ganswitch

[ganswitch]

Most of the “keep up the work after the protests have ended!”-type posts I’ve seen are mostly focused on like, reading Black authors and listening to Black voices and unlearning racism, and obviously all of that is absolutely vital - but no amount of individual self-reflection will be able to dismantle institutional systems of oppression. So I wanted to put together some resources for continuing to build a culture of noncompliance and resistance to the police and prison system even after things have calmed down

But first, be aware that the protests aren’t over. It’s June 29th and there are still events and actions being planned regularly across the nation, and they still need your participation and support. If you’re able, please keep your focus there; this list is for what can be done long-term outside of the protests

Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You don’t have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you don’t have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and don’t let up, don’t ever cooperate with the police

Don’t snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, don’t answer

Don’t call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Don’t be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts

When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable

Use proper opsec, especially if you’re involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start

Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesn’t deserve punishment for it. Don’t be complicit in unjust punishment

Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down

Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldn’t be in jail just because they can’t pay

Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild

Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support

Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown

Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:

Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of “official” chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for “[your area] black lives matter” (beware of fakes though)

Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network

Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis

The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization

The IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons

Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link I’ve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area that’s not part of that federation, so a web search for “[your area] black cross” may be better

Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS

Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternational‘s guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the “antifa checker” accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)

The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the state’s ability to oppress communities of color. Don’t let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!

Boosts and additional resources are very much appreciated!

[ganswitch]

a lot of people will say things like “we all said stuff we don’t agree with now when we were younger” and i agree to an extent, many of us did have some level of ignorance before but here are a couple thoughts –

1.) not everyone was virulently, violently racist. yes maybe many people weren’t educated on the nuances of systemic racism, said things that were far far from perfect, etc., but if you really think EVERYONE was out here thinking blackface and slurs were okay??? i have questions about your childhood??

2.) we are not all public figures. public figures must be held to a different standard because of the power they wield. a platform is a PRIVILEGE not a right.

3.) if you are a public figure and your early videos were racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc., you effectively built your career off of that. that is where your career took off. you have directly profited off of bad behavior. many of these apology videos are filmed in million dollar homes bought in part by these videos. 

4.) not posting blatantly racist things is not the same as being actively anti-racist. same with sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. I am white, so this is not for me to determine what counts as effective anti-racism, but it’s for sure not an ABSENCE of action

[ganswitch]

Pahichan by Sujata Gurung

Pahichan is all about looking at Nepalese female identity.

https://www.instagram.com/suzulamagurung/

[ganswitch]

cats are like. i am very small and have cute little triangle ears. also locking me out of the bathroom is a hate crime

[ganswitch]

Hey, if you’re not black and can’t get out and protest but want to know how you can help black people, consider donating to the Black Covid Relief Fund which goes directly to black people who’ve been affected by this pandemic. Black People are being disproportionately affected by this virus and anything you can give helps.

[ganswitch]

Since yesterday I made the mistake of saying that this should be obvious:

Don’t publicly reveal information about someone that might get them targeted for a hate crime.

If you know that someone is LGBTQ, or HIV positive, or Jewish, or Muslim, or they’ve had an abortion, or some other trait that can be outwardly invisible but is subject to widespread discrimination or hate, spreading that knowledge can be dangerous. Don’t tell strangers or publicize it without their permission. You might get them fired or hurt or disowned.

Generally it’s a bad idea to talk about someone’s specific and identifiable personal information behind their back, particularly with strangers, but “things that could get them harassed or murdered if the wrong people found out” are the subjects you should always treat as privileged information.

You should also treat autism as privileged information unless they specifically permit you to share that they are autistic; revealing people’s medical history and/or diagnoses to strangers is rude and potentially dangerous, even if you’re also autistic and comfortable with strangers knowing.

[ganswitch]

here is a carrd for BLM 

here is a carrd for the crisis happening right now in Yemen

here is a carrd for Hong Kong

here is a carrd for Palestine.

here is a carrd for trans rights 

here is a carrd for the terror bill in Philippines. 

here is a carrd with various donation links (for Syria, BLM etc)

here is a carrd for LGBT+ rights

this post is constantly being updated - please send an ask if you find more!

