I can't even begin to imagine what lasting psychological effects this is gonna have on people post trump.
The anxiety that today's kids are going to experience in the future every time a car alarm goes off, or at the honking of a horn...it's dreadful to think.
Someone in my networks was asking about a social media call they saw for a “30 day general strike” where people make no purchases and don’t go to work. They asked, “this would make me homeless but is it worth it as a tactic?” As a union organizer, I had this to say and I think it’s important enough to share with you all:
As a trade unionist, I would like to know what is being meant by “general strike” here because a lot of people are using that term but for things that have nothing to do with strikes or what a general strike has historically meant.
It’s not a boycott, it’s not a sick out, it’s a *strike* by workers at their workplaces aka refusals to work collectively as a unionized body of workers. A general strike would require dozens of unions to not merely tell some workers they gotta work anyways and tell others to call in sick - it requires a prolonged, structured, financially supportive struggle by unionized labor.
A 30 day general strike would achieve a lot but I’m not hearing any trade unions say they are directing their members to do this (which under current labor law and many of our union contracts, would be illegal but that’s not my issue, just a barrier towards success). I’ve not heard of any strike funds put into place so workers don’t lose their housing and can afford groceries. Factually it just isn’t a strike let alone a general strike. It’s a consumer boycott meets individual sick outs and while you can do that tactic in short bursts, you can’t do it for a month without a strike fund and unions actually declaring strikes.
I fear “general strike” is becoming hallowed out of meaning by liberals. It’s a powerful tactic and that just isn’t what we’re seeing. It’s gonna leave people with a bad taste in their mouth about the prospect of an actual general strike when these fake “general strikes” don’t pan out because they aren’t leveraging our power as the people who actually run society with our labor but asking individuals to call out alone or as individuals not purchase goods.
Kinda reminds me of when people tried to define “mutual aid” as giving donations to nonprofits instead of building community networks of resiliency and support outside of capitalism and its charity arms. Pretty much every time there’s a big upswing in radicalism, terms get immediately bastardized by people outside of the work to describe tactics that don’t even share the same goals. It’s a deradicalization tactic.
You can’t just say “general strike!” and then it happens. General strikes in the past have been because unionized workers across different industries solidarity strike, which since the heyday of general strikes has been made illegal so if we want to actually do that as organized labor then we have to be prepared to have no legal protections around such a strike. That’s not the level of preparation or thought we’re seeing.
If you want to see what an actual general strike in Portland looks like, this PBS documentary on the founding of the ILWU and the 1934 Waterfront Strike which was attacked by police and vigilantes leading to the entire towns workers joining the strike, is important. These were very organized, structured affairs that didn’t rely on individualist volunteerism.
United Auto Workers declared May 1st, 2028 to be a national general strike. He (Shaun Fein) wants unions to align the end of their contracts with May Day so we are not beholden to no strike clauses. They’re building a strike fund. That’s actually a plan and that gives us enough time to energize our coworkers about it.
This “general strike” stuff coming out of Minneapolis will just get you fired and because you’re not doing it with a union, you’ll have zero protections and no strike fund to rely on.
It’s a bad idea. Don’t leverage your purchasing power, you’re poor. Leverage your labor, because that’s what makes them rich. And don’t do it alone, you’ll suffer alone.
Learning and practicing proper security culture is essential to all kinds of organizing—especially today, when Donald Trump has pledged to focus federal agencies on attacking anti-fascists.
Print out this zine design of our guide to security culture and distribute them everywhere!
It’s reasonable for authors to be upset about people uploading their work for free, even if those people use socialism as an excuse to do it. ‘Workers deserve to be compensated for their labor’ is a little different from supporting Disney’s famous exploitation of copyright law. I just don’t think it’s noble to look at another person surviving by their own labor and say to them ‘I deserve to exploit you because the class of labor you do doesn’t count.’
I think you just feel entitled to having stuff that you want at no cost to you, regardless of whether it harms or benefits workers as a class. It’s a little funny how every argument about class and labor and exploitation somehow ends with people concluding that they’re free to continue to act in just the way they wanted to all along, isn’t it?
imagine hating a non-profit site created by fans, for fans, with excellent tagging system, no censorship, no ads, no algorithm, no capitalism bullshit — just fans creating and sharing their art with other fans for free, out of pure love and passion — couldn't be me
getting mad at ao3 for being against censorship and allowing all kinds of dark and fucked up fics to be on their platform is like getting mad at a library for not banning books
I need tiktokers to understand that ao3 has been home for the freaks (affectionate) ever since the day it was created. the entire site was created because “dark and fucked up fics” were banned and removed from other platforms, so us freaks came together and created a site for other freaks — a site where nothing is censored, a site with no algorithm, no capitalism, no ads, and again, absolutely no censorship.
this has been our house for decades. you newbies don’t come into our house and tell us how to arrange our furniture. either be nice and respect our house, or leave and build your own house elsewhere.
For anyone confused about why this "sweet ad" is actually evil:
ring is passing the surveillance they collect to ice
ring is using these ID features to search for/identify people that ice wants to deport/kidnap/disappear, & using it to spy on Americans in general.
