider-man could have doing mutual aid and street activism? He could haul heavy building materials with his super strength to community members building benches or small shelters for the local unhoused population. It would still be the neighbors organizing the activity, sourcing the labor and materials, building everything, etc. But Pete's super strength could come in handy getting it all there. And that speed would be helpful in case cops show up and the builders need a quick escape. Or if they wanted to cover lots of ground. There's a million more examples of how superpowers could slot beautifully into community organizing) And I think some comics have gotten better at looking at broad social issues. Ironheart, the Champions, and Superman Son of Kal-El all come to mind.

If you can think of any comics that rely on community and connection or align with mutual aid/ anarchist politics, I would love to hear your recommendations.

[ace-of-bass]

Also: Building community is not just an outreach tool. It is a tool of keeping ourselves safe and keeping resources available to all. Offering things on social media like rides to abortion clinics, or diy hrt, or anything else that is perhaps not-totally-legal in all places, is not a great strategy. For one, you shouldn't trust strangers on the internet with information that sensitive, so those you are offering those services to would do well not to trust you. If you want to meaningfully contribute to providing things such as the above, or even more legal-but-logistically-complex things like feeding a large number of people, handing out narcan, etc, you need to organize in person. How do you organize in person? By meeting people in person, aka building community.

If this is your goal, you can start with people who are very similar to you! You don't have to start by reaching out to Alt Right David or even Annoying Uncle Bill - you can start by going to a local show or a group that meets at the library or hanging out with your D&D group when you're not actively playing D&D. Then, you have friends that you can rely on to take care of you, and who you might be able to plan some cool mutual aid shit with. I've been working on building community for awhile, at first not intentionally and lately very intentionally, and here's how I met the group of friends I started a monthly free store with:

1. Met Friend A at a choir thing since I like to sing and was looking for friends after moving somewhere new. Friend A ultimately left choir but we stayed friends, and at one point I told Friend A I'm ace.

2. Friend A said, "oh you'd love my friend B, who's also ace! She's doing a comedy show, let's go see her perform together and then you can meet her!"

3. Friend B and I become friends, and start a local peer support group for aspec people, based mostly on Friend B's existing communities and our sheer determination.

4. Fast forward a year and a half, Friend C comes to our aspec peer support group and I become friends with her.

5. Friend C and I are talking about activism, and Friend C says a lot of the things I'm interested in aligns with what Friend D has talked to her about. Friend C introduces me to Friend D.

6. Independently, I have been building a community space on my street, in the rough neighborhood of where Friend C, Friend D, and I live.

7. Friend D and I want to create a solarpunk future but decide to start small. Friend D ropes in several of his friends, one of whom I happen to know from the community space mentioned in 6.

8. This group of friends runs a free store once a month in the community space, open for all to donate to and all to attend. As we find out about others who are doing/want to do similar things, we try to join forces. In this way we've expanded from just a free store to a free store + clothing swap, and we're only on our third time hosting it.

All of these friends are lefty, and all of them are queer in some way or another. The free store friends are explicitly anarchist, like me. I think OP's point is useful for deradicalization and for growing the movement, but if you are alone and you are scared, encouragement to build community is just as much about finding your people in person as it is about forming coalitions with those different in you.

Another important note is that finding people like you should be a starting point, not an ending point. The goal of this is not to find friends, though that's a good start. The goal is to build dual power, which is done by working together with others and having open doors to join the movement. Once you've found some friends or communities, work to ensure that they are open to all, that you are reaching the people who most need the work you are doing, and that you are not simply making yourself feel good or just having a good time with your friends.

Activism is not cold-calling.

Activism is not cold-calling, and this is critically important to understand.

I'm seeing a lot of posts on here about 'building bridges' and 'finding community,' and then (extremely valid) response posts saying "BUT HOW??" And I'm going to explain something that can be very counter-intuitive: there is strategy involved in community.

As a longtime volunteer labour organizer, I’ve taken and taught many trainings on the strategy of talking. Something that surprises a lot of people is the very first thing you do in a union campaign. You sit down with your organizing committee, take out pen and paper, and literally map it out. You draw a physical map of the workplace: where are the entrances, exits, break rooms, supervisor offices. Essentially, ‘where is it safe to have a union conversation.’ Then you draw another physical chart of your coworkers. You sort out who is union-friendly, openly hostile to unions, or somewhere in the middle, and then you plan out very deliberately and carefully who talks to whom and in what order.

Consider: If Vocally Leftist Jane walks up to Conservative David and says "hey what do you think about unions," David is going to shut down immediately. He's not inclined to listen to Jane. But if Jane talks to Moderate Jason and brings him into the fold, then Jason is a far more effective strategic choice to talk to David, and David may actually hear him out without an instant reaction.

