#Practical

[dailyanarchistposts]

On May Day 2017, anarchists participated in lively demonstrations all around the United States, from the heartland to the coasts. In the Northwest, Seattle witnessed a successful block party at the site of a juvenile corrections center, while in Olympia anarchists barricaded train tracks to oppose fracking and clashed with police. Support arrestees here. Yet Portland, Oregon may take the cake for the most creative and combative May Day. Demonstrators not only defended themselves from unprovoked attacks from police who declared the march a riot—they also introduced exciting new innovations into the aesthetic of the black bloc street presence. Here, comrades from Portland explain their goals with the giant spiders they created for May Day, and offer a helpful guide for those who wish to make spiders of their own.

In an effort to bridge the gap between art and activism, giant spiders were assembled off-site and pushed up the street to the demonstration, stocked with water bottles, snacks, earplugs, and other party favors. The idea was to narrow the divide between “us” and “them” that often exists at demonstrations, and it was a complete success. We performed community outreach, engaged in cultural development, boosted morale, provided crucial supplies, and created an amazing photo opportunity in the process.

The concept is multi-dimensional: it works on many different levels. The idea began from frustrations around attendance at local demonstrations. In Portland, where the majority of citizens seem to be white, middle-class, and apolitical on account of these privileges, they don’t show up unless a demonstration concerns their interests specifically. However, Portlanders are fascinated by their own love of art and “wacky” stuff as well as the commodification of protest as “funtertainment.” We decided to embrace this love of the “weird” to test whether a hyper-localized approach to engaging people could succeed.

Our tactical art enabled us to fill a supporting role for other participants in the march, helping challenge narratives that the black bloc is an “othered” or “othering” tactic. Whether this separation is intentional or not, the fact remains that the general public is often hesitant to engage with us. Bearing that in mind—as well the tendency of the Portland Police Department to brutally shut down demonstrations—we stocked our Spiders with fliers, water, LAW (liquid, antacid, water, the eyewash with which street medics treat pepper spray), ear plugs, and snacks. We also included a few other party favors, because anarchy needs revelry!

We intentionally engaged with the folks around us. A lot of people walked up to ask what the spiders meant! It was inspiring to see so much dialogue between folks in everyday garb and folks in black bloc. We explained the ideas behind our actions as anarchists and the creations themselves: the three spiders representing Mutual Aid, Solidarity, and Direct Action.

A word about symbolism. The idea of using the spider as an icon of resistance is that spiders are always there watching, waiting, and keeping the environment free of pesky insects and other parasites that consume resources without supporting their fellow beings. While we may look scary, we’re here with you and for you. We are the spiders, and the insects are the societal ills that we fight against.

The symbolism of the black widow spider is rich with history that guides our work. We want to contribute to that rich history, adding our own interpretations. Mutual Aid, Solidarity, Direct Action are our black widow’s cruses. (Crux? Curse? Cures?)

In regards to developing our own culture, there are many barriers we face in this process. State repression is the biggest threat, of course. The specter of state repression can complicate organizing, planning, and building trust in our communities. Portland has a history of repression and slander, ruining the lives of activists and anarchists; these horror stories reverberate throughout the underground. We can’t allow ourselves to be publicly disparaged and forced into hiding by our adversaries and their culture war, so we create as a political act. Creating is intuitively human: we plan, we build, we think, we conspire, we imagine. It is also an activity in which everyone can engage to some degree while building new skills. It enables us to get to know each other, build trust, and share time and company.

More globally, seizing the Spectacle is a step towards our goals, because it allows us to dictate our own narratives. With the development of Public Relations and Social Engineering, the visage of capitalism has come to define its delusional reality. To paraphrase Guy Debord, lived experiences are now taken in as a collection of representational images. We can tell our own stories and show the general public what these three principles mean in action. We can create our own mythos, speaking out on our own terms, in our own language, with our own symbols. The state and media dictate too much of what we’re allowed to say and how it’s spun—it’s time to spin our own webs to connect and fortify our relationships.

We are building the bridges we need to move forward. The existing connections between art, activism, and anarchism are fiery and well-storied. The new wave of repression under Trump’s regime is still building steam, but it is already proving dangerous. We need to be more careful than ever. Art allows us to demonstrate and show our fangs, and we can use art to empower those around us.

