#Activism

64 posts44 participants1 post today

Longreads"People needed housing first to stabilize, then to begin rebuilding their lives. But the spreadsheet made painfully clear that any promise of affordability was a cruel fiction."For n+1, Chelsea Kirk writes about disaster capitalism and the power of collective action: <a href="https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/diary-of-a-spreadsheet" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/diary-of-a-spreadsheet</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Longreads" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Longreads</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Essay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Essay</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/LosAngeles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LosAngeles</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Organizing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Organizing</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/TenantRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TenantRights</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Housing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Housing</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Greed" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Greed</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/RealEstate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RealEstate</a>

Attractive NuisanceJust heard about this demo on Saturday in <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/London" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#London</a> for <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/TransRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TransRights</a>. I'm discouraged by the Labour activists involved, like their Government isn't fully supporting the <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/SupremeCourt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SupremeCourt</a> ruling, but it's better than no demo.<a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/trans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#trans</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/lgbt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#lgbt</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#activism</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/ukpol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ukpol</a>

LM Little<a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Reading" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Reading</a> How Beautiful We Were, a beautifully told story of <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#activism</a> and cultural and community connections along with the ugliness of <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/environmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#environmentalRacism</a> and <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/corporateGreed" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#corporateGreed</a> of <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BigOil" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BigOil</a> and complicity of governments in the death of people and the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#environment</a>. <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#books</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a>

StanceOfMindHow to Call Congress—When the Phone Isn’t an OptionProxy calling gives some disabled people a better way to flood Capitol Hill phone lines.<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/proxy-calling-congress-representatives-phone-disability/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/proxy-calling-congress-representatives-phone-disability/</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Politics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Politics</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Congress" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Congress</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/DisabilityRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DisabilityRights</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Disability" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Disability</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Accessibility" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Accessibility</a> <a href="https://tech.lgbt/tags/Advocacy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Advocacy</a>

Elena Rossini ⁂🚀 New on <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TheFutureIsFederated" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TheFutureIsFederated</a> 👩‍🚀"This is what resistance to the digital coup looks like"<a href="https://news.elenarossini.com/this-is-what-resistance-to-the-digital-coup-looks-like/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://news.elenarossini.com/this-is-what-resistance-to-the-digital-coup-looks-like/</a>mentioning <a href="https://indieweb.social/@jaredwhite" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@jaredwhite</a> <a href="https://me.dm/@anildash" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@anildash</a> <a href="https://threads.net/@ghost/" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ghost</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseynewton" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@caseynewton</a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@molly0xfff</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@404mediaco" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@404mediaco</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@Daojoan" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Daojoan</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@theindex" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@theindex</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@dangillmor" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@dangillmor</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@ryanbroderick" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ryanbroderick</a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/@micahflee" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@micahflee</a> <a href="https://chaos.social/@melaniebartos" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@melaniebartos</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@kleisli" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@kleisli</a> I'd love to hear what you think about <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/AdoptAWriter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AdoptAWriter</a> ✨ <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/tech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tech</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Fediverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Fediverse</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#activism</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BigTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BigTech</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SocialMedia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SocialMedia</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/FOSS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FOSS</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/FLOSS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FLOSS</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/blog" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#blog</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/resistance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#resistance</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SaveSocial" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SaveSocial</a>

SapiI just found out that one of my favourite grassroots activists support funds found its way to mastodon: Het Actiefonds.Based in the Netherlands they unbureaucratically support brave (informal) initiatives all over the globe that otherwise often have trouble finding funds.Welcome <a href="https://mastodon.social/@hetactiefonds" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@hetactiefonds</a> Leuk dat je er bent, nice to have you here!<a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/neuhier" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#neuhier</a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#activism</a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/humanrights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#humanrights</a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/grassroots" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#grassroots</a>