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If Conservative David turns out to be Alt-Right David, and could be dangerous to follow organizers, we write him off. We are not trying to reach Alt-Right David. We are trying to reach Conservative David, who may actually be persuaded to find solidarity with other employees as fellow workers. Jason is a safe scout to find out which one he is. It does no one any good if Leftist Jane (or even Moderate Jane who is a visible minority) talks to Alt-Right David and puts herself on his radar. Not only has she done nothing to convince Alt-Right David to join a union - she's probably actively turned him against the idea - but now she's also in danger and the entire campaign is at risk. NOBODY WANTS THIS. Jane was NOT a hero for doing this. The organizing committee was foolish and enacted a terrible strategy to everyone's detriment.

Where you can make a difference is with people who will listen to you. You having a conversation with your well-meaning but clueless Centrist Democrat Auntie, and maybe gently helping her understand some things the media has been glossing over, is way more strategically useful than you marching up to MAGA Neighbour You've Met Once and trying to "build community" or "understand" them. They don't care. They're impervious, dangerous, and cruel. But maybe your beloved auntie will think about what you said, and then talk to her friend Anna who IDs as "fiscally conservative" but didn't vote because she can't bring herself to get on board with Trump. Then perhaps Anna talks to her brother Nic who has MAGA leanings but isn't all the way there yet. Proto-MAGA Nic would not have listened to you, nor would he have listened to Centrist Democrat Auntie, but he might absorb some of what his sister is saying.

This is not a cop-out or an echo chamber. This is you spending your time and energy strategically and safely. You are not a useful activist to anyone if you’re dead. Anyone who is telling you to hurl yourself directly at MAGA assholes like cannon fodder has no understanding of the strategy behind community building, and you should feel comfortable writing them off.

Last point: If you are tired, emotionally devastated, and/or in danger: take a break. This post is for people who would feel better jumping into action, not for people who are too overwhelmed to even think about it right now. You are worth so much even if you’re not actively Doing Activism, and your rest is worth more than “a break period so you can recharge and Do More Activism.” We all deserve the individual dignity of being worthy of comfort, rest & safety just on the basis of being human, outside of whatever we're doing for others' benefit. To deny ourselves that dignity is to devalue ourselves, and that’s the absolute last thing any of us should be doing right now.

[darling-child-tisarwat]

So not to get too deep but I’ve been absent lately and not working on creative shit cuz I’ve been putting that time and energy into mutual aid work. I’ve only been doing it for a couple weeks but like, IDK y’all it really is healing. Like I know the alienation and I know the theory but like, you don’t really get it until you do it.

I’ve been feeding unhoused people with my local chapter of Food Not Bombs and like, it really is as simple as getting up and deciding to help. You don’t have to have money. You can pick up food at food pantries and resource centers and simply cook food and drop it off. You can stay and serve food or do deeper work but like, you don’t need to wait for anyone to tell you it’s okay or to show you how. Just make food and start showing up and helping.

Idk like I went to costco and invested some of my own money into buying the paper plates/baby wipes, etc and there is something about seeing the concrete fact that people are eating tonight because I cooked that food and I brought them those bowls. It just makes me want to do it as much as I can, but also I have to pace myself so I don’t get burnt out or spend too much of my own money so I can continue to help.

And also we are working with a local women’s rights group that seriously just started up due to the Roe verdict and like, they are trans-inclusive (and actually have trans women and men and non-binary people in the org and in admin) and make a point to use non-gendered language in their signs and chants and flyers and put non-white members to the forefront and it’s just. We literally just decided to start doing this and now we are getting donations for abortion funds and going to start scheduling volunteers to escort patients to their abortion appointments for support.

Idk this is not to say anything about me, but more like, if you’ve been on the fence or afraid to risk yourself to help but want to, please just go once. Go once and see how it changes you. How it changes the community. One donation of food is one we wouldn’t have had before. One voice in the march is one we didn’t have before. Keep going if you can, if you are able, but you can help from home or in other ways.

Please don’t feel discouraged about the world and like it’s hopeless. I am fully realistic about it, and it’s going to get bad. So start learning now how to build those support systems. Start learning now how to protect the most vulnerable. It really does make a difference. It really is appreciated by our community members in need.

Don’t get bogged down in internet bullshit. Don’t fret over if something is worth it or if it’s politically whatever-the-fuck. Go put food in someone’s stomach. Go speak to people and ask them what they need. Work together. I swear it will make a difference and you’ll feel better too.

