there’s this very american idea that everything we do to fight facism must be “productive” and “results-driven” in order for it to be meaningful as if the act of calling out injustice is not worthwhile on its own.
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Joy, song, art are profound, powerful, and world shaping.
Sing, paint, cry out the world that we want.
The world we make together.
Together, be the Lathes of our collective freedom.
Be the Ainur singing our world into being.
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape "
I’m not a revolutionary, I have a job and a family to raise and I don’t want to see my kids fighting a civil war or invading other countries to satisfy billionaire cravings. I haven’t shopped the stores that cancelled DEI. I write to my MOC on the issues I care about. Might go to a weekend protest.
Agree. First protest I ever attended was the 2017 DC women’s march, and was not my last. Sad the coalition that was built during the 45 could be so effectively splintered & divided during the 46. But alas. Democracy is like housecleaning it requires daily work.
We did this last week. At very little cost and risk to ourselves (once I got down off the ladder). But it changes the complexion of the neighborhood in the right direction. It’s not a punch to a nazi’s nose but a positive symbol that seemed appropriate.
I very much appreciate your reporting! You seem to get the scoops and I feel like I am much informed as to what is going on. Keep your head up, ignore the doom and gloom posts and stay safe!!
Many acts will be ultimately meaningless, grand gestures. Many will go unseen. Many people have died committing these little acts throughout history in opposition to this movement. They all matter and few will be recognized.
I've been enjoying slapping anti-musk stickers on dumpsters & utility poles while I'm running errands. Capitalism means I don't have a lot of free time, but at least I can show my fellow lefties there's some solidarity in this purple place.
I get the impression that some people want fascism to be defeated by Christmas, not realising - or more likely, not *wanting* to realise - that it's always ongoing.
Sometimes resistance for resistance sake is all one can do, even if it doesn't have any tangible or material benefits. There's a lot of lessons we can learn from Holocaust victims and I think this one has flown under the radar until recently.
Yes! If we don’t speak the truth about injustice, we won’t know others see what’s happening. We need each other to help us stay grounded in the truth and we need to know others see it with us to keep us sane.
So true -- it's like we can't help but sign up yet again to be a cog in the American Dream machine. Even "calling out" doesn't have to have a specific agreed-on form. I can call out fascism in a dozen private 1 on 1 conversations that percolate and spread or morph to other forms of calling out.
Well, I'm going to my 5th protest of this regime Saturday and I'm trying to set up 1 hour per week protests at varying busy intersections. Our signs educate people who aren't paying attention about what is happening with this fascist oligarchy.
People who call protests “virtue signaling” are just revealing that they can’t conceive of action based on doing the right thing. You couldn’t waterboard that out of me, but they are announcing it. 🤷🏼♀️
Agreed. It’s why Dems rubber stamping every cabinet pick is infuriating. Make the republicans fight for every one of their own votes. They can only absorb so many defections. Make every bit of work difficult. Be an actual obstructionist party FFS
We all have different ways to handle this. I share volunteer links for special election candidates because I think letter/post card writing makes **me**feel better, so I am guilty of this "productivity" thing towards myself. BUT I also don't judge anyone else's way. We just have survive this regime.
Economies can be destroyed by vibes only. This is information warfare. Use your voice. It's more powerful than you think. Tesla can be destroyed with perception alone.
I was listening to Fox News last night and it's not only that: all they were talking about was marketing, ads, getting clicked and shares. Virality is their entire strategy (which seems to be working...so far)
Physics is a stubborn thing. Every action has an equal, but opposite reaction. Sometimes the reaction can be greater, depending on how many and how far they piss people off.
We often struggle with this about government itself. Much of what it does is preventative, so success is “nothing bad happens” or some long-term benefit. For people who think in terms of simple productivity and nothing else, it feels inefficient
Revolutions can be effective with the words we use & how they have the power to activate & motivate others
Revolutions are about us showing up with the small gestures like simply kneeling or carrying a sign
& like a seed planted, it takes more than a minute to manifest its full potential
👍
They also expect immediate results
That's y they think organizing isn't a serious solution
It took years for the tea party to develop & turn into maga & co opt the gop
This isn't a movie. There is no hero, no immediate or easy fix
They insult n sabotage anyone trying to do the work
They lack vision
Gotta break from the capitalist mindset. Considering it's been drilled into our brains since you've childhood it may take time. That's why it's important to continue to point out that n@zi punching doesn't have to be "productive" thru talk and action.
The news protests against the kidnapping of Khalil and the Tesla Takedown show we need to do as much as we can in real life in person. Helps if it's NYC or DC. Deep blue cities are where the media is.
Protest, make noise, post flags and signs, make art, wear the merch, stickers on cars. Sing!
More generally, one irony of capitalism is likely that most people don’t contribute or participate bc they feel inadequate to the task. Alas, not as much engagement, competition, diversity of output. Scarcity mindset.