This ad is the company's gross & sneaky attempt to appeal to humans' kindness [ I'll be helping people find their pets!" ]
They are trying to trick more people into buying this tool that will be used as surveillance on people living in the USA
AND~!!!
also probably trying to trick people into turning on features/settings that will make it easier for them to pass information to ice and other hostile governmental authorities
(this list is mainly ways non-locals can donate but by extension offers a lot of resources and places to volunteer in the Twin Cities + there are specific ways to donate time under the cut which can be adjusted to your local neighborhood)
full credit to cataloo from r/minnesota [x]
🩵Immigrant support
Immigrant Defense Network – coalition of 90+ groups organizing rapid response and collecting evidence.
Immigrant Law Center of MN – free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees.
COPAL – advocacy, organizing, phone hotline. Focus on Latine community.
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) – education and protest organizing.
Interfaith Coalition on Immigration – advocacy, aid, events.
Monarca MN – training and phone hotline.
Unidos MN – education, protests, advocacy.
Center for Victims of Torture – advocacy and mental health services for immigrants and refugees.
International Institute of Minnesota – refugee resettlement group that provides support and legal help to vulnerable new-to-country families.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota – offers services to refugees, including legal aid to non-citizens.
🩵Food support
If local, food donations are welcome, otherwise monetary donations help these types of orgs source what is most needed
VEAP
Second Harvest Heartland
Every Meal
The Food Group
Meals on Wheels MN
Find a local food shelf
🩵Mutual aid funds & community support
Community Aid Network
Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid
Leo's Tow (Venmo @leostowingmn) is towing cars back to families if a car is stranded when someone is detained.
🩵More links
MN50501 Mutual Aid Linktree – well-organized list of various Twin Cities groups.
Mplsmutualaid Linktree – many neighborhood and individual GoFundMes listed here.
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine – see Food Drives and Fundraisers.
Stand with Minnesota – extensive list of organizations, mutual aid, and crowdfunding campaigns.
🩵Donate blood
Memorial Blood Center declared a blood emergency on Tuesday, Jan 13. MBC is the blood supplier for both tier 1 trauma hospitals in the metro area (Hennepin County Medical Center and North Memorial Health).
American Red Cross
🩵Donate food or other goods
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine – see Food Drives and Fundraisers.
Volunteer your time (under the cut)
🩵Mutual aid
Reach out to your neighbors – especially if you know they are staying home right now – and ask if they need groceries or toiletry items. Offer to pick up prescriptions, give rides, or shovel their driveway. If you know them well, bring them a treat that you know they'll enjoy. Or just ask them how they're doing and let them know you are there to support.
Connect with any of the orgs above and see if they are looking for volunteers.
Connect with a church or mosque in your area. From u/MuddieMaeSuggins: "I know a lot of regular Redditors are not religious (myself included) but like it or not this is a where a lot of community organizing happens, especially in immigrant communities."
Connect with your local school's admin office and/or their PTA. It's ok to reach out even if you don't have kids at the school. PTAs are organizing mutual aid for school families, safe rides, school observers.
🩵Activism
Find an official protest or other event via Indivisible, 50501, FREE AMERICA, or MIRAC. Students at many high schools are staging walk-outs; if your local school is doing this, reach out to school leadership or the PTA and ask how you can support as a community member.
Join the effort to stop Hilton from housing ICE by booking hotel rooms and then cancelling at the last minute. This action can be done from home! The effort is being organized by Sunrise Movement, who are telling activists to target specific hotels one-by-one. More info: SHUT DOWN HILTON
Find people in your area who are actively monitoring ICE and/or stationing themselves in high-traffic areas and ask how you can help. Check for local FB events where people are organizing and just show up.
At minimum, read the COPAL Handbook before you go out to observe. The DFL, Monarca, and other orgs have been hosting online trainings for constitutional observers (though these fill up quickly).
When you see ICE in action, start recording. Be as loud and as disruptive as possible: honk your horn, set off your car alarm, blow your whistle. Let people know that ICE is in the area. If you see someone being detained, try to get their name and a phone number to call their emergency contact.
If you do not feel comfortable observing ICE in person, there are ways you can support from home. Just ask the people who are organizing in your area. I have social anxiety, and I had never participated in any kind of political action before this past Saturday. If I can do it, you can!
Local organizers are requesting that people who help monitor ICE DO NOT participate in 1-to-1 mutual aid efforts, as these can put the families you are helping at risk.
If you have friends/acquaintances who are sympathetic but not politically active, reach out to them. Show them that they're not alone in feeling helpless. Pick a few low-commitment actions from this list and do them together.
Every time I see a picture of this 5-year-old little boy with his bunny hat and Spiderman backpack, I get so angry and my heart breaks. Incredible... simply incredibly inhuman. 😤🥺😡
The Minneapolis Brass Band (Brass Solidarity) improvises a mash-up of "Stand By Me" and "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" at a memorial for Alex Pretti. [X]
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