Well.
Watching Democracy Now every night has turned into torture.
I am considering a news fast.
Or what i would actually prefer is to get news from the resistance, from people organizing horizontally or disrupting the system. And an anarchist comedian maybe.
Any ideas?
The resistance starts with taking care of each other.
"Together with others, we can use our solidarity to build the resistance, and refuse to cooperate with repression. Timothy Snyder, expert on the rise of fascism and authoritarianism, says “Do not obey in advance”. It's easy to be intimidated by the sheer force of power-over, but when we resist, we often find that power is not as absolute as it appears. There are many ways we can slow the onslaught."
~ Starhawk
"We will not submit to the norms or edicts of the fascists who would rule us, but we must be thoughtful, strategic, & calculating in our actions–including bold actions. We will protest. We will create spaces where we can recommit to our values, to each other, & to the causes that unite us. We will fight for each other & for the future. We will do these things together in the hopes of saving lives, emptying cages, & transforming our world."
https://organizingmythoughts.org/collective-survival-adaption-and-direct-action
Indeed, let's just get started, in small groups, not intimidated by the huge task at hand. Because as Vicky says:
"And as we enter a period of more and more open repression, a big organization with large visible meetings and structure is much more vulnerable to repression by the state, infiltration by the far right, or cooptation by bad actors and scammers, who are increasingly common in this crumbling society."
In winter 2015/2016, as folks prepared to face whatever was coming from the first Trump administration, a call went out across social media to "join an organization". Once moribund groups that had barely survived from the 70s were suddenly full of excited young organizers ready to push back against
"By focusing on mutual aid, small-scale organizing, and the quiet cultivation of democratic values, anti-authoritarian groups can build a foundation for long-term change without putting themselves or their communities in unnecessary danger. Resistance in these contexts isn’t about dramatic gestures—it’s about survival, resilience, persistence, and the joy of building with others and creating deep connections."
~ Scot Nakagawa
https://antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/p/recommendations-for-anti-authoritarian
Dive into the rage, to access the grief.
"I worry, though, that before some disaster wipes us out, my rage will kill me first. At 68, I’m not sure my body can withstand another four years of the anxiety, stress, & sleep deprivation like I experienced during Trump’s first term. Just hearing his voice makes my head pound [...] Wishing his supporters a slow painful death will have no effect on them and will only raise my blood pressure."
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/my-rage-against-trump-supporters-is-killing-me/
Interview with Sophie Lewis on the #transphobia of #4B as well as its #hyperindividualism and fatalism.
"It's also very concerning to me that the romanticized version of 4B that many Western feminists seem to have in mind is not paying attention to the ample evidence of queerphobic, transphobic, and homophobic flavors in the various message boards that represent 4B in South Korea."
https://tracyclarkflory.substack.com/p/a-feminist-utopianism
"All of us would probably rather be doing something other than scrambling to prevent fascism from taking hold. We need to find ways to keep this work interesting to us and to everyone else who will have to do it—ways to keep our spirits up and to develop the kind of character that will sustain us through periods of hardship.
Try to organize a concrete victory early on, however small."
The back cover illustration of the album Friendly Fa$cism by Consolidated.
https://voidstarproductions.bandcamp.com/track/friendly-fascism-2
from the album A Message To The People: A Tribute To CONSOLIDATED!
"Right now, it is essential to remember what it has been like to get to change your name, your pronoun, your presentation and have that choice respected, or at least met with something other than open contempt - god, we ask for so damn little. It is vital that we inscribe the feeling of being able to make and remake our bodies, to unbuckle the straitjacket of binary gender."
~ Laurie Penny
https://lauriepenny.substack.com/p/on-transphobia-memory-and-mourning
"Make art and display it in public. Draw, paint, or write a colorful sign about your dreams, your hopes for a better world, or to celebrate something that you love about this one. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think of yourself as an artsy type. If you can, get together with others to do this; share art materials, space, and ideas. Wheat paste your finished work in public—somewhere you and others will see it when going about your daily lives."
https://itsgoingdown.org/dont-just-do-nothing-20-things-you-can-do-to-counter-fascism/
Jewish anarchists weigh-in on how people can organize and act in the changing terrain. For a zine PDF, go here. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. —Pirkei Avot (2:21) As Christofascism takes the reins of US power, thereby impacting the whole of this continent...
People are writing and publishing all these lists of how-to deal with #Trump #fascism in the so-called "US".
These lists can be helpful. But they are also such mature and measured responses. Still going high when they go low. 🤮
But please don't forget the rage, in all it's irrationality and power.
Rage will set us free.
To mourn.
"For those of us in the surplus class—this isn’t just a policy shift. It’s also a call to action. As the state doubles down on eugenicist policies that treat us as disposable, we must build solidarity-based alternatives to help each other survive. As the incoming administration dusts off its old playbook [...] it’s clear that the next four years will not only deepen existing harms but accelerate them."
~ Beatrice Adler-Bolton
https://blindarchive.substack.com/p/the-second-trump-administration-medicaid
"The state is not a benevolent entity that will save us out of the goodness of its heart—it is not an empathetic being but a system designed to chew up the vulnerable and spit us out. And if we are to survive the coming onslaught of the state’s war on the poor, we need to build the power we need together, outside of state structures, to sustain our survival and work towards liberation."
~ ibid
Let's start!? What is everyone still waiting for?!
The mentioned podcast:
"Beatrice and Artie discuss the impact that some of Trump's most recent picks to lead major federal agencies will have on the state of welfare programs and healthcare in the US, and why the whole slate of names should be raising as much alarm as Trump's pick of RFK."
Beatrice and Artie discuss the impact that some of Trump's most recent picks to lead major federal agencies will have on the state of welfare programs and healthcare in the US, and why the whole slate
"My country is run by criminals, but that criminality is seen as completely different than a black kid on the corner who might buy, sell marijuana. The black kid is in prison for years, while criminals are elected and make millions of dollars and sell electric cars."
~ Ava DuVernay
"Once Trump takes power, it will only become more challenging to make connections with our neighbors, create the networks that we will need to face down his assaults, and share the skills we will need to survive his reign. Right now, we have a precious window of time in which to prepare. Let’s make the most of it."
@porrporr Klar. Aber war nicht der Punkt.
Obama war vielleicht doch der Anfangspunkt. Sich wegen einem schwarzen Präsidenten zu rächen, bleibt eine treibende Kraft in seiner Basis.
It Could Happen Here started as an exploration of the possibility of a new civil war. Now a daily show, it's evolved into a chronicle of collapse as it happens, and an exploration of how we might build a better future. Every day Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, and James Stout take you on a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world and towards a better one that lays just on the horizon.
In search of new forms of life amidst a civilization in collapse. Hard-hitting analysis, discussion, and interviews on grassroots revolt and autonomous social movements across so-called North America from an anarchist perspective. Looking to come on the show? Contact us here.
Robert Evans was a writer for Cracked back in the day, very funny guy and so are a lot of the others on that team, which definitely helps. He also does the Behind the Bastards podcast which is very good and educational.
Margaret Killjoy also has a podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, which can be a nice thing to balance the icky things.
I used to be a big regular of PBS, NPR, dailykos, democracy now etc etc but so much of that stuff is just too gaslighty these days, I can't take it. The anarchist groups are so much more clear-headed and even when the stuff they're acknowledging is totally horrifying at least it's honest and then they talk about real solutions and actions we can take and podcasts like this are a big part of how I keep my skull on lately.
Anti. 🐘
porrporr
Blue
Violet Madder