1. Fascists know that many of their stances are hypocritical. They believe in do as I say, not as I do. Their supporters don’t care.

2. Fascists know that their viewpoints aren’t supported by evidence, data, science or anything objective. They don’t care, because it’s not about truth, it’s about harm. Their supporters want that harm.

3. This is not Democrats vs Republicans. This is not red states vs blue states (that’s not a real thing anyway). This is white supremacy vs everybody else.

White supremacists are destroying our democracy and endangering our lives in order to:
- gain and coalesce power
- enrich themselves financially
- kill the people they hate

Our institutions and their hidebound politesse cannot save us, because their rules require them to treat these enemies as simple colleagues with differing viewpoints.

We must be forthright and truthful, stop trying to convince them or their supporters of their error and instead, strip them of power to influence and harm.

We must also recognize that neutrality is alignment with the aggressor, so a lot of people who should nominally be “on our side” against this white supremacist, fascist destruction are not, because they cannot be moved to care, because they cannot be moved to understand what’s at stake, or because they are entrenched in self interest.

Loyalty or affiliation with these people must be shed. That includes elected democrats. That includes colleagues and friends. That includes family members.

We who are being targeted for violence — BIPOC, LGBTQIA, disabled, Jewish, Muslim — are as unsafe as we’ve been in this country in most of our lifetimes. Stochastic terrorism is already taking our health, security and lives in a slow but steady trickle of incidents almost always labeled as “unrelated.”

When I tell you that in our private spaces our conversations are grim and full of terror, you can’t even begin to imagine. People are planning for flight, or worse.

There are a lot of people who are churning out daily blogposts, substack newsletters, videos, podcasts and other “educational“ media who are largely preaching to the choir, and loading us all up with the daily list of “this is yet another way they are trying to kill people“ but without any meaningful effort to create action. People who are putting themselves physically on the line, like the forest keepers in Atlanta get no notice from this chattering class. It’s too messy for them.

But people putting themselves and their bodies on the line is the only way any of this are going to survive this.

And I mean literal survival. As in living and breathing survival.

Please subscribe to my newsletter, early access to Patreon supporters isn’t cutting it any more.

We are a decade beyond the time for words.

That was just my little pouring out of my heart, because a friend of mine was threatened by an anti-trans “protestor”today. They were out terrorizing the Children’s Hospital in St. Louis because they offer gender affirming healthcare. The “protestor” aimed their car at my friend, threatening to run him over, swerving at the last moment.

And my brave friend DANCED.

He found a reservoir of unstolen joy in his heart and used it to make his trans Jewish self more visible as a counter to the hate.

@amaditalks I appreciate you.

I’m all written out on the trying to wake people up stuff, and don’t want to contribute to the horror-sharing machine. I’ve said plenty the last fifteen years, & was in the trenches decades before that. All I can do now is write about collective action, and find ways we can help each other as things crumble.

My health no longer allows me to be in the streets. It’s hard not to give into despair these days, but as Mariame Kaba reminds us: “Hope is a discipline.”

@thorncoyle yes yes to all of this. Between my own disability and Covid I can’t do a lot of direct action any more but I can organize and I’m going to keep trying. Miriame’s guidance and friendship is a big part of why I’m alive.
@thorncoyle Hope is a discipline. Thank you for this.🙏
@annietime it’s so useful. Mariame Kaba is a gem.

@amaditalks okay, that's an interesting tactic.

Mind if I'd rather prefer an OA93 with a 20rd mag chambered in .50 Beowulf instead?

Simply becausr aposematism works.

@kkarhan no one was going to shoot someone outside of a children’s hospital that they were there to protect. Let’s engage a little common sense and sense of place.

@amaditalks shure, but if you expect people to bow before rw extremists and attackers and simply rely on the grace of those people then no.

Pacifism in this case is supporting the attackers and opressors and if anyone should be shit-scared, it's those, not the people seeking medical help.

It's like the people with AKMs before the hospital in Mogadishu: MSF would've loved to not have to pay for security but then they'd get looted for drugs and scrap metal within minutes.

@amaditalks I would love to see a world without violence.

But as of now that's sadly dellusional - espechally in the USA where rw stochastic terrorism is being rewarded with media attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3VQULyT390

How the American Media Fuels A Cycle of Violence

YouTube
@kkarhan it’s not pacifism, it’s pragmatism. If you pull out a gun in the middle of a protest outside of a children’s hospital, a whole lot of people are going to die unnecessarily and even more will be traumatized. There’s a time and place for it. That isn’t it.

@amaditalks I'm not pulling out any gun.

I'll just make shure nooe does - not even cops...

Simple #MutualDefense...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZIIpQ8hQyY

WTF is Antifa | Should You Be Afraid?

YouTube
@amaditalks
People (well, many people) don't understand what strength of heart, mind & spirit it takes for a trans person to be their true selves. Because to some extent or another, they will be threatened, or at least hassled. People just can't mind their own business, but they'd be the first to tell others to. More power (& peace) to your friend!
@amaditalks less pundits, more organizers pls!

@amaditalks That’s my big problem with it. I want to create action-oriented actions for people to take with the news.

New antitrans legislation? Let’s ALL call our state senators EVERY time. Here’s the number.

Will it always work? Maybe not but they fear organized voters.

No thinking. Just if you care about x the grassroot organizers need you to do y.

& here’s how to own issues in your state.

@Tinu I don’t think contacting electeds is meaningful any more. If they’re voting for white supremacist bills they’re not afraid of voters or anyone else.

@amaditalks some of it has helped here locally. Maybe it doesn't work elsewhere at all.

If something else works I'm going to try that too. It's one way to go out of hundreds.

@amaditalks 😢 which country? It feels like this is global. It's definitely happening here, but it looks worse elsewhere.
@syllusg I can really only speak about the US, because it’s where I live, and it’s where most of my network of people are, but trans friends in the UK can tell this exact same story.
@amaditalks I'm in Aotearoa/NZ. Mostly the targets here are Maori (indigenous people/tangata whenua) and disabled people (whaikaha), but other fascist views are leaking in from abroad. The UK and US seem to be spiralling to hell, but not sure how biased the media are.
@syllusg that’s an accurate assessment.

@amaditalks Planning on flight.

I have lived in several places in the US and abroad. Where one lives DOES MATTER in terms of individual safety for people of difference.

When I lived in #Berlin, I went and saw many of the #Nazi camps and other places of terror they developed. I visited the #JewishMuseum and other spots highlighting targeted populations and #resistance. Continuously I asked:

"How do you know when it is time to leave? How long will the place you are headed to remain safe?"

@mawrter the reality is that most of us don’t have anywhere we can go. We don’t have the financial or material resources to go anywhere. Countries that don’t recognize the stakes aren’t going to let many of us in. Disabled people are not able to emigrate to pretty much any country anywhere, even if we are fabulously wealthy. And if it comes down to a legitimate refugee situation, a lot of us aren’t going to survive at all.
@amaditalks Incredibly heart breaking.

@amaditalks @mawrter yeah, my partner and I have talked about leaving. But where to go? Fascism is on the rise pretty much everywhere, and climate change will make a lot of places unlivable before long.

My friends are here. Plus I'm chronically ill and the thought of leaving the care team I have built here and having to build another yet again makes me want to cry.

So we stay, and do what we can to support local mutual aid and efforts to shift political directions.

@amaditalks Not even a member of those groups and still scared. Fascism never stops with its first victims...