Hey everyone...
There's no denying that things suck right now. Though many of us saw it coming for a long time, it's horrifying, nonetheless. For others, this is brand new and completely terrifying. I welcome you to the good fight. Some people might struggle to accept you, especially if you voted for Trump, voted third party, or abstained from voting, but I want you here and the world needs your resistance now. We need YOU to unpack and unlearn the things that held you back so you can show up for the world, and you need to be willing to let go of old things as you learn more. I'll always point you to resources and help guide you- but no one is going to do this for you. Feel the fear and do the hard things because we need you in this fight and there's no time to waste. If you have big feelings about your past actions, talk to a friend or therapist, journal about it, and do what you need to do to process and move on.
No matter what, this moment is overwhelming. I encourage you to breathe deeply, unplug from digital media regularly, and learn something that will help protect you and others every day. The incoming regime is flooding the world with a lot of horrible things and they want to drown all resistance in the tsunami of evil they're announcing, but they won't succeed. Try not to amplify every bonkers things they say, but do try to find ACTION you can take to slow down their plans when possible. We don't yet know what all those action points are, but as the dust settles and we find those ways forward, I'll share things here and at our meetups. Please add your own resources in the comments!
When possible, get your updates via newsletters and non-social media sources. Find and listen to Black women and people in vulnerable populations. DECENTER YOURSELF, WHITE PEOPLE. Just fucking listen and do some research to find answers; don't ask others for info you can find on your own.
They're now forcing people to follow some government accounts on FB (you need to block them to stop it from happening again) and many pro-democracy terms are blocked in searches on Meta, TikTok, and of course X/Twitter. THIS IS NOT NORMAL AND WE CANNOT LET IT BECOME NORMALIZED. Keep in mind that most mainstream media sources have bent the knee to the regime and are not pro-democracy, they're focused on self preservation and profit. Consume wisely and double check sources. Don't amplify hate, and be REALLY careful about making or sharing memes that make light of the situation at hand. Humor is important to survival, but not if it's minimizing or normalizing the actual dangers we're facing. Also, remember that jokes about "Elonia" or insinuating that any of these guys are gay/trans are SUPER gross and problematic. Yeah, it would annoy them if they saw it, but they won't and you're normalizing the bullying of a marginalized community. We don't do that here and I'll be loudly calling it out where I see it.
If you're new here, I've been hosting "Open House" meetings at my place in Stevens Point; we're coming back from our holiday germ-avoidance hiatus soon. Our goal is creating community, organizing our mutual aid network, and building resistance in effective ways in our town. I usually have a pot of soup and some cookies or something, but sometimes it's more casual. There will be meetings on specific topics, queer-focused groups, mending parties, and more. If you're not local, you're still welcome to show up to learn how to organize more effectively in YOUR neighborhood and town. Connecting all of our local groups is crucial to our greater success. I'm still being cautious with new members, so expect some vetting before I just give you access to my home and our group.
My user name is 'jenbrilo' on all platforms including gmail, though I'm not very active on any of them but Facebook right now. I expect that to change as more content gets removed and suppressed- and it was already pretty bad. Most of my content right now is shared in Instagram and Facebook stories, public FB posts, and Threads reposts. I can't write at length to everyone who reaches out- which is why I started this page, but I'll get you pointed in the right direction as I'm able.
Local meetups are announced with private blog posts for supporters and you can get email notifications for those. I don't know if our FB group is going to survive the new restrictions, but if you want to join there (where I'll cross post meetups for now) YOU CAN REQUEST MEMBERSHIP HERE. I'm sharing updates from FB pages there but you're going to need notifications turned on to see posts, because the oligarchs aren't going to make it easy for us to organize against the oligarchs. I won't leave the platforms for now, but I'm limiting my time scrolling, hiding and ignoring ads, amplifying important posts with reactions and comments of 5 words or more, and pushing back against misinformation/disinformation with simple screenshots or links- NO ARGUING. I'm sure you can share some strategies for smarter social media too. **If you're not a supporter of this page yet, you can become one for $2 or more. If you need free access, reach out to me in one of the ways shared above and I'll get you in.
WHEN YOU JOIN HERE please add your name or a nickname to your account- I've got a whole list of "SOMEONE"s which is cute until I get a message or comment on a post. Trust that I'll do everything to keep you safe on my end- protect yourselves, but give us something to work with for chat!
I was going to embed these nicely in the post, but in the name of ease, here are a few resources for today.
How To Fight Fascism from a Position of Strength (2019 article)
Olga Lautman newsletter Resisting Dictatorship: Ways to Fight Back
New Means Newsletter The Nazi Regime Begins
Tangle News- Opinions from the left, right, and center so you can decide.
Stay strong, stay sane, stay safe. LFG.
Jen