TheBirdI write this truth so all may understand the reality of Disability.Disability is the one category, the one group, the one community that anyone can join at any time in their life for any reason. Disability is defined by people.People can be born disabled. People may become disabled due to an infinite set of possible factors: Illness, injuries, accidents, disasters, work, play, and so on. Disability is inclusive by default. People are of any skin color, any gender, any sexuality, any class, any nationality, any ethnicity, any religion, any disease, any illness.Because anyone can enter into disability, it is inherently intersectional. All Disabled people have multiple identities that describe them and inform how they navigate the world. Thus we have to be intersectional so we can understand the multitude of oppressive systems that overlap and attack from multiple sides.Disability is creative. Our survival in a world hellbent on making our lives miserable, impoverished, and painful requires us to create our own forms of joy and resistance. We build up mutual aids, underground communities, and organizing using the tools we have. Disability intertwines with technology in that many of us must use the Internet, our phones, our computers to interact with others. Where we may need devices to breath, to sleep, to eat. Where we may need mobility aids to navigate the physical realm. Where we must use what we have and transform it into what we need. Many of us become cyborgs through our leverage of technology to ease our symptoms, pain, and to help foster our independence and connections. We require collective access, cross-movement solidarity, and a recognition of our wholeness outside of productivity or other measures.Our needs are diverse, unique to each of us, and thus we burst forth with imaginative and creative ways to exist in spite of the world's ableism. We lead with the most impacted, we pace ourselves, we balance our symptoms with our healthcare with our other work.Celebrating Disabled means I am recognizing that Disability, the group in which I exist currently, the truth that I am Disabled does not mean I am less-than, but that I am whole even if society refuses to recognize that. My limitations may make navigating our society harder, but it pushes me to declare and demand a more equitable, just, sustainable, accessible society. The creativity of Disabled activists, our ways of surviving despite our limitations, our talents and skills, our personhood is all to be celebrated.To become disabled is to enter into a world of diversity and creativity. To become disabled is to enter into the resistance against oppressive systems that harm and disable and kill.To become disabled requires us to reckon with society's health supremacy lies. To realize bodies are diverse and unique in needs; to realize that everyone is deserving of love, of care, of support; to understand how everyone deserves to have their needs met. Holding onto bigotry harms and potentially kills us, and so that must be exorcised.To become disabled is to enter into a journey of realization, of truth, of rediscovering who we truly are. We can't hide from the limitations of our bodies and minds anymore. We must bravely face those limitations and find a balance so we can live another day.Our body/minds are rich and brilliant as they are. As the Disabled, we discover how body and mind are interdependent. How we cannot separate them. We are our bodies, we are our minds, we are both/and.Disability isn't a cure. It cannot erase bigotry from our minds and bodies. It only redirects our gaze, intensifies the truth of our relations with one another, and whether we walk through that fire more compassionate and loving depends on our willingness to accept the uniqueness of one another, to let go of what no longer serves us. To grieve that former self, to exorcise the harmful socializations society instilled in us, and to open up one's mind and body to one another's truths.Disabled and newly disabled and formerly disabled all have this chance to explore an alternate view of our reality. To see what has lain hidden under the oppressive systems that alienate, isolate, and exploit us. Some may bunker down within the bigotry society instilled in us, but others break free from that cage and be reborn into a fiery phoenix of relentless hope and compassion. Our world is changeable. Nothing is set in impervious stone. It all can be broken down and repurposed.Capitalism, cisgender-hetero-patriarchy, colonialism, imperialism -- these are all disabling systems. They eat up people and spit them out, and only a privileged few escape the jaws of exploitation. Those privileged few fall prey to the greed and power that turns them into monstrous beasts that devour yet more of us in their quest for more wealth, more power, more prestige. They can no longer see us and them as human beings equal in body and mind, and instead see themselves as beyond-human.They cannot be reasoned with. They can only be stopped. Violence and fear is their language.For the Disabled, it is not fear and violence by which we live. It is not our suffering that defines all that we are. Our suffering is but one piece of our stories.Disability is defined by our rich history, our unique stories, our creative will to live, to find a way to survive, to help one another survive, to speak our truths no matter how vicious others become. To call out the harm perpetuated against us, to demand the healthcare we need to live, to speak truth to our pain and our small joys.We have persisted throughout history. It is our community, our compassion, our love, our fierce struggle to live that gives us a power the oligarchs and capitalists will never have.We can defeat the monstrous beasts that exploit, devour, destroy, disable, kill. We can win through the bonds of our diversity, through the truth of our body/minds, through our interdependence on each other, through our support and our demand for justice.We have won before: won rights, laws, building of technology that aids us. We can win again.Not in spite of our disability but because of our Disabled selves.