"theyfab" "pooner" "trutherina" Bestie I Think You Might Just Be A Misogynist

Why do we say that capitalism must be “dismantled”?

You’ll hear phrases like “Smash the state!” “Eat the rich!” and “Smash capitalism!”

And, yes, of course, but… :)

However relevant those sayings are, our work must be careful, highly organized and above all planned.

Because capitalism and all of its associated systems are not discrete, abstracted entities we can attack independently.

It is a structure, like a complicated machine with many thousands of working parts…

And right now it is connected to absolutely everything.

If we do this… [picks up huge hammer and smashes the machine]

Then a lot of vulnerable people will die.

The machine was built and improved and redesigned and patched over the course of generations. It is very good at its intended purpose, which is ultimately to generate profit.

Every human being alive today relies on the byproducts of the machine to survive, without exception.

The machine’s engineers want it to keep working like it does. In fact, they want to optimise it.

That will kill all remaining life on Earth.

So, we must destroy the machine, quickly and carefully

We must examine its deadly programs and mechanics and replace them with alternatives we built together.

The engineers don’t want us tampering with the machine.

However, we make it run…

So we can make it STOP. Together.

How will YOU help us to safely dismantle the machine?

iww.org

p.s. My computer is on its last legs. If you would like me to draw you a little cartoon and help me get a new computer, learn more at this post.

Make the most of the next two months

Get all your vaccines

Travel while we have a functioning DOT

Read and buy books on feminism, anti-racism, pro-lgbt

Attend drag shows

Don't skip any of your classes

Read and buy history books

Find your out-of-state networks

Learn to carry cash

Get birth control solutions

Support the Biden/Harris administration

Postpone large purchases and save money

Be careful of what you say online, like un-ambiguous attacks against the incoming administration, especially in spaces that contain your full name or personal information

Feel free to add on.

I don’t really want to wade into discourse too much today because I know everyone is extremely miserable online rn but I think if you want to give people genuine advice on what to do politically, “join a union/get involved in your current union/organise your workplace” or “join ACORN/a tenant union/etc” is much more actionable advice than like “build community.”

the problem with “community” is that it doesn’t have the same formal infrastructure / resources / political connections / organising capacity that allows your hard work to have reach far beyond your immediate circle (which is what a union has), and also because like, “community” is an extremely vague and abstract concept that can mean anything from a local restaurant run by your neighbour to a church to your dnd friend group. Reaching out and helping your neighbours is a good thing, lots of people are having a really tough time and helping people around you pay rent or take care of their family or etc is a good thing and you should feel good doing that, but in response to the complete institutional and political failure of electoral liberalism I think the next best option is to turn towards already existing national infrastructure that can mobilise people without requiring you to individually maintain dedicated personal relationships with everyone around you. In my experience + the experience of many long-time activists that I know, relying on interpersonal connections to organise and get things done leads to highly sectarian, disorganised, toxic, and unpleasant organising conditions. The cold impersonal bureaucracy of union membership is legitimately a good solution to this problem.

there are many little positions of power available in these organisation that become open to you for as low a cost as showing up to zoom meetings. I have personally been elected to positions in various unions/orgs literally because I was someone who showed up to meetings! Nobody goes to committee meetings! You get annual budgets! You get to pass votes, organise events, spend money on organising materials! You get to buy food for people! Organising is so much easier in these spaces.

And of course, you are going to face the same ideological resistance, apathy, ignorance, incompetence, and bigotry that you would at your local queer meet-up or community neighbourhood council, and I have no illusions about the institutional limits of unions (which can also be reactionary, bigoted, highly disorganised, incompetent, toxic, and so on), but if you want to avoid completely exhausting yourself and resenting everyone around you, you don’t need to build “community” from the ground up, there are already structures out there where you can do good work. For all the resistance there is to unions and union activity, you will face that same level of resistance with local organising but have none of the power, resources, or institutional legitimacy already secured by unions

It is very funny that I have never met a trans woman irl who has been disbelieving or surprised that I, a non-passing FtM, do not feel safe in female only spaces. Maybe confused or curious but if I explain "well a lot of people will read me as a butch lesbian" not a single one has ever gone on to try and explain that actually I am still perfectly safe, because they understand that the "wrong" kind of woman is also deemed as dangerous. And when you are seen as dangerous you are yourself in danger.