[maraeffect]

maybe i'm going to sound like a boomer, but hear me out. of course there are so many issues that feed into things like depression/anxiety etc. but i think a big factor for a lot of people is how far removed we are, as individuals, from our communities. at least in current times. especially in the US, there's a very individualistic mindset where it's every man for himself, and we don't interact with one another because of it.

however, part of the human condition is that we are social creatures. we have evolved in the way that we did SPECIFICALLY to build our brains for socialization. it's the reason we aren't as strong as other apes with respect to our size; we spent our energy evolving social centers in the brain. being so disconnected from the people around us is bad for the psyche. even if you don't necessarily LIKE being around people, there is still some aspect of the brain that enjoys knowing the people in our community, helping others, making sure others are taken care of, making our world a better place, etc. a lot of people miss out on these opportunities because they are raised believing that they have to need to care about others. i personally think this contributes to the unhappiness and unfulfillment so many people feel as adults.

i'm serious. if you feel bad about yourself as a person (i'm a failure/not a good person/no one likes me/etc.). just try something for me. try involving yourself in mutual aid for your community, even in tiny ways. donate old clothes/non-perishable food to a shelter or food bank. donate time or labor to a local soup kitchen, habitat for humanity, etc. shit, if you don't like people, volunteer at an animal shelter or make a small donation to a local charity. you can even just walk down the street and clean up litter. the people you affect will be SO happy. I GUARANTEE YOU, you will get at LEAST some enjoyment or sense of fulfillment from this.

the reasons humans have made it so far is because our ancestors cared for one another. we accommodated those in need. we fed and bathed our disabled and elderly. we raised children as a community. we are MEANT to be involved in our communities.

i seriously think if everyone took at least 1 day a year to help their community, we would be happier as a species. not only that, but our communities would benefit so greatly from it.

[thesociologicalcinema]

Now that Trump has declared entire US cities "Anarchist Jurisdictions," maybe it's a good time to do a quick THREAD on anarchists and anarchism. Fascists throughout history have invoked these words to spread fear & seize power, but actually anarchy is about love & cooperation.

There are lots of different types of anarchists & strains of anarchism, but at a basic level anarchists believe that arbitrary forms of hierarchy are inherently oppressive, and that humans are better off organizing ourselves horizontally rather than thru laws enforced by violence. Anarchists believe in communities making decisions together through consensus & discussion rather than having those decisions be imposed by politicians or those with instituional power (say, bosses, religious leaders, or landlords.) They believe in mutual aid and solidarity. Historically, anarchists were involved in the movement to abolish slavery in the US, resistance to fascism in Nazi Germany, & the opposition to Franco's dictatorship during the Spanish Civil War. Anarchists played a major role in many of the US labor movement's biggest victories.

Anarchists and activists influenced by anarchism also play a major role in many modern social movemets from LGBTQ liberation to climate justice to prison abolition to reproductive justice. Many anarchists run mutual aid efforts to support incarcerated ppl, feed hungry ppl, etc. As @grimkim so perfectly put it, anarchism is about "reaming of a kinder, more equitable society." It's about believing that there are better ways for humans to solve our porblems than through coercion, imprisonment, & the constant threat of going hungry. Of course, the Trump admin doesn't care about any of that. They are using the word "anarchy" to stir fear in people who think it means violence and chaos. It's beyond absurd to call cities like Portland and NYC, with their militarized police forces "Anarchist Jurisdictions."

Trump want to scare voters by saying anarchists are everywhere. The funny part is that he's right: anarchists are your neighbors, they're teaching in schools, treating patients in addiction programs, helping kids check books out of the lirbary, and cooking food for the homeless. You can agree or disagree with anarchy and anarchism, but you don't need to be scared of it. It's a movement and a philosophy that will always push to challenge arbitrary power and authority and urge critical thinking and cooperation. I'd say that's a pretty good thing. Also there are tons of folks way more qualified than me to rattle off a great history of anarchism and anarchist involvement in important social movements and victories, but I wanted to get this off my chest. If folks have suggestions for good 101 level reading etc. plz drop below.

[thelindenpapers]

Truly, this is the math that is not mathing for me.

Being upset at people voting for Trump? Completely valid.

Being upset that people won't vote?

Nahhh... I'm not here to shame or guilt about it, because there are all kinds of reasons why someone wouldn't, or flat out CAN'T, vote. I'm not your mama (and even if I were, I don't have the right to force you cause children ain't property). And to be honest? I DO hate having to vote. It's usually more theatre than anything else, it doesn't attack the source of our problems.

Being upset that someone is voting for Harris, tho.....

With all due respect, are you okay? ^^;

Like, look, I get it:

• NO, I don't want capitalism, I fucking hate it with every fibre of my being; [excises life story] it has destroyed my life. Give me the moneyless, stateless, classless, borderless, collaborative, sustainable deal that so many of our Indigenous ancestors enjoyed.

• NO, the electoral system is not going to bring about the systemic change we and the Earth need and deserve. It never will.

• NO, I do not count voting or getting other people to vote as the "organizing" that is needed in order to take the power from the oligarchs hands and put it back into the hands of communities...

Things like de-arresting and bail funds, rent and work strikes, community and guerilla gardening, food pantries and libraries of things, sabotage and direct action, protests and blockading, resisting evictions and sweeps of homeless encampments, squatting, skill shares, feeding the poor and the homeless, cop watches, etc:

Community Building.

MUTUAL AID AS LIFESTYLE.

