Activism is not cold-calling.

Activism is not cold-calling, and this is critically important to understand.

I'm seeing a lot of posts on here about 'building bridges' and 'finding community,' and then (extremely valid) response posts saying "BUT HOW??" And I'm going to explain something that can be very counter-intuitive: there is strategy involved in community.

As a longtime volunteer labour organizer, I’ve taken and taught many trainings on the strategy of talking. Something that surprises a lot of people is the very first thing you do in a union campaign. You sit down with your organizing committee, take out pen and paper, and literally map it out. You draw a physical map of the workplace: where are the entrances, exits, break rooms, supervisor offices. Essentially, ‘where is it safe to have a union conversation.’ Then you draw another physical chart of your coworkers. You sort out who is union-friendly, openly hostile to unions, or somewhere in the middle, and then you plan out very deliberately and carefully who talks to whom and in what order.

Consider: If Vocally Leftist Jane walks up to Conservative David and says "hey what do you think about unions," David is going to shut down immediately. He's not inclined to listen to Jane. But if Jane talks to Moderate Jason and brings him into the fold, then Jason is a far more effective strategic choice to talk to David, and David may actually hear him out without an instant reaction.

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If Conservative David turns out to be Alt-Right David, and could be dangerous to follow organizers, we write him off. We are not trying to reach Alt-Right David. We are trying to reach Conservative David, who may actually be persuaded to find solidarity with other employees as fellow workers. Jason is a safe scout to find out which one he is. It does no one any good if Leftist Jane (or even Moderate Jane who is a visible minority) talks to Alt-Right David and puts herself on his radar. Not only has she done nothing to convince Alt-Right David to join a union - she's probably actively turned him against the idea - but now she's also in danger and the entire campaign is at risk. NOBODY WANTS THIS. Jane was NOT a hero for doing this. The organizing committee was foolish and enacted a terrible strategy to everyone's detriment.

Where you can make a difference is with people who will listen to you. You having a conversation with your well-meaning but clueless Centrist Democrat Auntie, and maybe gently helping her understand some things the media has been glossing over, is way more strategically useful than you marching up to MAGA Neighbour You've Met Once and trying to "build community" or "understand" them. They don't care. They're impervious, dangerous, and cruel. But maybe your beloved auntie will think about what you said, and then talk to her friend Anna who IDs as "fiscally conservative" but didn't vote because she can't bring herself to get on board with Trump. Then perhaps Anna talks to her brother Nic who has MAGA leanings but isn't all the way there yet. Proto-MAGA Nic would not have listened to you, nor would he have listened to Centrist Democrat Auntie, but he might absorb some of what his sister is saying.

This is not a cop-out or an echo chamber. This is you spending your time and energy strategically and safely. You are not a useful activist to anyone if you’re dead. Anyone who is telling you to hurl yourself directly at MAGA assholes like cannon fodder has no understanding of the strategy behind community building, and you should feel comfortable writing them off.

Last point: If you are tired, emotionally devastated, and/or in danger: take a break. This post is for people who would feel better jumping into action, not for people who are too overwhelmed to even think about it right now. You are worth so much even if you’re not actively Doing Activism, and your rest is worth more than “a break period so you can recharge and Do More Activism.” We all deserve the individual dignity of being worthy of comfort, rest & safety just on the basis of being human, outside of whatever we're doing for others' benefit. To deny ourselves that dignity is to devalue ourselves, and that’s the absolute last thing any of us should be doing right now.

Oh hey this is the post I was going to write as a follow-up and now I don’t have to. Anyway, see everything above for why blaming the way women respond to men on the internet who they have no existing relationship with for the rise of alt-right misogyny is extremely beside the point. Effective activism leverages existing relationships - and requires people who are committed to doing activism in the first place.

This kind of planning is in fact what half of union organizing is. Its both genuine (you really need to actually care about the people you’re talking to!) and strategic (what matters to this person? How will they be able to accept this message?)

Also: you’re not trying to convince someone to agree with you perfectly. I’m trying to convince a hesitant coworker to show up on the first day of a potential strike and see how it goes. Or, as a different example, I’m not trying to convince my grandmother to call herself antizionist. I’m trying to convince her that she should use her influence in her synagogue community to advocate for an immediate ceasefire. In both cases, its finding the right ask for who I’m talking to- something that is both reasonable and will make a difference.

A million times yes to both of these additions, which complement @ariaste's tags:

Activism is a balance of strategy & humanity. @elwingflight is correct that there is LOTS of planning involved in union organizing. There's literally detailed conversational scripts for talking to your coworkers about unionizing, and they're effective. We can and should be using script & strategy. The alt-right is doing it, also very effectively, and for unfathomably evil purposes. We need to be fighting back in ways that work.

And then @sixth-light's extremely powerful & succinct way of putting it: "Effective activism leverages existing relationships." Because fundamentally we are all people, and human beings can only take so much of being yelled at by strangers on twitter who see us as subhuman ("their side") or cannon fodder ("our side.")

I know the "you can't pour from an empty cup" saying goes around all the time relating to activism, but this doesn't just mean rest time - it also means making sure the time & energy you are using is used well, and that you're allowing yourself to see and appreciate the results, even if having a conversation with your grandma or hesitant coworker isn't overthrowing the regime in one go. You need to learn to set and achieve 'smaller' goals, because those are the building blocks, and because anchoring yourself to those points of connection will help you keep moving forward.

