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faythofdragons@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

None of this gets you a tax benefit, and the state doesn’t count food bank volunteer hours towards your food stamps hours or community service or anything. Another reason I say it’s mutual aid and not a charity.

We’ve also set up a tool library, and somebody is providing barn space for community repair projects. My partner is a carpenter by trade, and while he’s unemployed, he’s been showing people how to safely use the tools. I’m disabled, and unemployed, so I’m designing event fliers and providing web hosting for the group. Most of the group is low-income at best, but we absolutely chipped into a pot when a member had to undergo major surgery.

The criticism of charity that I’ve heard, is that by filling in the gaps left by capitalism, you’re postponing the revolution. People need to understand that capitalism is bad, and for that to happen, capitalism needs to fail utterly. Harm reduction and charity keeps capitalism from failing utterly, and is therefore a bad thing.

But honestly, I think 99% of the talk on the Fediverse about all this really is just people wanting to start shit. It’s easy to just say that Americans are incapable of doing anything, and then be derisive when somebody attempts to do something. I live in a rural town of less than 3k, thousands of miles from DC, so nothing I do will ever be big enough or good enough to change federal policy, and is therefore considered a waste of time by your average commenter here.

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Arcanepotato@crazypeople.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I say this with kindness: If a criticism doesn’t apply to you then it doesn’t apply to you. Anyone can get online and say whatever they want. There is a lot of nonsense out there. A lot of people playing fantasy.

I know it’s hard to let people talk shit directly about you and your initiatives but you don’t owe them an explanation and there is no benefit to convincing them if they are strangers on the internet.

It’s easy to just say that Americans are incapable of doing anything, and then be derisive when somebody attempts to do something. I live in a rural town of less than 3k, thousands of miles from DC, so nothing I do will ever be big enough or good enough to change federal policy, and is therefore considered a waste of time by your average commenter here.

Some people might be saying exactly that, but I think people take criticism of the american system really personally and make it about themselves.

When people criticize my government (and there is a lot to criticise) I don’t get defensive because I have no interest in defending the state and I know I am doing what I can to improve conditions locally and disrupt the systems that enable our own brand of imperialism.

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- faythofdragons@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  there is no benefit to convincing them if they are strangers on the internet.
  
  There is absolutely benefit to countering the false rhetoric that nobody is doing anything. I want to inspire others to do stuff in their own communities and stop getting discouraged by all the “you only have stupid protests” nonsense that gets spread around here. Nobody believes an anti-hierarchical grassroots movement could form in a rural town, because they just assume rural = trump supporter, even the people who live here.
  
  Let me tell you, despite being in a rural town, we only get a handful of hecklers at each big protest. We routinely get a crowd of 200 protestors, dozens of people honking in support, and only a couple of people rolling coal. We keep getting people stopping to express shock that we even exist, people keep thinking they’re the only anti-trumpers living out here, but they’re not.
  
  People aren’t going to do stuff if they think they’re on their own. The news isn’t going to spread word about supportive communities in your area. If we don’t talk about what we’re doing, who will?
  
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  - Arcanepotato@crazypeople.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    There is absolutely benefit to countering the false rhetoric that nobody is doing anything.
    
    That’s my point though. The rhetoric isn’t nobody is doing anything. I didn’t make this meme but I can’t imagine a way to make a meme that also says “this doesn’t apply to you if you are doing something, carry on”.
    
    Nobody believes an anti-hierarchical grassroots movement could form in a rural town,
    
    People who believe that are foolish, and aren’t interested in hearing from rural towns because they have already made up their mind.
    
    (I’m rural btw)
    
    Anyways, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, just trying to share things I think are helpful. I don’t take offence to being told I’m wrong and it’s not useful. Good luck, I hope you are successful with your initiative…
    
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    faythofdragons@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    The rhetoric isn’t nobody is doing anything.
    
    So when you said “Why is cooperation and mutual aid so invisible to americans”, what did you mean? I understood it to mean that you didn’t think anybody was doing anything.
    
    People who believe that are foolish, and aren’t interested in hearing from rural towns because they have already made up their mind.
    
    But I’ve literally experienced the opposite, lol. I hear from the people themselves that they’ve just never thought that it could happen out here until they saw it happening out here. Propaganda affects us all.
    
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