Notices by Mx Aria Stewart (aredridel@anarchism.space)

How do we build social spaces that leave more room for get-to-know-you? How can we reduce the prejudgement that comes from presenting a globally consistent face to the world, like individualistic social media does? How can we let people interactively vet the groups they're joining before they commit? What affordances do we need to understand community from the point of view of a new member?

If you can vote in the US, your vote isn't a diluted action. If anything, disenfranchisement has made your vote artificially powerful. Use it for good.

Y'know what? Use they/them for everyone unless a preference otherwise is learned. There. No more gendered pronouns without a damn reason.

There's a strain of anarchism I'm not here for.

White boy nihilists.

There's little more toxic than white nihilism. "I was treated like I don't matter, therefore nothing matters, therefore I can fuck shit up and it's their problem."

Growing up without the expectation of privilege, this does not happen.

"I was treated like I don't matter, therefore I don't matter. I can take my shitty little bit of agency and maybe have some fun. Or maybe if I get lucky, help someone."

It's a far better take

There's a reason I pay so much attention (and have so many deep feelings) about the difference between conflict and abuse.

I honestly believe that mistaking conflict for abuse is the thing that abuse needs to survive. The extreme of this is zero tolerance.

When you cannot bring up an issue without the maximum penalty immediately on the table, the stakes are too high to solve a conflict.

Which means we now shy away from talking about things. This is the silence abuse needs to fester.