Also, how do you build revolutionary optimism in these dark times? Just asking from someone who supports optimism.
DSA has a lot of working groups that are remote and action items you can do from your computer. You should check out a local chapter and see which ones you can join.
When I was in college there was a big hike in fees as the university system started having financial problems. Naturally, students protested this. There was a general air of unrest on the campus. One day I was in Poetry class and outside the windows we could hear a lot of commotion and see a protest gathering. One of the students raised his hand and asked the professor if we could have permission to go out and join. He said “I don’t recall asking authorities for permission to protest when I was a college kid in the 1960s. You can go, or not, it’s up to you.”
You can support and affirm queer people online, and spread class and reality consciousness.
- Be informed. Read books rather than endless snippets of doom. Arendt, Orwell, Graeber, Steinbeck—there’s plenty of options. Avoid spiralling into ideological rabbit holes—reading Marxist literature is good, exclusively reading Marxist literature is deeply concerning.
- Share quality content on the open web where fascists cannot sensor speech. Focus on building communities.
- Encourage others by being kind and supportive, and understanding of differences. Inspite of popular opinion there’s still a big gap between centrists and fascists—welcome the centrists with open arms, take their points seriously, and debate on reasonable terms. You can both learn something from each other—just because you understand the contours of the system of oppression it doesn’t mean you’ve got it all figured out. Remain humble.
- Take care of yourself, if it feels heavy maybe make some tea and craft something or read a pleasent book.
That would be my advice, I guess. In general I think there’s more positivity to be found in long-form content, as people have had time to think about issues beyond the initial shock and disgust of the state of affairs expressed in daily news and short form content.
Curious, whats a “better world” to you?
Shitposting and meme-making aren’t exactly heavy lifting, but they’re not nothing. You can also run psyops posing as a conservative who’s had it. I’d hardly call it unethical since the opposition is paying people to do the same. Donations do a lot if you have the money. Convincing people to donate is almost as good. The movement can always use art. Posters, songs, whatever you can do.
As for optimism, red team has pretty much totally lost the plot. Abolishing ICE is polling higher than the president. He’s dipping into the zone where election fraud won’t be believable. ICE agents are miserable and frequently foiled. I think the long-term consequence of this is going to be a new labor movement.
Why psyops?
They’re provably easy to brainwash. May as well leave your mark.
You probably shouldn’t do that unless you’re good at it. Pushing someone without a clear direction can make them a lot worse.
Run several tor exit nodes.
Mid-point nodes are also important and are easier to run. If you aren’t familiar with the difference, start with a mid-point node.
Absolutely need more exit nodes though. They are damn important.
What?
Tor is a browser that bounces your connection through several points before heading off to it’s destination. The point of this is to destroy the ability of one to track communications back to a person. It’s heavily used in places with a censored internet or with authoritarian governments.
The mid-point and exit nodes that make this possible are run by volunteers.
Share things, build awareness. It might not be front line fighting or something but it matters.
I know plenty of local groups that appreciate volunteer support that doesn’t require leaving your house. The hard part is finding them.
You could search on social media or community/city sites, reach out to organizations that you align with and see if they need any administrative support or anything you can do from home. A lot of people need help managing emails for their orgs for example, or proof reading documents. If you believe in any local politicians or fundraising causes, you can see if they’re doing phone banks, etc.
Once you find and start working with groups where you feel like you’re making a positive impact in the world, the optimism follows.
Start with Plato’s writings about Socrates. Republic, is widely considered the best. You can listen to lectures like this old one from Professor Sergue of Princeton YT from the 1990’s. Note that the late Professor passed a few years ago, so naturally YT promotes it because it is high quality content, in medium/low resolution, and no one is likely claiming the revenue. In other words, do not feel guilty about using Pipe Pipe, and perhaps just download a copy to keep on hand. That is a rather good 3 part lecture series. This is something your local library will have in book form. If you search for “mass market paperback” with Plato, you are likely to find new books at around $5 too. These generally have more updated text than gutenberg.org, but that has several options too.
Developing a philosophical mind and independent ethos like Socrates will do much to help you develop in very useful ways, both inside and outside your bedroom.
What about socialist theory?
Antonio Gramsci is pretty relevant lately.
Do you have someone in mind, or a more generalist’s question?
Generalist’s question, I think
How do you know if you are rational? Or rather, what is rational logic?
They say, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Now that you’ve realized the pride’s arrived, we got to pump the stuff to make us tough.
