Spoke to my friend who lives near St. Cloud, MN yesterday.
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@artemis the solidarity is much appreciated, and also: I just want to highlight that we are doing this in MN and, overwhelmingly, NOT dying, because a) we are protecting each other by sharing the risk, and b) although these goon are incredibly dangerous, they are also, on the whole, a bunch of worthless putzes who flee at the sound of a whistle, and would rather sit warm behind their tinted windows (presumably dicking around on their phones) than actually get out of their cars and do shit
@feznander
Thanks & yes to all that. I ain't planning on dying. There are a lot of useful things I would like to do that aren't "being a martyr".Y'all in Minnesota are fucking doing the work & protecting each other, & that's how it's done. I'm working on getting some more practical information & connections to folks in my area.
I freaking love that my MOM in Iowa, my used-to-be-right-wing mom is sending me resources on community defense.
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Spoke to my friend who lives near St. Cloud, MN yesterday. Shit is awful there too. They also have a large Somali population so ICE is there harassing, brutalizing, & kidnapping people.
They said it was weird being scared to go get coffee from the convenience store like they have done every weekend for years, because who fucking knows? You don't have to be doing fucking *anything*. Just have them think you're following them, & they'll be dragging you out of your car.
This is so fucked.
Yeah, this sucks. Wishing you a lot of strength, and hopefully you might get through to your older brother. 🫶
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@feznander
Thanks & yes to all that. I ain't planning on dying. There are a lot of useful things I would like to do that aren't "being a martyr".Y'all in Minnesota are fucking doing the work & protecting each other, & that's how it's done. I'm working on getting some more practical information & connections to folks in my area.
I freaking love that my MOM in Iowa, my used-to-be-right-wing mom is sending me resources on community defense.
@feznander
But in terms of wake-up call to my siblings, I hope it's helpful to just let them know: "hey, I may be about to start doing the riskiest shit I have ever done, & I want y'all to understand that there are a lot of scenarios where I will not choose my physical safety over helping my neighbors." -
@artemis the solidarity is much appreciated, and also: I just want to highlight that we are doing this in MN and, overwhelmingly, NOT dying, because a) we are protecting each other by sharing the risk, and b) although these goon are incredibly dangerous, they are also, on the whole, a bunch of worthless putzes who flee at the sound of a whistle, and would rather sit warm behind their tinted windows (presumably dicking around on their phones) than actually get out of their cars and do shit
@artemis for every story you hear about them kidnapping and brutalizing people, there are a hundred that you might not hear about how observers kept guard as two or three vehicles spent an hour idling in a parking lot or circling a block, then finally gave up and fucked off.
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My mom responding to me (privately) not saying "don't risk your safety," but offering me resources on community defense means a lot to me.
It means she gets it. She is proud of me & my brother, & she is also educating herself & getting herself ready to help. It means she knows that some things are worth taking risks for.
There is no reason not to be careful. There is every reason not to throw your life away pointlessly, not just for yourself but for everyone you hope to help. We are all needed. We all have ways we can help.
Y'all, stay alive. I want you to stay alive. *I* want to stay alive.
But safety? In some cases, safety just may not be an option.
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Right now it's an "if" ICE shows up right here on my street, but there is a possible scenario where that "if" could turn into just a matter of "when".
And I definitely want my brothers & sisters to understand that & what it has the potential to mean. I'm not being hysterical. I'm not making trouble or coming up with far-fetched scenarios.
I'm just saying. If thugs show up here to hurt my neighbors or the kids at the school, well, I wouldn't have a choice.
My mom responding to me (privately) not saying "don't risk your safety," but offering me resources on community defense means a lot to me.
It means she gets it. She is proud of me & my brother, & she is also educating herself & getting herself ready to help. It means she knows that some things are worth taking risks for.
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There is no reason not to be careful. There is every reason not to throw your life away pointlessly, not just for yourself but for everyone you hope to help. We are all needed. We all have ways we can help.
Y'all, stay alive. I want you to stay alive. *I* want to stay alive.
But safety? In some cases, safety just may not be an option.
As Minnesota folks are reminding me: our strength is each other. We have numbers. Together we are so strong.