That shit, voting ain't: 10,000%, I agree!

• YES, both candidates are fucking fascists, so NO, I don't trust either of them.... I'm not hoping people will acquiesce to choosing a "master" or leader or their best buddy or whatever. 🙄

You might notice, however, that fascists are all folk are being given to choose from. :/

However it goes: yes. It's going to be bad.

So what difficulty level do you want to organize around?

Someone who at least has to PRETEND to be reasonable and wants a ceasefire and a two-state solution (which, again, I get it: that land is Palestinian, ALL of it, it should be one-state in their favor) --

Or the guy bloviating that Israel needs to "finish the job" (of literally eradicating Palestinians and establishing a western imperial nation in the middle east where it has no businesses being...America 2.0...all while his ghouls brag and laugh about the beach-front property that they'll have control of afterwards; 😒because, as usual, it all goes back to their disgusting useless profits and capitalistic land and resource grabbing and enclosure).

Do you want to work under a high level of police brutality, as it is now? Or do you want the extreme brutality that will be arriving when that jackass gives police complete immunity?

Why are we being so allergic to people who are at least trying to give themselves even the slightest of strategic advantages here?

Especially when obtaining that very slight edge requires *checks notes* using a day to go fill out ten or so bubbles with a pen... before getting back to the real work?

[bryte-eyed-athena]

A New Earthseed Community

I used to imagine what life would be like in a dystopian society where everything has collapsed or is on the verge of collapse. This Earthseed community project has given me the opportunity to actually put some serious thought into how a community might survive in a world that has gone off the rails. However, I am going into this making a few assumptions. First, the world I am envisioning my community living in is very similar to the one depicted in Parable of the Sower. I was considering writing journal entries like Lauren did, but then I thought that was too much like fanfiction. Instead I am going to simply respond to the questions. Second, this is an established community that has already done the hard work of gathering trusted people, escaping to a safe area, and building the community. I’m trying to think about how to make this community survive, as well as thrive, long term after it has already been established. Third, the community has decided to give their settlement a name so I will refer to them as “The Dandelion Community”. Hopefully trying to envision this ideal community can help me with thinking of solutions to solve our real world problems.

Explain two real-life issues that make it necessary to create your Earthseed community. What are you seeking shelter from?

Climate change is wreaking havoc all over the world as it exacerbates natural disasters and displaces millions of people. In California the climate will get hotter and wildfires will cause more damage. Climate change also disproportionately impacts low income people of color who do not have a refuge to escape to once the environment becomes hostile. These are the groups of people that are going to be impacted the most negatively and they are the ones who require shelter and protection.

Police brutality has impacted communities of color and immigrant communities the harshest due to the influence of systemic racism and capitalism. It has created a culture of fear and violence which harms us physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is a system that must be entirely abolished in order for all marginalized people to feel safe. If it cannot be abolished then we must seek refuge in areas where the police don’t exist and have no power.

Quote two Earthseed verses from Parable of the Sower and show how you will apply them to your community. You may be creative in your interpretation.

“All successful life is Adaptable, Opportunistic, Tenacious, Interconnected, and Fecund. Understand this. Use it. Shape God.”

The Dandelion community understands that there will be numerous challenges for them to face if they want to survive. But life is not just about survival it is also about being able to live well. This verse will inspire the community to see their existence as more than just a fight for survival. It will motivate them to seek success defined in these terms. They will internalize this message and learn to be adaptable to new challenges. They will either seek opportunities or turn their dire circumstances into one. They will tenaciously fight for themselves and for their fellow members. They will feel connected with the community and other people they meet on the outside. They will also try to make sure that all their endeavors are fertile in order to produce more good to balance all the bad in the world. With this verse in their hearts they will be able to Shape God.

“Embrace diversity. Unite— Or be divided, robbed, ruled, killed By those who see you as prey. Embrace diversity Or be destroyed.”

Out of all of the Earthseed verses, this is the one that defines the human story. Centuries of conflict and horror could have been avoided if we sought to embrace diversity and unite with our fellow man. Instead, this planet has been divided and conquered over and over. The Dandelion community will refuse to be divided, robbed, ruled, or killed by any one. Their strength will be in unity and the bonds they form with each other will heal them internally. The diversity of body ability, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, faith and so on will give the community a unique advantage to respond to change. The diversity of opinion and experience would be a useful tool and not seen as a hindrance.

Explain where you will create your Earthseed community to be safe.

Safety comes from being in a defendable area surrounded by people with the skills and tools to survive. The Channel Islands National Park is a chain of four islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. It is too far away to swim to and there is enough land to support a large community if they are spread across all the islands. The Dandelion can reserve certain areas for small villages that contain homes, libraries, and facilities to create goods. The rest of the land can be used for farming sustainably as well as a training/play area for children. Once the community is able to build boats they can start to fish farther out into the ocean to provide more variety in their diets. These islands would be easy to defend since they are isolated and far away from the coast. Swimmers wouldn’t be able to get there and the community could devise ways to sabotage the waters so boats wouldn't be able to get through. The islands are also large enough that a stable and thriving community could be built there so people can live peacefully.