<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Disability" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Disability</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/DisabilityJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DisabilityJustice</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/TheBirdDisabilityManifesto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#TheBirdDisabilityManifesto</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Manifesto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Manifesto</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Justice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Justice</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Organizing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Organizing</a> <a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: the trashy conclusion:"In the meantime, I do consider this anti-capitalist organizing. "To paraphrase a famous Catholic nun, 'When I pick up the garbage, they call me a saint, but when I ask why there is garbage, they call me a communist.'"We can begin by picking up the trash & making conversation & making friends, but with the right energy & consistency, with the right combination of luck & persuasion & open-mindedness, we start to build a group that can tackle bigger issues by degrees. "All the more powerful because it begins with shared space, shared interest (not just in the activity sense, but in the sense that we have an interest in a good place to live). These are much more important factors in building a long-term group for local power than abstract ideological similarities."A common vision is good. But it means nothing if we can't access it in our daily lives. Nothing's more accessible than trash. It puts me in my element."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"But this kind of neighborhood organizing is, I think, a lot like union organizing in these ways."It's not ideology-first, not in the sense of political parties or the Issue of the Day. It's entrenched organizing, it's daily-life organizing, it's 'start where you are,' it's "meet people where you're at." It's not purity politics or "finding your people." It's local, which is going to mean some level of discomfort. "Most people not familiar with that kind of organizing don't like this."Because building local power--it's going to mean working together despite differences, sometimes stark ones, & knowing when to fish & when to cut bait--in other words, what compromises I'm willing to make & which lines are too far. That's something I am always thinking about, & will take more consideration if & when the time ever appears, to share more."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"At some point, if I keep with this, I expect to gain some company. This is based off the fact that people, deep down, want to *do* something but folks don't usually know where to start or what to do (which is how they get funneled into ineffective protests & supporting passive things like political parties, who make it convenient to send money & offer lip-service levels of support for abstract beliefs)."Experience, too, tells me that if you do something like this consistently, eventually it pays off. A little positive attention & 'thank you for doing this' is where it starts. This makes me impatient. 'Thank you for doing this' is like handing over agency when what I really want is for someone to join in. But that comes in time."Once you've established your presence, I find, you can answer with "You should come join me sometime." Sometimes folks will say no but what if they say yes? Then you've got a friend, some company to pick up trash with you, & you can talk about bigger stuff."It requires patience & consistency, which is the opposite of what we are told organizing or revolution should be like. We want big actions, flashy one-and-done, the general strike that somehow topples the old regime. But what we actually *need* to do is rebuild our relationships, & picking up trash in your neighborhood is one vehicle towards doing that."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"In the long-term, picking up trash has this goal: neighborhood contacts. "I don't have many other occasions to meet folks. This is a proactive way to do that. It shows I am engaged & it encourages others to engage, too. "Already Allie & Phillip seem pleased to see me on the trail, although we've only run into one another a couple of times & stopped to chat. I got to pet their dog! We mainly chatted about neighborhood stuff. I kept conversation light & fluffy & not directly political. A little bit about the weather, a little about dog breeds & rescues. It wasn't my idea to invite them to come pick up trash with me sometime but Phillip, I think, suggested it the first time & Allie brought it up again the second time. So far I've only replied something like, 'Yeah, of course, any time' but I haven't shared my contact info or pushed it & nor have they. "Maybe they're not serious; maybe it will turn out to be nothing. Or maybe now I'll run into them while out shopping or in some other context, & see what comes from there."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued--rural queers & red states, concl.:"I may not be able to convince all the bigots required to make all of us safe, but I can try with *my* bigots, & if I am even a little successful, that is that many fewer bigots making *you* unsafe, too. I am willing to assume this risk because *not* to assume it is as risky, if not worse. Better to risk a conversation now than a conflict later, IMO."You do you. None of this [fiction, remember!] is prescriptive. But I am willing to put my relative privileges on the line. All I'm doing is picking up trash. If someone wants to play smear the queer, they'll find out this creature bashes back. Besides which, it's a bad look beating up something that's out picking up trash in the community of its own free will."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued--rural queers & red states:"Furthermore, when I pick up trash, I do wear a rainbow pin or other queer-identifying marker. I don't hide it. I rarely even get a look for it."Still, I can almost hear some liberals complain, 'But you live in a red state.' Or from fellow queer folk who might be afraid & angry: 'Aren't these people our enemies? Did they not vote to exterminate us? How can you be friendly towards them? What have they done to earn even basic kindness, not to mention the picking up of *their* trash?'"You do not "earn" kindness with me; you *earn* enmity, & you have an uphill fight to get there! "There exist many counter-arguments to this red-state-informed bullshit line, but for now I will dismiss it this way: the fascists do not get to claim my neighbors without me putting in, at the very least, a counter-claim."