[ganswitch]

this pride month remember that autistic adults can and do have healthy sexual lives and nothing about having autism makes us "incapable of consenting" or "oblivious to sex" and that the fight to autistic body autonomy is real, so covering up topics of sex because you personally dont think it's a big issue is ignoring a big issue in autistic dating lives

[ganswitch]

the human rights campaign is suing the trump administration over their decision to do what they’re doing to section 1557 of the affordable care act, allowing medical care providers to refuse service to trans people.  if you can donate, please do.  i’m going to try and figure out literally any way i can make extra money so that i can donate as well in my current situation.

[ganswitch]

This website will chew people out for cultural appropriation of closed cultures but suddenly become deaf when Jewish people tell them not to appropriate their shit.

I see you and I'm fucking sick of your shit.

[ganswitch]

White people need to develop empathy en masse.

[ganswitch]

every nerd who donated to ao3 has to donate the equal amount to blm fundraisers I’m just saying

[ganswitch]

The Navajo have a unique tradition. When a baby is born, it is regarded as the ultimate, precious gift and must never be abused. From the moment of birth, the child is watched over continuously by family and friends, who patiently wait for the child’s first…laugh.

“Has your baby laughed?” is common question posed to parents who have infants around the age of three months. The first laugh of a Navajo child is a very significant event. It marks the child’s final passing from the spirit world to the physical world, meaning he or she is now fully human. This milestone warrants a party, and what a party it is!

Whichever brother, sister, parent, cousin, aunt, uncle, or passing acquaintance is present at the first laugh is deemed to have caused it.  The laughter instigator then receives the honored privilege of preparing a special ceremony to welcome the child into society.

Once a baby has laughed, training in generosity begins immediately—a value held in high regard among the Navajo people. At the party, where the baby is considered the host, the parents or person responsible for the first laugh help hold the baby’s hand as he or she ceremonially gives the rock salt, food, and gifts to each guest. There are also bags of candy, money, and other presents that the child “gives” along with the food. [x]

Fact Sources/more info: [1] [2] For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

[ganswitch]

happy juneteenth! maybe think of commissioning or donating to a black lesbian?

[ganswitch]

DANGER OF EVICTION & DEPORTATION I am Jah (blackbaberevolution or blackboyrevolution), I am an bi nb Jamaican immigrant on a student permit living in the Bahamas (once was undocument in America) because of my status, I am unable to work legally, or have a bank account, and must stay in school to stay in the country. My controlling abusive mother cut me off recently because she’s a ultra christian bigot and found out I was having sex with a guy behind her back (i’m 23). She’s not paying for my school (despite me maintaining a 3.50+ Gpa), and threatened to kick me out. Though I have places to stay I need money for food, transportation and to pay for the minimum amount of classes to stay in the country. I tried to handle this on my own for a month now but I have no choice now.  Please give any help you can, whether it’s a reblog or a dollar. Help me survive during and after quarantine.  my friends’ paypal account:  ashleyadderley@gmail.com PS: please send a message on paypal saying, “for Jah” so my friend knows the donation is for me. Message me privately on tumblr if you want proof of my unstable immigration status or grades. Last day for school payments is Aug 5. 2020 and my permit expires in september.  I am a writer and I can write ficlet with an edit if you want one. <3 Thank you. 

[ganswitch]

Give your money to Black transgender folks now more than ever, especially women. Donate to their posts, support organizations dedicated to their protection. Advocate with your cash for them. I’m deadass, and I’m not arguing on this post.

[ganswitch]

i have been keeping my distance from social media due to all the negativity towards blm and how many uncensored posts there is of black people getting killed and hurt... my last post isn’t up to date and considerably long so here’s another

i am a disabled austistic black trans man who was recently evicted. while i have found a place to stay with my partner, i used all my funds on the move and rent. anything helps as i do not have a job and have no income coming in. i know this is a trying time for all but if anyone can donate or boost that would be awesome. all donations will go to food, bills, necessities, and rent for next month. could really use assistance

venmo @ wondy

cashapp $wondy

PayPal.me/wondys

boost if you can