When I discovered #Solarpunk, I realized that there was a name for my genre of stories. (FYI: Andrewism on youtube has a good series of videos explaining Solarpunk. It's oriented around community, equity, gardens, sustainability, horizontal democratic structures.)

I write about people striving to build community. To navigate difference in a healthier way. To deal with the conflict that arises from that and how to repair after conflict. Where people work together to build a more just, more equitable, more equal, more sustainable present and future.

One of the rules I gave myself long ago was that I was never going to write a story where capitalism or imperalism existed. This proved harder than I realized, because I had to face the conditioning capitalist imperalism patriarchy had instilled within me from a young age.

I had to reflect, unlearn, read a lot, and listen to as many unique voices as I could. That unlearning is lifelong and ought to be as there is no end point truly. If I ever thought that journey was over, then I'd be lying to myself. Perfection isn't attainable, and I won't ever completely root out all conditioning and bigotry.

What is attainable then? It's being able to do what we can with the gifts/talents/skills that we have. To continue to unlearn. To realize that we do not have all the answers and do not know everything, nor ever will know it all. To unlearn and be willing to admit when wrong. To learn from our mistakes, to repair when we harm, and to always strive toward being a more just and kinder and better version of our current selves. This is a hard road to travel, but it is always worth it.

Of course, reading and listening also exposed me to so many other cultures that have built collective societies in the past and in present. It showed me so many ideas of people exploring these concepts too, and ways they thought of on how to successfully do it.

This process of unlearning and exploration ignited more of my imagination, so I could build my created world of Elivera more effectively with more depth and diversity.

I love to envision things, to explore, to lift up the voices of others - especially our most marginalized, and work together to build a community and future that is just, equitable, sustainable, loving, and consensual. If the stories or essays I write inspire others to explore too, then that's more than I could ever hope for.

So thank you for reading this longer ramble. If you'd like to chat with me about this, feel free to reply! It takes me a bit to reply due to my disability, so bear with me, as I will reply eventually. :)

Take care, stay safe, and mask up friends!

#Writing #Justice #AnarchistCollective #AntiCapitalist #Equity #CommunityBuilding #CommunityCare #Imagination #Worldbuilding

PubHubs is a new social tool for online communities to be developed by José van Dijck en Bart Jacobs on top of Matrix

https://pubhubs.net/

Do watch this to the end

#Qatar #LGBTQ #football #worldcup