And our hearts are in this in the way the fash can't even imagine. The power of love for each other, our homes, our communities is not something they can understand.
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As Minnesota folks are reminding me: our strength is each other. We have numbers. Together we are so strong.
And our hearts are in this in the way the fash can't even imagine. The power of love for each other, our homes, our communities is not something they can understand.
Little bro has told me there are people in his community who have stepped up that he didn't think had it in them. People he thought were kind of flakey & not to be taken seriously. But in this moment, they're doing the work, because solidarity fucking works.
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So little bro is sharing that, & I'm sharing that if ICE does a push in Milwaukee of the kind they are doing in MN, then ICE will come to my street, & I will go outside & take videos & be loud & difficult, & I said if I die for the same reason that Renee Good did (just trying to help people), then I am at peace with that.
We're pushing & trying to make it real for them.
Renee Good made a really stupid mistake by not stopping her car and turning off her engine. If a bad person wants to hurt you, the absolute worst possible thing you can do is to give them plausible deniability.
Renee Good avoided being a martyr in most people's eyes when she accellerated her car towards that ICE agent. And yet she still died. Even if you think for some reason that ICE agent would have killed her either way, the biggest consequence of her choice is still providing that agent a pretty damn good social and legal defense.
That kind of behavior is not the way to fight for justice. Be better! -
As Minnesota folks are reminding me: our strength is each other. We have numbers. Together we are so strong.
And our hearts are in this in the way the fash can't even imagine. The power of love for each other, our homes, our communities is not something they can understand.
@artemis Being strong enough to be gentle and kind is a lot more impressive than being violent. Any arsehole can lash out.
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Little bro has told me there are people in his community who have stepped up that he didn't think had it in them. People he thought were kind of flakey & not to be taken seriously. But in this moment, they're doing the work, because solidarity fucking works.
I'm finally getting what the Jesus character meant when he said, "whoever does the work of my Father in heaven is my sibling."
What matters is that you do what you can where you can. What matters, what unites us, is doing the work & caring for each other.
That's what fucking matters.
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I'm finally getting what the Jesus character meant when he said, "whoever does the work of my Father in heaven is my sibling."
What matters is that you do what you can where you can. What matters, what unites us, is doing the work & caring for each other.
That's what fucking matters.
We aren't all going to be on the streets. I've talked about this before: there are different abilities & different opportunities that we all have. What matters isn't how "important" or risky your work is.
What matters is taking whatever you have in front of you, whatever you know to do, & doing it.
Some of us may be called up to take some serious risks. Ok, fine. Be ready for that. But for now, help in the ways you know how. Anything that needs to be done is worth doing, no matter how "small".
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@artemis I do think that hero mentality pushed so hard by media in the last decades plays a significant role in why so many people (not just men, but especially men) have such a hard time being able to believe the atrocities happening
Peter Parker syndrome. They imagine themselves powerful and thus responsible. Acknowledgement requires breaking that fantasy in some way
@aeischeid @artemis On top of that, the only way they’ve been taught to fight back is violence. And solo violence at that. They can’t imagine themselves as part of a bigger movement@with broader strategies than “punching the bad guys”. I mean punching Nazis is an unalloyed good. But filming their atrocities and delegitimizing them to others, feeding people, helping neighbors, slowing down traffic, etc. is how you really beat them.
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We aren't all going to be on the streets. I've talked about this before: there are different abilities & different opportunities that we all have. What matters isn't how "important" or risky your work is.
What matters is taking whatever you have in front of you, whatever you know to do, & doing it.
Some of us may be called up to take some serious risks. Ok, fine. Be ready for that. But for now, help in the ways you know how. Anything that needs to be done is worth doing, no matter how "small".
If you are feeding people, that is the work.
If you are helping people with clothing or shelter, that is the work.
If you offer encouragement & support, that is the work.
If you share information & speak the truth, that is the work.
If you're setting up chairs for a community defense training, that is the work.
If it's worth doing, it is worth doing.
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If you are feeding people, that is the work.
If you are helping people with clothing or shelter, that is the work.
If you offer encouragement & support, that is the work.
If you share information & speak the truth, that is the work.
