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.
And vote with our money, every day!
If you spend money on companies that support Trump, or as a non-US citizen, send money to the US at all, you indirectly support the Trumpistan regime.
Stop using Paypal, cancel Youtube subscriptions, don't pay for US AI models, stop advertising on Facebook... And call people out who do.
Maga will only understand when they feel it in their pocket.
I disagree we should "call out" people who patronize these companies. I know people who give way more of themselves to the cause than I do, and use Paypal or YouTube. I refuse to demand perfection of them.
A gentle conversation about how these companies support ICE/Trump and offers of help to find alternatives, yes. Calling out, no.
Also: a collective, well-organized boycott will be much more effective (and much more likely to appeal to these folks) than individual pressure.
Maybe "calling them out" doesn't resonate how I meant it. English is not my first language. I changed it.
Still, I do think that giving money to those companies as an anti-Trumper is a little hypocritical (if there are alternatives).
The best example are the obvious strong anti-Trumpers on Twitter who pay for a Premium account over there. That, I don't understand at all.
I associate the term "call out" with "call out culture" which often assumes ill intent of the person being called out. It often has shaming and distancing implications, as opposed to "calling in", which is an attempt to address issues privately and with care for the relationship and the person.
I totally get & agree with your broader point though
@shauna From what I have seen up to now, protesting wil not help anymore. I would now walk into my barn and, figuratively speaking, grab the pitchfork.
@shauna Yes, build it NOW, before they cut off the internet for "security reasons" and abolish elections because of some bogus war
@shauna This is a good point. At the moment, on my own, all I can think is that if this happened in my community, I wouldn't know what to do! A majority of us are not white. And we are a small community at the moment.
Absolutely terrifying. But we do have various resources. I will make sure to make those connections now, before we need them.
The thing about "making community" is that it can be way harder than it sounds. Our society is set up to isolate us and feel like we should do everything ourselves, and that we're being intrusive or needy if we try to bond with our neighbors. That said, SO many people really do want community. So while it can seem daunting at first, once you get a few balls of connection rolling you can really create something incredible.
@shauna AMERICA IS DEAD
@shauna
Well I mean of course every single state will have deportation and every single deportation mission will be met with extreme amounts of resistance and that extreme amount of resistance will result in force doctrine so I mean this is all a guaranteed thing starting with the sanctuary cities.
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
@shauna Communication is also very important.
Literally everyone should be mass-ordering SEEED Studio T1000-E, installing #meshtastic, and the more tech savvy should be putting solar nodes (SEEED and RAKwirelesa prebuilt solar nodes) as high as possible with that or #meshcore.
With an app you can communicate to aid groups and coordinate without internet or SMS
When Iran cut off the internet a week ago, >5000 civilians were murdered by government forces with no information getting 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.
we #US citizens need to immediately demand
our #Congress impeach and convict Trump asap,
or be #primaried by those who will
write/phone/email/scream outside their offices
find those candidates https://www.citizensimpeachment.com/
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Let's do #Democracy
Spread the word
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.
Another way to be politically active: go to a local immigrant-owned coffee shop and fold Know Your Rights zines with your neighbors
@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 @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
Yes, exactly! And the way you find out all the many ways you can help is by getting into community.