I have faced violence specifically *for* being the "incorrect" type of "female" in a female only space, I have faced this before I even came out, before I realised I was not a girl. I know plenty of other trans men have, it's not splash damage, it's all punishment for existing outside of "safe" normality. A punch does not hurt less because the person who threw it thought I was something I'm not.

A lot of trans people on Tumblr talk about it like it's just, utterly impossible for trans men to also be unsafe in both single sex areas similarly to how trans women are, and while I'm glad that some of us *are* safe it is not a universal guarantee. The issue is that as long as we exist in a society where certain presentations and appearances are read by the majority as sexually threatening, then none of us are truly safe from the danger that represents.

*sighs like an old dog who narrowly dodged euthanasia yet something about its demeanor makes you feel like it knows this fact and something even more obscure makes you feel like it resents this

"what if im faking it" bitch you've felt like a boy since the 6th grade youre fine

i’m not sure why economic sanctions are considered the peaceful alternative to war they literally make poverty and daily life in countries they’re implemented against worse which…leads to conflict and suffering

- Julia Serano

This is so important for every trans person & ally to learn. I remember when I first made this blog, I accidentally reblogged a TERF post every once in a while and didn't realize it at all until ppl started making me aware. In hindsight, the issue wasn't that I wasn't well-informed about terf dogwhistles or that I didn't have enough of them blocked, although that was a big part of it, it was because I wasn't taking all forms of sexism equally seriously. If you on some level believe that women are purer & safer & better people than men, that male sexuality is scary & predatory or that one can be "tainted" by masculinity, you're going to be an easier target for TERFs.

It's so important that we as trans & queer people approach this "cultural feminism" as Serano calls it with zero tolerance. Only that way we can keep our spaces safe & welcoming for everyone & give TERFs no chance.

The only way out of this, as far as I can see, is for us as a trans community to explicitly (and loudly) reject cultural feminism—both its essentialism and its zero-sum conceptualization of gender-based oppression. If we did this, then we could all openly discuss our experiences with oppositional and traditional sexism (and the intersection thereof) without other trans people presuming that we’re implying that they have not been impacted by these forces—or worse, that they must be one of our “oppressors.”

Like clock work

June 12 2024

What to do if you suddenly find yourself homeless

FOOD

Find your nearest food bank or mission, for food

grocery stores with free samples, bakeries + stores with day-old bread

different fast food outlets have cheaper food and will generally let you hang out for a while.

some dollar stores carry food like cans of beans or fruit

SHELTER

Sleeping at beaches during the day is a good way to avoid suspicion and harassment

sleep with your bag strapped to you, so someone can’t steal it

Some churches offer short term residence

Find your nearest homeless shelter

Look for places that are open to the public

A large dumpster near a wall can often be moved so that flipping up the lids creates an angled shelter to stay dry

HYGIENE

A membership to the YMCA is usually only 10$, which has a shower, and sometimes laundry machines and lockers.

Public libraries have bathrooms you can use

Dollar stores carry low-end soaps and deodorant etc.

Wet wipes are all purpose and a life saver

Local beaches, go for a quick swim

Some truck stops have showers you can pay for

Staying clean is the best way to prevent disease, and potentially get a job to get back on your feet

Pack 7 pairs of socks/undies, 2 outfits, and one hooded rain jacket

OTHER

first aid kit

 sunscreen

 a travel alarm clock or watch

 mylar emergency blanket

 a backpack is a must

 downgrade your cellphone to a pay as you go with top-up cards

 sleeping bag

 travel kit of toothbrush, hair brush/comb, mirror

 swiss army knife

 can opener