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued--the rural queer consideration:"If I show up & pick up trash on a somewhat regular basis in my own neighborhood, some of you folks might doubt my sanity. Double so as I am queer, & many folks of the standard liberal variety, who have a different idea about what activism looks like, & no serious grounding in community, might think I am being downright unsafe. "I live in what *you* call a 'red county,' but what *I* call contested territory."I argue against stealth & keeping a low profile in most cases & I argue for visibility, within reason but at the highest comfortable level within those parameters."I argue that my neighbors will become *less* suspicious of me, *less* likely to throw me under the bus to the fascists, because I am that innocent creature that picks up trash in the neighborhood. In this context I am very friendly with a nice smile, not too pestering or eager but not too shy."Now, everyone's 'stealth' ability differs. Mine is not too bad. I can only hide so much & in my most stealthy mode I still come across as weird & rather memorable. Other folks can blend in; that's not as much my experience. I go out aiming for a little gender-bending, usually achieving an artsy look that is not too offensive to normative society."I bend to my task & do not bother anyone or their property. "Yes: It is very much a 'model citizen' approach. In *my* neighborhood, where I spend most of my life, I catch flies with honey. I treat everyone like a potential ally until they give me a reason not to."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"That's the value in showing up & picking up trash in the short term, but picking up trash in the neighborhood can be the basis for growing long-term local power too. "I've lacked much social support in my small town but this has been my way of meeting people & building trust. To date I've made three somewhat regular contacts: an unsheltered man I've met a few times (we will call him Dion) & a couple who walk their dog on the same trail (we will call them Allie & Phillip, their dog we will call Rufus)."But I've seen a lot more people, too. People outside, doing work on their house or their lawn or their car. People familiar enough to wave to & receive a wave back, for now."The value in these repeated, predictable appearances is that people become accustomed to my presence."Now, I must, as an aside, address that presence from a rural queer perspective:"<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"In the meantime, at first, all I've done is pick up trash. But it shows someone is invested in the community. This alone increases morale."It shows one more person is comfortable being out on the street (a crucial front for public power). Seeing this reinforces a multifaceted message: this community is a safe place. Someone here cares."It might not be someone they know, at first. But it might feel nice regardless. Might pique some curiosity."It's a message that plays especially well with older folks, who may feel despair at the appearance of their neighborhood. At the unconscious, mass surrender to the cast-offs of capital. A group who sometimes feels powerless at their own personal ability, even if they complain to family or the city."It plays well with folks who have kids, too (nobody wants their kids to play in trash with some exceptions) & folks with pets (ditto)."These are in general good folks to win over. "The left needs to win over these folks & not just arbitrarily rule them out. But generally speaking, trash activism plays well with anyone, with perhaps the exception of cynics, who are easily neutralized by activity anyway."It cuts across party, too. That's crucial when we're trying to build horizontal, local power. Not without its difficulties--more on that soon."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"I meet people when I pick up trash outside. I meet dog walkers, joggers, couples taking a stroll, parents with their kids, city workers, & the unsheltered."The latter group is, in my estimation, probably the most important, though I'm not getting into why or how today. Still, encountering the unsheltered requires some extra, small considerations: Bring a little cash, some water, bandages, extra socks, a little bag of chips, & the like. But--for the most part--the approach to meeting people through trash activism remains generally the same."I try to bring extra time for conversation. This is good, especially if you continue to do it, like I would recommend. Over time I get the attention of people in the neighborhood, the regulars, the locals. This is Good, Actually :tm: This is, in large part, the point--although many might think it counter-intuitive."The point of trash activism is in large part to connect with your neighbors instead of fearing them. Instead of them fearing you."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:"Trash activism :blobcatgooglytrash: continued:"People often thank me. Others never wonder about my intent at all. I have the correct props, I am on the correct set, for this legible & rare & generally appreciated activity."Nor am I required to wear super nice clothes, although I leave the battle jacket & the ACAB shirt at home (I am still on the fence about my You Are Not Immune to Propaganda shirt, we will see how it plays). But if you decide to try this, you should decide the statement you want to make for yourself. Make this your own."I am still thinking it through for my own community. Public appearance is a conversation. The audience will include neighbors, drivers, the police; people of different socioeconomic classes & races. I account for these as I contemplate the message (more below)."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:"When you go out to pick up trash:"First of all, you're getting out of the house. Step one of breaking with the market-fascist spectacle: achieved."You are doing something that is neither producing nor consuming for capital. It's work in a technical sense, but its rarely a service paid for because it lacks any (market) value but civil-minded aesthetics. (This activity also has variable accessibility: some folks who can't work can potentially engage in this, you don't require a mask as you might in a crowded indoor space, &c. Others may not find this accessible or may need help or to tweak the approach, but appraise for yourself.)"But here's where it starts to get good: it catches the attention of others. On that, we can build."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

MutinyCrinshaw :negate:"I have had enough with 'touch grass,' I need to touch trash."When the weather is nice & I haven't got to much else going on, this is what I like to do."I get some thick gloves & a couple trash bags & I go around my neighborhood or on the local trail & pick up garbage."For some folks this might look like soft soft 'civil participation' shit & a total waste of time, but it is, in fact, a really effective, long-term activist strategy ... if you know how to make it into one. "Here's how."<a href="https://ni.hil.ist/tags/Activism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Activism</a>

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