Who can join your community and why? Who can’t join? Why not?

Anyone can join as long as they are willing to learn skills and be ready to contribute. They are expected to be understanding of others and respectful of diversity. They also must dedicate themselves to protecting all members of the community from external threats. It is also important that they understand that joining a community means truly becoming an engaged member of the community. This means that they make the effort to be a part of people’s lives and make positive contributions no matter how small. They must want peace and understand that it takes hard work to create the conditions for peace and love to flourish.

What will your leadership model be for your community?

The Dandelion community is very mutual aid based so it is important that every member has a voice and opportunity to exercise power. There will not be a single leader since teamwork and communication are valued highly here. Instead there will be a group of around ten people who gather and discuss the problems of the community no matter how big or small. The community will also gather in weekly town halls to address any grievances or solutions they have directly to the group of leaders. During that meeting they will try to create solutions that take into account the needs and wants of the community. After a month this group of ten people will be replaced with a different set of ten people. Anyone can volunteer to be a member of the group and it's basically first come first serve. Eventually as the group rotated members monthly every person in the community who wanted to be a leader would have been a leader at least once. This way the burden of leadership is shared equally across the community. This also means that no one person can hold total power and become a tyrant. It also means that there will always be someone in charge and someone the group can defer to in order to make a final decision.

Create a future technology (one on the horizon, not something like teleportation or time travel) to help improve life at your Earthseed community.

A water filtration device will be necessary to support the community. It would be non polluting and powered by solar energy. Once water is filtered from the ocean the community members can all go and get as much as they need. There will not be a plumbing system so people will have clay jugs to transport their clean water.

A series of solar powered radios set all around the island chain will help make communication easier and faster. If an urgent warning needs to be sent out people will be able to hear it on their radio. It will also make internal communication easier so people could just ask for things without having to travel.

Long range portable telescopes will help the defenders of the island see any oncoming threats. They will also be a good educational tool for the children when they want to see the stars.

Most importantly would be a submarine that can be used to travel to the mainland safely. The island won't be able to provide for every need and there will be times where trash needs to be disposed of. A submarine with a renewable energy source would be a good way to travel and maybe explore other places that could be safe as well.

Explain/show how your Earthseed community will SURVIVE.

The Dandelion community will survive by using knowledge collected in books and by forging strong community bonds that will encourage mental health. Books on indegenous and sustainable farming practices will help the community create a replenishable food source that feeds everyone. If there are surpluses, scouts could travel to the mainland and give it away. Books about fishing and the ocean would help the community fish safely and prevent overfishing. Books on natural medicine and surviving in wilderness environments can help the community treat and prevent illnesses as well as be attentive to their surroundings. Other books on math and literature and technology can help with basic education and entertainment which will help the community feed their minds and souls. All of this knowledge will help the community become self reliant and understand the world better which will help them Shape God.

Explain/show what TWO steps your Earthseed community will make to build a better future, i.e. education, housing, conservation, farming, etc.

The Dandelion community recognizes the importance of education and that learning can happen at any point in life. All members of the community will be educated equally and on the same topics. They will learn the basics like reading, writing, and math. They will also learn survival skills, how to cook and clean, how to swim, and how to use tools and weapons. They will also learn how to be sustainable and not harm the environment. As they grow older and develop their own interest they can divert into different fields. Some may wish to become teachers, potters, weavers, fishers, farmers, writers, etc. New members that come from the mainland will also be educated in the same way and if they have certain skills then they will be asked to contribute their knowledge as well. Innovation and creativity are encouraged, but above all the survival of the whole must be put first.

Hopefully the environment of peace and love will encourage the community to want to share their resources with others. One of the reasons Lauren’s original community fell was because outsiders thought that they were rich. In reality, that wasn’t the case, but Lauren’s family was still better off than most. If the Dandelion community found a way to share their resources and beliefs with those on the mainland they would be able to create more stable communities. The best defense against criminality and violence would be to remove the factors that cause it, in this case poverty. By sharing their technology and knowledge the Dandelion community would be able to lift people out of poverty and create stable communities across the coast line. Once those communities are stable enough they would also be able to create stability even further inland. This will ensure the longevity and survival of the Dandelion community.

[anakinfuckwalker]

some of you people are performative in your socialist ideals and don't actually want to cooperate with anyone you just want to feel better about being a bitch.

example: I went to college with this REALLY communist guy. wore a silly little hat, handed out pamphlets, and preached to ANYONE within earshot, made every interaction about how horrible capitalism is.

