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Don't give up.
11 months ago
https://youtu.be/jqrSAWAaC9s?si=ZjiRYDhJf97dXveo
I'm not usually political around here. I don't even fully agree with some of the statements made in this video, particularly involving veganism, which felt unnecessary at best and biased at worst. But to those who would be negatively impacted given the current political climate, this video has value. Most of that value is at the start. Study the policies and laws in your state. There may be more of a safety net for you than you know. There is also a chance you may find safety in specific parts of the state you live in, even if it's a state that shows up red on a map. Dallas, Texas has a reputation for being very queer-friendly, as an example. Knowledge is power, get yourself some knowledge.
The gist of the video is that getting involved with community stuff can help. And I don't mean "let's all work at a soup kitchen", I mean find a group you vibe with and go hang out with them, and be open to new folks seeking refuge in your pack. It can be a soup kitchen, it can be a gardening club, a D&D group that supports its players and isn't run by an asshole, it can even be a club that does BDSM on the weekends and watches horror movies at Dave's house once a month. As long as it's not closing itself off to new members and everyone is willing to contribute in some form, even if it's something as small as cleaning up something someone else spilled or offering to do a chore or lending your friend a $5 bill to buy a beer to take the edge off, that is enough to do some good.
Fascism lives in the mundane. It starts growing in the spaces where justice and community are absent. Don't let it grow. By having a community you stand together with, you WILL make an impact, even if you don't know it. You will make a snowball effect. We need to change the way people think, and it starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with everyone. This is the kind of societal upheaval that leads to people being more mindful and considerate, the kind of tragedy that makes people look back and say "we should have known better", but that better future only comes if we use our heads and stick together.
We've been conditioned to think a single person can't do anything, and that only a majority can make a change. That's bullshit. Every single person in a majority is just that - a single person. We need to foster bonds and form tribes, because that's what we've been literally born to do. We evolved to survive together, not alone. We evolved to help each other out, to lend our talents to the group so we can all make it, rather than just some of us. Selfishness feels bad because we literally were programmed for this through millions of years of evolution. We are not a species that banded together out of hate, we did it out of love. We have seen fossil evidence of ancient humans caring for their injured and disabled, ensuring they live far longer than they would have on their own. We care for our own.
And even outsiders aren't exempt from this evolutionary predisposition to pack-bond. We tamed wolves and made them dogs. We barely did anything and cats decided they liked our vibe enough to stick around. We used to be ENEMIES with wolves. Humans and wolves hunted a lot of the same prey, with the same methods, and we STILL managed to befriend them and become stronger together. Even now we are keeping all kinds of weird stuff in our homes like snakes and lizards and birds and spiders and rats, we are STILL taming animals, and they don't even serve a survival purpose anymore. We just like having them around. Human instinct isn't about bloodshed, it's about bonding with another creature and protecting that bond you have made.
Go outside. Go touch grass and socialize. Some of you severely underestimate the benefit of just living your life and inviting others to join. Find a safe space with people who don't justify doing harm to others by wearing a MAGA hat. If that safe space can't be found, do what you can to build one. Build a bond with that community, look out for each other. We're pack animals. Go find a pack.
I hope everyone found this helpful and I invite discussion. Suggestions, questions, comments, concerns, whatever! Go for it! Let's talk. Put the "commune" in "community".
I'm not usually political around here. I don't even fully agree with some of the statements made in this video, particularly involving veganism, which felt unnecessary at best and biased at worst. But to those who would be negatively impacted given the current political climate, this video has value. Most of that value is at the start. Study the policies and laws in your state. There may be more of a safety net for you than you know. There is also a chance you may find safety in specific parts of the state you live in, even if it's a state that shows up red on a map. Dallas, Texas has a reputation for being very queer-friendly, as an example. Knowledge is power, get yourself some knowledge.
The gist of the video is that getting involved with community stuff can help. And I don't mean "let's all work at a soup kitchen", I mean find a group you vibe with and go hang out with them, and be open to new folks seeking refuge in your pack. It can be a soup kitchen, it can be a gardening club, a D&D group that supports its players and isn't run by an asshole, it can even be a club that does BDSM on the weekends and watches horror movies at Dave's house once a month. As long as it's not closing itself off to new members and everyone is willing to contribute in some form, even if it's something as small as cleaning up something someone else spilled or offering to do a chore or lending your friend a $5 bill to buy a beer to take the edge off, that is enough to do some good.
Fascism lives in the mundane. It starts growing in the spaces where justice and community are absent. Don't let it grow. By having a community you stand together with, you WILL make an impact, even if you don't know it. You will make a snowball effect. We need to change the way people think, and it starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with everyone. This is the kind of societal upheaval that leads to people being more mindful and considerate, the kind of tragedy that makes people look back and say "we should have known better", but that better future only comes if we use our heads and stick together.
We've been conditioned to think a single person can't do anything, and that only a majority can make a change. That's bullshit. Every single person in a majority is just that - a single person. We need to foster bonds and form tribes, because that's what we've been literally born to do. We evolved to survive together, not alone. We evolved to help each other out, to lend our talents to the group so we can all make it, rather than just some of us. Selfishness feels bad because we literally were programmed for this through millions of years of evolution. We are not a species that banded together out of hate, we did it out of love. We have seen fossil evidence of ancient humans caring for their injured and disabled, ensuring they live far longer than they would have on their own. We care for our own.
And even outsiders aren't exempt from this evolutionary predisposition to pack-bond. We tamed wolves and made them dogs. We barely did anything and cats decided they liked our vibe enough to stick around. We used to be ENEMIES with wolves. Humans and wolves hunted a lot of the same prey, with the same methods, and we STILL managed to befriend them and become stronger together. Even now we are keeping all kinds of weird stuff in our homes like snakes and lizards and birds and spiders and rats, we are STILL taming animals, and they don't even serve a survival purpose anymore. We just like having them around. Human instinct isn't about bloodshed, it's about bonding with another creature and protecting that bond you have made.
Go outside. Go touch grass and socialize. Some of you severely underestimate the benefit of just living your life and inviting others to join. Find a safe space with people who don't justify doing harm to others by wearing a MAGA hat. If that safe space can't be found, do what you can to build one. Build a bond with that community, look out for each other. We're pack animals. Go find a pack.
I hope everyone found this helpful and I invite discussion. Suggestions, questions, comments, concerns, whatever! Go for it! Let's talk. Put the "commune" in "community".
Seriously though thanks for not just being an angry person. We can work through this there are things we can do and sometimes it's as simple as talking to people and being like hey I am also a person. We need to change the world from an us vrs them world into a people are also like this world and do more understanding and less bashing over the head. We can make the world brighter. All hate does is make more hate. Through understanding we can relate. From there we can unite.
We can choose to make the world better. Here's to a brighter future.
Any and all skills you possess can become invaluable to whatever tribe you're a part of. Know how to sew a button? Amazing! Do you have even a passing knowledge of how to grow a potato in your yard? Outstanding! Do you have resources you can bare to part with or share with your community? Well, what are you waiting for? Put it to use!
if you know martial arts, if you know anything about cyber security, if you know how to make a homemade lighter so you and your mates can smoke the fattest blunt you've ever seen, AWESOME! Now share that skill and, if possible, that knowledge, with your tribe!