Way too funny not to share

Normalize this response

Senators are going to vote on whether or not we should continue to send aid to Israel on Wednesday, November 13th. Call them, bombard their phone lines with calls. Every fucking day. We have a chance of doing something about this.

yall

Here are some of the images from the link provided

This is also an option for email:

Subject: Please Co-Sponsor S.J. Res 111-116 To Disapprove the Military Sale of Weapons to Israel

Email: My name is [your name] and I am your constituent from [full address]. I am asking the Senator to cosponsor S.J.RES 111-116 to disapprove the following military sale of certain defense articles and services to Israel. The resolution was introduced by Senator Sanders. The US has funded over 70% of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and offered a nonstop flow of weapons even though there’s indisputable proof of Israel blocking aid for over 1 year, and nearly 500 reports of U.S. weapons being used to kill and injure Palestinians. Over 60,000 people have died due to indirect deaths due to aid blocking.

Howdy folks, the Senate will be considering the first ever resolution blocking arms to Israel. This is huge and historic; it would block government contracting and about $20 billion in arms and support. This is an uphill battle, PLEASE urge your senators to support S.J.Res114-115. This is maybe the most important piece of legislation relating to Palestine that we have ever gotten and we must seize this opportunity.

This doc has information on the resolutions and their process, as well as sample messages and a phone script you can use. Please, use this moment to hear witness for your neighbors.

This is a massive call to action even if you live in a blue state! You cannot simply trust that your senator will do the right thing here. They need to hear that we still care even if the election is behind us.

woke up this morning, rolled over, and very confidently tried to blow out my alarm clock like a candle. absolutely no precedent for that.

Ebeneezer in 1742 wakes with a start as for some reason he has put out his guttering candle by slapping atop it ith the palm of his hand. His hand is burned and his nightgown and cap are spattered with hot wax.

i meant to empty my contact lens case of cleaner and instead launched my allergy pills down the drain. wasn't even holding the lens case

once confidently pointed my car keys at the door out of my house and pressed the unlock button

from one chronically anxious person to another: the world is not going to go up in flames. What happens will be more slow, more bureaucratic, more boring. There is no catastrophe to end all catastrophes, no rapture, no sudden end. You can't give into the call of the void, because there is no void. So you just have to do the work to make tomorrow a better place, anyway. Because that's how it gets better.

#A lot of people want it to be too late#Because that means they can just throw their hands up and blame everyone else and not have to do the work anymore#But as long as there are people left it's never too late#Things will keep getting worse for a long time but if we keep working then it WILL turn around#We'll see some horrible days coming up but they will give way to a better future

you have to outlive donald trump

imagine how funny the internet will be on the day he dies.

Don’t let anyone silence your voice or steal your power, which is your vote.

Your vote is private. Your vote is your own.

Vote accordingly.

How many "Trump votes" are abusive MAGA husbands or boyfriends who essentially got two votes, while their wife or girlfriend got none?

To be clear: abusive men may think their wife or girlfriend belongs to them, including their vote. But legally, this is voter fraud.

Report these criminals.

Legally, this is voter intimidation.

IF YOU WITNESS OR ARE A VICTIM OF VOTER INTIMIDATION (like what Tom Cox is confessing to in the OP) or other violations of voting rights laws in the US:

Your vote is your own. You don't have to tell anyone who you voted for. You can lie about who you voted for. Keep yourself safe out there.

You can also call or text the Election Protection Hotline

And if you are in a situation where a spouse or partner is the one doing the voter intimidation to you, like Tom up there is, there are intimate partner violence orgs in your state and many towns who are there to help you. Because what Tom is doing is not okay, and you don't have to live like that.

ok....fine....i'll draw rottmnt again...

OK. I'LL DRAW LEO AGAIN.

10 pm, do you know where your children are ?

i’ve seen multiple people say something along the lines of “we’re waking up in the same world we lived in yesterday” which is bleak but also true; there was going to be work to do no matter what. this is the much worse and harder version of that work but even if harris won it would not have fixed the fundamental things that need fixing. i mean, fuck, it would’ve been the better outcome, but the work would still be there. many of the things people fear under trump happened and are happening under biden. we’ll just have more battles to fight.

i think about the progressive mobilization and radicalization that happened 2016-2020; it shouldn’t have to happen like this but we deserve better than a two-party system, and one half of that system was never going to save us. we will always have to do what we can for ourselves and each other 💛

on this note, i just read this article and found it both helpful and comforting—it’s good to be reminded there are people who have been preparing for this, and also that history has plenty of lessons and hope for us.

Very good article. Please read.

hope is a skill

hope is a weapon you are trained to wield

favourite additions

You cannot hide this in the tags, bestie. This is too lovely to keep a secret.

If are living in America and are wondering what you can do now please consider contacting The White House and demanding a recount / revote!

Check out the ALCU -> The ACLU is an organization that specifically fights back against harmful laws and bills - they fought trump off RAPIDLY during his first presidency and theyre overall good for keeping track of resources and stuff!

Ensure your vote is counted through Vote Curing!

Sign this Petition : Jane Byson (the maker of petition) ;

"We need a recount and revote for the 2024 election. An investigation needs to be looked into after Trumps sudden rise after all favor was pointed towards Kamala Harris. This isn't superstition when there was proof that she was in the lead. Something is wrong and the people of the US shouldn't suffer for it."

For those who are contemplating suicide or self harm consider contacting these Hotlines! Keep Fighting Please, and to those who have more resources PLEASE add on.

And please. Do NOT give in to despair. That seems so very easy right now- but we didn't progress as far as we did by giving up. No matter the result- keep fighting. Please stay around and stand your ground.

thought this would be good to share.

This is a reminder to:

Form communities. Tell your people that you love them. Protect one another. Check in on one another. None of us are alone.