I had a class with him about socioeconomics or whatever, we had to do a group presentation and I got paired up with him, a young woman who was busy with work, college, and her young kid, and a guy who didn't really care that much and just needed to pass for some credits.

this dude was a nightmare to work with, didn't communicate at all, tried to steer the project in his own direction, etc. he was so flaky and inconsistent that when we changed a huge core part of the project and tried to tell him because he was once again 'busy' and couldn't meet up, he had no idea and got mad at US when presentation day came and he just had something completely different to what we did and it essentially became 2 separate projects. the dude who didn't care and just wanted the grade was at least semi-helpful, presented his part, found some sources, and didn't bring anybody down. girl who was busy got a little flaky during presentation day because she had stage fright, that's fine, at least she was upfront about it and we could work around it.

communist guy got up, presented with his whole chest that capitalism causes global warming and that communism will fix it all because we will overthrow the ruling class with teamwork and mutual aid. and I'm like. buddy. you couldn't even help your classmates with a google search.

there's a lot of people around that remind me of him, they want some morality points for talking about how everyone should be able to pursue their passions and be kind and nobody should be hungry and they aren't wrong but are they actually.... doing that? if you cant help your classmates with a project can you feed the poor, house the homeless, bring healthcare to the sick?

you cannot bring a grand idea to fruition without doing simple things that include basic teamwork. stop soapboxing and do the hard work if you want to see something happen.

[bonyassfish]

I think the issue comes when people think that advocating for voting means you think voting is a cure all, or that its a substitute for other forms of political action. you can and should do other things besides voting. you can and should donate to causes you support and/or mutual aid funds, work in volunteer or harm reductions organizations, look at local community actions in your area, go to protests, sign petitions, call your reps, send letters, etc

to be honest, I don't judge people, especially those who are Palestinian, for being unable to stomach voting for Biden. I get it. but what I do judge are people who say that the parties are fundamentally the same, or that voting is useless, or worse, that voting for Biden means endorsing his policies in regards to Israel.

yes, trump would, in fact, make things worse. the small bits of pushback against Netanyahu Biden is pursuing (which of course are not enough) will not happen under trump. remember, this is the guy who 'recognized' Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the us embassy to move there. trump also signed a proclamation declaring the Golan Heights as part of Israel. trump and Netanyahu feed into each other's racism, islamophobia, and violence.

and that's not even touching on domestic policies. in particular, his policies are considerably pro-union and pro-labor. some of the things he's being blamed for, such as the reversal of roe v. wade, are not actually his fault, but a consequence of trump having been able to nominate three extremely conservative justices to the supreme court.

do I like Biden? no, not even a little bit. will I be happy to vote for him? absolutely not. do I understand why so many people, especially muslim and arab people in the us, are turning away from him? yes, I do. do I think he's a war criminal? yes, something he shares in common with pretty much every us president.

however, I also happen to live in the midwest, in a state which has swung between republicans and democrats over the last few presidential elections. I live in a state with a great deal of voter suppression courtesy of a republican congress. my choosing not to vote for Biden would, unfortunately, be a de facto vote for trump. so I will grit my teeth and vote.

I will also continue to talk about Palestine on social media. I'll continue to attend protests. I'll continue to call my representatives. I'll continue to give money to the gofundme campaigns of Gazan refugees, and to organizations doing work on the ground such as the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund. it's not one or the other, and anyone who tells your otherwise is lying.

and if you still don't want to give him your vote, like I said, I understand. but at least consider voting in state and local elections. and don't make people feel like voting is pointless, or capitulation. I promise you, if voting was pointless, there wouldn't be such a concerted effort to suppress the votes of marginalized groups, namely black and native people in the US.

There’s some common threads I see in the anti-voting posts going around, and I feel like I need to discuss some of them. Let’s start with the biggest one:

Voting to punish evil. I see lots of variations of this. Biden is supporting Israel, therefore we can’t vote for him. Is there any viable candidate who would stop the genocide? I don’t think the anti voting crowd actually cares. They are appealing to moral feelings rather than political strategy, because strategically, you have to realize that voting is not going to change foreign policy, and that change has to be pushed by other means. It’ll probably be something in the long haul.

Democrats should run someone else. First of all, this is a shit strategy. You don’t primary your president in the second term unless your party is falling apart. This may come from people from countries where replacing the head of government is easier, but the POTUS is the de facto party head. Also, going to the lack of thought to the goal — do you know someone willing to primary Biden and able to win who would do the things you want.

Biden hasn’t done anything anyway. This is just a way to bat away pro arguments. There’s plenty of lists of progress on lots of things. Student loans, insulin price caps, regulations, anti-trust.

Putting the entire Palestinian genocide on Biden. I’m not saying there’s not culpability there, but understand that the entire US government is in support of Israel, on both sides. It was a miracle we got a handful of Senators to call for investigations. We should cut off aid, absolutely. Who’s running to do that? And keep in mind that Israel chose to engage. US officials would have liked a more limited response, not out of care for Palestinians, but because they know from experience that it will come back to bite Israel in the form of newly radicalized Hamas recruits.

