What's happening in Minnesota is an escalation of things that have happened in other cities - Chicago, Portland, LA, DC. It could be coming to your city next.
I don't say that to scare you. But it might be good to ask yourself:
If this was happening in my neighborhood, who would I reach out to? How would I take action? Who would I trust?
Start building those connections now. If you already have some, strengthen them.
Connect to existing communities and organizations - churches, mutual aid groups, activist groups. Follow networks of trust. Who have you seen showing up before? Who acts in ways you admire?
There are so many ways to help if you find the right groups to plug in with. Some examples from my neighborhood:
- going on neighborhood strolls in at risk areas
- food, diaper, etc distribution
- grabbing food or drink at a restsurants suffering because they serve immigrant clientele who can't come out
More examples:
- taking (and maybe eventually teaching!) skill based trainings. Legal observer training. Street medic training. Protest martial training. De escalation training. Digital security training.
- learn how to make protest art. Banners, costumes.
- look around at the places you're most connected to. Church, work, hobby. Start talking to the people there, ask "what are we going to do about this"
But most importantly... find your people. Find community.
It's not about any one skill or any one action. It's not about any one protest or march. It's about building the relationships - the trust, the resilience, the capacity - to fight back against fascism.
They're focused on Minnesota now and we should do whatever we can to support the communities there - but we should also think about how we can prepare our own communities.
@shauna @quietbrooke Exactly, and there's always more work to do and more ways to contribute than you think. For example just today I saw this article about pets who need fostering because their owners are kidnapped by immigration authorities:
https://mstdn.social/@MaryAustinBooks/115952219523950499
https://www.thebondbetween.org/
I have done pet fostering before and I legit never even thought about this as a way to support people facing authoritarianism. But even this really mundane thing which you may think of as just an ordinary skill, is needed now. And there's a million other things like that
I've posted information to donate to various groups on the ground helping people in #Minneapolis as they seek to defend their neighbors. There are also groups helping pets whose owners were kidnapped. They need foster volunteers and donations for dogs and cats whose owners were detained. The Bond Between is one Minneapolis shelter helping these animals. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/the-bond-between-minnesota-pet-rescue-ice-detainees/ #Minnesota #dogs #cats #ice #fuckICE #ICEout #DHS
Yes, exactly! And the way you find out all the many ways you can help is by getting into community.
@shauna also don't forget, everyone needs shortwave radios to communicate with loved ones if calling doesn't work, or to communicate with neighbors while sheltering-in-place.
Walkie talkies, Baofeng UV-5Rs, etc...
Just whatever you can get to not be left alone without any idea of what is happening in your community you build.
Shauna GM
QuietBrooke ๐ณ๏ธโโง๏ธ
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