If you're setting up chairs for a community defense training, that is the work.
If it's worth doing, it is worth doing.
The best analogy I have right now is an ant colony: ants don't fret about "importance", they just do their job, & together ants are ridiculously powerful for how frickin tiny they are.
We're ants. We're small but many, & by all making our contributions, we have so much power.
All I really ask is that you give of yourself. I mentioned my big bro: he has 7 kids. I'm not going to ask him to take unnecessary physical risk. Those kids need him. But he needs to be in this.
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The best analogy I have right now is an ant colony: ants don't fret about "importance", they just do their job, & together ants are ridiculously powerful for how frickin tiny they are.
We're ants. We're small but many, & by all making our contributions, we have so much power.
All I really ask is that you give of yourself. I mentioned my big bro: he has 7 kids. I'm not going to ask him to take unnecessary physical risk. Those kids need him. But he needs to be in this.
Take setting up chairs for a community gathering for example.
A lot of people who do this kind of work don't even see that it's real & it matters.
It's not "just setting up chairs". For that meeting to happen, someone needed to set up the chairs. You decided to be that someone.
That is the work. It's a job that needs doing, & you showed up & did it. So much of what needs doing feels ridiculously "small", but that's why we are strong *together*, because everyone has *something* to give.
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The best analogy I have right now is an ant colony: ants don't fret about "importance", they just do their job, & together ants are ridiculously powerful for how frickin tiny they are.
We're ants. We're small but many, & by all making our contributions, we have so much power.
All I really ask is that you give of yourself. I mentioned my big bro: he has 7 kids. I'm not going to ask him to take unnecessary physical risk. Those kids need him. But he needs to be in this.
@artemis Hollywood force feeds us lies about brave, courageous, "manly" heroes overcoming Impossible odds to stick it to the man.
There are people who believe these myths and try to fight back against the whole world on their own. They are generally known as spree killers.
The only real power is solidarity and community. Monke together STRONG.
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Take setting up chairs for a community gathering for example.
A lot of people who do this kind of work don't even see that it's real & it matters.
It's not "just setting up chairs". For that meeting to happen, someone needed to set up the chairs. You decided to be that someone.
That is the work. It's a job that needs doing, & you showed up & did it. So much of what needs doing feels ridiculously "small", but that's why we are strong *together*, because everyone has *something* to give.
I've been talking about my little bro & how proud I am: some of what he's doing carries significant risk, but a lot of it is just showing up & asking "what can I do to help?"
He is in physically good shape, so beyond risky confrontational shit, he can just be a big help, because he is physically able to do a lot of things that need doing.
It's not about being a hero for him. He says he just shows up to things & says "tell me what you need me to do."
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The best analogy I have right now is an ant colony: ants don't fret about "importance", they just do their job, & together ants are ridiculously powerful for how frickin tiny they are.
We're ants. We're small but many, & by all making our contributions, we have so much power.
All I really ask is that you give of yourself. I mentioned my big bro: he has 7 kids. I'm not going to ask him to take unnecessary physical risk. Those kids need him. But he needs to be in this.
@artemis
> he has 7 kidsThat's an indication of the underlying issue.
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@artemis
> he has 7 kidsThat's an indication of the underlying issue.
@handsomebird
It sure is....
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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RE: https://infosec.exchange/@lorenzofb/115945676352665425
La vita dell'hacker non è un film.
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@robincafolla
In Cambridge, MA, on MLK Day, we were told to learn from Minneapolis. And whistles were given to all.
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I think Brooke is going to fall to Projects. She's carrying a lot of wood quite long distances for someone who isn't eating.
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@robincafolla
Oh my gosh 🥲
Thank you, Minneapolis ❤️🤍💙
#minneapolis #protest #MinneapolisStrong
#abolishice #united
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"That was dumb." Yep. And, now you've got a family of predators who just had a great free meal right outside your camp.
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Britt's a changed man. Though he's going to need to come up with other ways to preserve fish, because I don't believe those fish are still going to be in his holding pool the next day.
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@swelljoe Sounds like a certain well-known Fediverse developer...
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Five days in, no food. Only a matter of time before he decides to build a boat.