Liberals just have no hope for change. This is a new one. Just some idea that people are stuck in a rut and that’s the reason the two party system exists. The two party system is a mathematical consequence of the way we vote. There is reason to hope for change. The change, though, whatever means you choose, will take decades. Keep working at it. The hope is not that this election will fundamentally change things. The hope is that many small political actions over the years will push things forward.

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen a whole lot of third party promotion, just lots of this rhetoric aiming to punish. When voting, ask yourself:

Is this problem I have with this candidate something that the other candidate would be better on?

Are there other political actions I can take that will help?

What things can change with a different President or Congress, and what needs to be pursued by other means?

Withholding your vote as a punishment isn’t really going to help. Biden doesn’t know who you are or why you are not voting for him, and there is no one with a chance of winning that will do everything you want. But you have other means. Protest, organize, donate, build up alternatives, advocate for a different system.

Vote to give yourself space and get a little bit. Do other things to keep things moving.

[butyouvealwaysbeenthecaretaker]

@wild-at-mind Well that's horribly depressing.

It is. I think, though, it’s important not to be naive to it or allow it to lead us to despair. 

My perception of Labour party strategy, basically, is that they have 100% bought in to the Sensible Guardian Columnist idea that all they have to do is get rid of Corbyn and the left, and they’ll win easily.

but this political center doesn’t really exist except in their very, very small bubbles. That’s why anti-Brexit, the Lib Dems, Change UK, all did negligibly in the 2019 election. They’d very much like it to exist, they think it ought to exist.

(as well as people who are ideologically center, there’s also more cynical ideas like - members of the party infrastructure just want to keep their jobs first and foremost, rather than winning or changing anything; or, in returning to a model of being funded by business interests and trying to please newspapers, the explicit goal is to maintain a status quo in which nothing can be changed; the theory that anti-Brexit campaigning only really existed as a stick to beat Labour with, exemplified by an anti-Brexit MP whipping to support a Brexit deal the moment he’s in power.)

Like, a lot of people who are now in the Labour leadership are the same people who (in one way or another) deliberately set out to lose in the last five years; I cannot relate to a person like that, I do not believe that any politics they have could have any value.

So there’s a lot of decisions happening like:

trying to alienate the left, because the left are very childish and not realistic (but 3/4 of the current fee-paying Labour members joined under Corbyn, and he’s the only Labour leader in my lifetime to increase vote-share and capture new seats)

BAME people overwhelmingly vote for Labour, but current Labour strategy is pro-police, anti-migrant, and courting the racist vote

Young people overwhelmingly vote Labour (26% think Starmer is a better leader, compared to 56% Corbyn), but current Labour strategy has no policies for them

A lot of shenanigans at the local Labour Party community organising level, most of which are tedious but sum up to - ordinary members having less voice, votes being rigged, leadership positions being chosen by people at head office, i.e. a sort of centrally managed plan rather than an organic ground-up approach

Not supporting Trade Unions

In every case, what’s happening is the Labour party saying to their actual current members and voters: “we do not want your vote”, in the hope that they’ll sweep the board with other people. 

But its a stupid strategy because - in my lifetime, centerist Labour have successfully lost Scotland, the north of England and north Wales. There are plenty of other parties for people to vote for, including not voting at all. / Labour’s brexit policy was a major factor in them losing the election. Starmer was in charge of that policy, so his ability to read the national mood is super questionable. / A landslide of Lib Dem voters ready to swap to Labour does not exist. / And as for Tories, well, you’re never going to out-Tory the Tories.

Starmer’s Labour has completely failed to like, read the room; because they’re so fixated on the fact that the student left are the problem, they haven’t considered realistic factors like - where the electorate lives (urban vs rural), the generational divide, a billionaire controlled media, the collapse of traditional trade unions, etc, and they haven’t noticed that the student left are increasingly people in their mid 30s.

So yeah, in short - it’s really important not to be naive to this, and think “what can I do with my money and time in the next four years that gets us closer to a kinder world”, because the current leadership of the Labour party would rather have a Tory government than a Left Wing one.

Momentum just released a strategy document which is quite good, although they’re still focused on the idea of pushing Labour leftward which - isn’t a bad hope, but I think probably an overly optimistic one. If you’re interested in parliamentary stuff, that’s the place to start. I’m a fan of a good strategy document, of organisations being objective about where they are, where they need to go next.

But like, the Acorn union for example will send you to form a line of defense in front of houses where union members are going to be evicted to prevent the bailiffs getting through; the Good Law Project is taking on transphobic court rulings; British Gas and the Royal College of Nursing are preparing to strike; Uber workers have been classed as employees, not contractors, after a court case; the local food banks are feeding people, trans heathcare mutual aid funds, this excellent HJ Giles longread on trans organising outside the system, the BLM UK fund which just distributed cash among micro-causes and community groups (iirc there’s a Black group currently fundraising to do judicial challenges on deaths in custody? which is an excellent strategy); and so on. Those are all non-parliamentary movements, that are making practical change happen, and they’re all providing much more effective & principled opposition than the Labour party now and for the forseeable future.