Even the small things matter, resistance to fascism is done every day by exercising our freedom to express ourself and defending the right of expression of the other, even of the enemy. Only intolerable exception to this freedom is anything that aims to restrict the freedom of others
The Protestant (or Calvinist) Work Ethic poisons everything.
Plenty love the bible verse "Those that do not work shall not eat" and ignore the following verses that identifies "those" as people who are going about interrupting, gossiping, turning people against each other and preventing progress.
Capitalist brain rot. People don’t have a sense of worth outside of “results” bc that’s what they’ve been conditioned to believe. Our entire societal structure rewards monetary value for “productivity” & it’s corroded folks understanding of why we exist in the first place lol.
absolutely. Americans have become mentally codependent on the system that cripples them. because of that, it’s easier for them to imagine the end of the world rather than the end of capitalism
Calling it out is essential, but it can’t be all we do. That’s been my issue with certain elected Dems they have made a habit of calling things out but then not taking action. Both are essential in this fight.
It's certainly fair to expect our elected officials to be more engaged than the average worker. It's literally their job. If they won't fight for us, then we need to let them know we've noticed that, and are willing to elect people who will.
People miss ways that things are productive as well. Protests make people feel less alone and crazy for caring about what they're seeing. That's a big deal!
I didn't reply earlier, I reposted, but just wanted to say that I think this is the most important observation regarding the protests and the mental state of Americans right now. More attentions should be paid to it.
Thank you. I first noticed this during our 2003 Iraq invasion, how comforting it was to see thousands of other Portlanders were not all in favor, as the mainstream media was claiming.
Good to hear. It seems Portland will always be a special place for "feedback" to the government. It seems it has good leadership there among the people, and a very strong moral character. ❤️ I wish there were more Portlands, although I'm optimistic we'll see them soon.
I feel like the lazy Dems buy into this theory that since they have no real power, why go on offense against Trump/Elno/DOGE when they can sit back and let them drown.
I dunno. My father was one of a few million men whose fight against fascism was more destructive ... not that I recommend it, cuz he got shot at a *lot*. It was results-driven, however.
It's right up there with letting powerful men who get caught breaking the law to resign their powerful position but not actually get charged with a crime.
Yep. This Sunday, I'm going to stand on a street corner in my little red town in Florida and hold a protest sign against DOGE. Will it change A LOT? Probably not. But we need to normalize speaking up against fascism, even if we're alone.
Take one friend. I was very nearly assaulted in front of a Tesla because I arrived to the protest early. I was glad to have one witness with me and now I will carry bear spray.
Thanks for the heads up. At our protest in Delray last Saturday, a massive truck with four HUGE trump and trump-adjacent flags stopped on the highway to yell at us. They were immediately stopped by police and warned, so that's something. One of the flags said "Conspiracy Theorist is my pronoun" 🤡😂
For the land that genuinely celebrates the punching of Nazis it is weird for us to be hemming and hawing over selecting the right tool from the toolbox.
We gave shelter to a bunch of Nazis after WWII but we turned away a ship full of Jews fleeing Europe. Our celebration of punching Nazis has always been a veneer.
But wouldn’t Reese’s seasonal egg shaped candies do that too? They are objectively the perfect candy. The trees are fine. The egg shape is better. Reese’s are the best candy. I’ll fite over it
Comments
Sing, paint, cry out the world that we want.
The world we make together.
Together, be the Lathes of our collective freedom.
Be the Ainur singing our world into being.
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape "
First of all, how do you know? They won't care if nobody is saying anything!
Second, so what? Not every action needs to be maximally tailored to optimize a David Shor graph of polling issues!
Third, it's just good to say the things we believe are true?
Promote empathy now by act and metaphor and injustice will call itself out.
I go through your posts every day to find issues I’ve overlooked when preparing updates for my boss, a state legislator.
I’m sure I’m not the only staffer doing that.
It has been the back handed complaint of those who'd rather operate in secret with for as long as presses have been printing.
Bringing information to light is the first action that precipitates further action.
Revolutions are about us showing up with the small gestures like simply kneeling or carrying a sign
& like a seed planted, it takes more than a minute to manifest its full potential
👍
That's y they think organizing isn't a serious solution
It took years for the tea party to develop & turn into maga & co opt the gop
This isn't a movie. There is no hero, no immediate or easy fix
They insult n sabotage anyone trying to do the work
They lack vision
Protest, make noise, post flags and signs, make art, wear the merch, stickers on cars. Sing!
I fight this in myself constantly.
Plenty love the bible verse "Those that do not work shall not eat" and ignore the following verses that identifies "those" as people who are going about interrupting, gossiping, turning people against each other and preventing progress.
https://wri-irg.org/en/resources/2008/gene-sharps-198-methods-nonviolent-action
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:znqriibwczzauntoi3ggbplj/post/3lk4hszmhzk2m
Sometimes the gesture of saying something is wrong is the first step in motivating action to stop it.
Did that end fascism? No. Not yet anyway