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so often i see folks in left-of-center spaces internalize the idea that they're "just a little guy." they make being the permanent opposition a core part of their self-image, and in their obsession with performing that opposition, they completely lose sight of the fact that the point of opposing the existing institutions and those who defend them is to replace them with our own institutions - ones that we will then be responsible for defending.
no matter what your domain of interest is - media, academia, politics, technology, journalism, culture, or whatever else - it's simply not enough to spend all your time critiquing the dominant institutions, and it's also probably not necessary; most people already agree that they're shit. instead, you need to be spending that time and effort imagining what your alternative is going to look like, and how to make it more compelling, more durable, and more just than what we already have.
Dec 11, 2024
Related Recs
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We love looking backwards to try to get in touch with ourselves, our history, traditional ways of doing things. I think this is a noble pursuit but the pace of cycling through eras in the trend cycle for example has grown increasingly rapid to the point that it feels like we’re endlessly regurgitating everything all at once, without context.
Rediscovering the past can look like going back to pre-industrial ways of living which is a beautiful thing to strive toward. In a lot of ways, we’ve also abandoned a lot of traditional ways of doing things in favor of methods that are easier, faster, and simpler, not necessarily better.
On the other hand, one of the three essential elements to fascism identified by Jason Stanley is invoking a mythic past to manufacture nostalgia for a more traditional, patriarchal, and racially pure past, which is I think what we’re seeing with a lot of people who romanticize 1950s Americana as some kind of utopian traditional society.
Carl Sagan said:
“In general, human societies are not innovative. They are hierarchical and ritualistic. Suggestions for change are greeted with suspicion: they imply an unpleasant future variation in ritual and hierarchy: an exchange of one set of rituals for another, or perhaps for a less structured society with fewer rituals. And yet there are times when societies must change.”
“As a consequence of the enormous social and technological changes of the last few centuries, the world is not working well. We do not live in traditional and static societies. But our government, in resisting change, act as if we did. Unless we destroy ourselves utterly, the future belongs to those societies that, while not ignoring the reptilian and mammalian parts of our being, enable the characteristically human components of our nature to flourish; to those societies that encourage diversity rather than conformity; to those societies willing to invest resources in a variety of social, political, economic and cultural experiments, and prepared to sacrifice short-term advantage for long-term benefit; to those societies that treat new ideas as delicate, fragile and immensely valuable pathways to the future.”
So I think we need forward-thinking transformational change, though it may not be as comfortable as nostalgia…
Jan 15, 2025
☃️
Your community doesn’t have an activist collective?
START ONE!
You’re not sure what role you’d fill in liberation work?
FIND ONE!
You feel disconnected to the struggles and injustices in your community?
GET INVOLVED!
because it feels good
because it fosters connection
because it allows you to use any power or privilege you hold
and lend it to those who need it most
because when you don't utilize your privilege
it rots inside of you like a poisonous bile
and everyone can smell it
BECAUSE THE FIGHT IS WORTH IT
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE WORTH IT
BECAUSE YOU’VE GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO
BECAUSE YOU’VE GOT A MILLION THINGS TO DO
because only you can provide to the cause
in that specific way that you can
and to anyone who is leaving themself out
and forcing the rest of us to miss out on your skills and gifts
that only you can provide
COMMUNITY is the only way out of Imperialism
and you hold more POWER than they will let you know of
<3
Dec 23, 2023
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as someone who works adjacent to higher ed i often think about this. but i also always recall this toni morrison quote:
“I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”
as someone who wants my career to be rooted in my ethics, i def have a very “be the change you want to see in the world” sort of outlook. it may be a bit corny but it def helps me navigate all these opposing issues alongside my personal beliefs. i think the “no ethical consumption under capitalism” idea is often be used by others to be dismissive of working toward change, but i also think, in your case, this phrase applies.
May 18, 2024
Top Recs from @dotmatrices
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spent the last two weeks working on an interactive guide, recommendations database, and digital library (link depot) to help get people off of social media. the first draft is done now, and it's at the link to this post.
it's still very much a work in progress (the library is especially thin atm) - which is why i wanted to share it here before unleashing it upon my IRL friends and the general public. i welcome any and all feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for things to add. i will be pushing updates to it out like a madman in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back every so often to see new additions to the database and library.
additionally, i am still on the hunt for newsletters from local venues / community organizations / magazines / newspapers, etc. the only cities i have remotely covered so far are nyc, orlando, denver, brisbane, and little bits of worcester and chicago. if you know anything in your area that fits the bill, send it my way!
Jan 27, 2025
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it is your civic duty to mercilessly mock generative ai users as much as possible
Jan 18, 2025
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it’s so bad that discourse about it being bad is kind of played out now but it bears repeating how fucking bad it is
Sep 17, 2024