It’s a very all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us mood. That starts with being realistic about what this iteration of the Labour party will and won’t be standing for, & finding ways to fight for the gaps ourselves. There is absolutely reason to hope.

[6stronghands]

What a terrible week. What a terrible day. They really are going to roll back Roe V Wade. They’ve set the court up for a guaranteed win. GOP are horrible and ruthless in their aim to turn states into militant Christian dictatorships. The Dems are bad at politics, bad at movement building, bad at messaging and message discipline, bad at party unity and discipline, and sold their souls a long time ago to protect corporate interests. The only thing establishment Dems know how to do is fundraise and take symbolic and empty stances and take credit for and exploit the work of millions of tireless activists. Biden is better than he used to be, because of that activist pressure and involvement, but he’s clearly not up to the challenge of holding an increasingly fractured country together in the face of multiple, compounded, escalating emergencies, tragedies, and active threats from domestic and foreign bad actors. 

Things are very bad in America and the world right now. We’re not even at the height of hurricane season. There are still people with tarps on their roofs in gulf coast states because they didn’t get adequate financial assistance from the last big storms. 

Make sure you all have as much emergency food/meds/household needs/pet food, etc supplies laid in as possible. Make sure you’ve got enough emergency water. Make sure to rotate your supplies. 

I know we’re all broke as hell, but please try to get to the dollar store or Aldies or someplace cheap and get at least a 3 day go-bag assembled and ready. 

I wish I didn’t work on climate change stuff. I wish I felt better about things. I’m very worried. 

Please remember the best way to foster healthy political resistance and to prepare for catastrophes and political unrest is through community building. It sounds trite and shallow and naive, but it literally is the very best way to keep you and your loved ones safe right now. Look for the effective movement builders in your area, make sure there’s no gatekeeping or power play nonsense, make sure it’s really dedicated to mutual support and aid and community caretaking. Stay away from people who are looking to create or foment or feed on internal group drama or groups who WANT to mix it up with the police, the people who confuse activism and peaceful protest with organized fighting, the ones who deliberately go into fraught situations looking to fight or make trouble. Make sure you check sources of everything you hear and read; original, trusted sources. Make sure you don’t act instantly on inflammatory things that you might hear. You need to realize you’re in a marathon, not a sprint. This is an endurance test. But we know we can do it because others have done it and succeeded. We can resist. We can endure. We can work hard enough and be brave enough to make it through the other side of fascism. Take care of yourself, and of each other. We’re all running on empty. We all need patience and gentleness and understanding. People are having all sorts of trauma and all sorts of burdens and stresses. We’re all angry and afraid and exhausted. Count to ten before you react to someone who offends you. Realize that LOTS of things are GOING to offend you, because all of our nerve endings have been scorched by a continual flame of preventable tragedies and horrors. Things are absolutely going to get to you, you’re going to have to discipline yourself into a kind of zen patience with people who aren’t looking to upset you, who are just broken and struggling and not having most of their needs met adequately, either. That Patton Oswalt quote from his wife, the “it’s chaos, be kind” is the best thought any of us could hope for at this wretched moment in time. For real, practice using it as a mantra for all the times people are going to aggravate or offend you in the coming weeks. 

You’re not alone. Reach out if you need to connect or vent. 

YOU’RE NOT ALONE. 

YOU’RE NOT CRAZY

THIS IS HONEST TO GOD ECOFASCISM AND REGULAR BRAND FASCISM AND CLIMATE CATASTROPHE AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION AND CIVIL WAR-LEVELS OF NEIGHBORLY DISTRUST AND DIVISION. 

IT’S REAL. 

I’M SO SORRY

REACH OUT IF YOU NEED ME. YOU’RE NOT ALONE. 

HANG IN THERE MY FRIENDS.    

[filmnoirsbian]

I agree that voting is the least we could do, but how do we start being more directly active?

Hey honey! Firstly, while i will list some sources for you to check out, i really recommend you look up "mutual aid in x area", "direct action in x area", "activism in x area", "volunteering in x area" etc. In my experience, that's the best way to find ways to directly aid and impact your local community. Below are some other broader places to start:

Volunteer with crisis text line

Mutual aid disaster relief

U.S. mutual aid hub map

Needle/syringe exchange

National harm reduction

People's harm reduction alliance

Incarcerated workers organization committee

Critical resistance org

Revolutionary abolitionist movement

Showing up for racial justice

Black lives matter

Cahoots crisis assistance

State reentry programs and assistance

The black inmates commissary fund

Donate books to prisons

Black and pink prison abolition

Prison break

Certain days: freedom for political prisoners

Anarchist black cross

National lawyers guild

National bail fund network

Copwatch

Feeding america