[anarchopuppy]

Here's uBlock Origin's official guide to bypassing youtube's anti-adblock popups, updated weekly. Please share widely. Don't reward google for their predatory anti-consumer bullshit

To summarize: 1. Get uBlock Origin and make sure it's updated to the latest version. 2. Click on the gear icon to get to the dashboard, go to "Filter lists", and make sure that "uBlock filters - Quick fixes" is up to date

Repeat those steps any time you get another popup (google and uBlock are having an arms race right now so it might stop working at any moment), and if you have any more problems, read the reddit thread for troubleshooting advice

[4dkellysworld]

Let go of everything

Every position that you find yourself in, every situation that you find yourself in, with whomever you find yourself, the positions that you have or don’t have, whatever you may be in this world, is your right place at this moment. Bless this, love it. I know it sounds hard when you think of a horrible condition and you say, “I must love it?” Let me explain again. The reason you love it, is because God is all there is. Try to remember this. There is nothing but God. Therefore if you hate something, you’re hating God which is your Self. It’s all coming out of you. You are That. You must learn to trust and love your Self, your precious Self. When you become despondent, depressed, hateful, feeling sorry for yourself, this is what blasphemy really means, for you’re feeling this way about your Self. Can’t you see? There’s only your Self. If you think something is horrible, you’re speaking about your Self. You look at a situation, you watch it, you observe it, you never react, you leave it alone. And then you’ll be given the power that you need to handle it, to go through it, without thinking, without thoughts, without any commotion, without any noise. These are the things you must work on. Be that Self. Never be frightened again by anything. If I can make this perfectly clear to you, never allow anything in this world to ever frighten you. Allow things to unfold as they may. Remember, you just watch and observe. Hold on to the truth. Happiness will come of its own accord. When you hold on to the truth, when you do not react to life’s conditions, person, place or thing, when you leave things alone and you stop fighting life, you’re not giving up. I’m telling you there is nothing to fight. And the only thing you’re giving up is your ego. You’re giving up your body, your ego, your mind. You rise to a higher dimension where there is happiness, peace, compassion, love and joy, that is naturally yours. You begin to feel these things instead of the things you felt before, prior to this, when you were fighting life, when you were sticking up for your rights, when you were trying to get even, when you were working as an ego. Let go of everything. Do not hold on. Stand naked before God, without any crutches, without anything to hold on to. When you can do this, from this moment on you will begin to rise. And you will become aware that you are not the body or the mind or the world or the universe, but you are effortless, choiceless, Pure Awareness. You are boundless space, infinite like the sky. You have become everything, and everything has become you. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to stand naked before God. By standing naked I mean no scripture, no fancy words, no preconceived ideas, no spiritual intellectual knowledge. But to be totally naked, in humility and humbleness. Therefore when you can forget about your scripture, forget about everything you’ve learned, and become totally empty, you will then become full.

from Silence of the Heart - Robert Adams

[pratchettquotes]

"Just a minute," said Lobsang. "Who are you? Time has stopped, the world is given over to...fairy tales and monsters, and there's a schoolteacher running around?"

"Best kind of person to have," said Susan. "We don't like silliness. Anyway, I told you...I've inherited certain talents."

"Like living outside time?"

"That's one of them."

"It's a weird talent for a schoolteacher!"

"Good for grading papers, though," said Susan, calmly.

Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

[notdelusionalatall]

I gathered all my old and ruined lipsticks and melted them into one, so they won't go to waste.💁‍♀️

[cf-12]

Batman Forever (1995)

[momentsbeforemass]

Do the right thing

Most of us can handle doing the right thing when it’s obvious.

Not just in those moments when the contrast between good and evil could not be more stark. We’re good. We’ve got that one.

But also when it’s presented to us like today’s first reading (“Today I have set before you…”). As a monumental life choice moment. Where there’s no way that we could miss its importance. We’ve got that one as well.

We’re always going to put ourselves on God’s side when it’s that obvious.

What you and I struggle with? When it’s not. When it’s not obvious that this is one of those moments.

So let me help you with that one. I figured out the easy way to tell if this is one of those moments, and I want to share it with you. Here it is,

They all are.

They are all life choice moments. Wait, what?

Here’s what I mean – there are unmistakable life choice moments. Moments when you have the opportunity to make a real difference.

Like when someone who is being abused and isolated is finally able to call for help because their abuser is passed out. They’ve made the choice to escape. And they’re calling you for a ride to the domestic violence shelter. Right now, before he wakes up.

And you’re thinking, “That’s pretty obvious. That’s a life choice moment.”

Right. But what makes you someone who will drop everything to help them? What prepares you for that moment? 

All of the little life choice moments of everyday life.

The countless moments of daily living when you and I can go with God, can do the right thing. Or not.

No one of them is monumental. By themselves, they’re not that much. But taken together, they shape our lives. They shape us. More than our handful of monumental moments ever can.

Saying something encouraging when you see someone struggling. Or not.

Helping someone who needs it. Or not.

Making time for someone who needs to be heard. Or not.

Deciding to treat them like you want to be treated. Or not.

They’re all life choice moments. And they’re yours for the taking every day. Or not.

Taken together, their cumulative effect on you makes it possible for you to do the right thing in those monumental moments.

Every one of them takes you a step closer to God, a step close to who God made you to be. Or a step farther away.

The countless, practical moments for holiness.

The everyday moments that we are given to get over ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

Today’s Readings

[blackswaneuroparedux]

La Haute Couture devrait être amusante, insensée et presque inusable.

- Christian Lacroix

[dailyanarchistposts]

I am currently detained in an Israeli jail, the result of refusing to attend or cooperate with criminal charges laid against me and two others for joining Palestinian protests in the West Bank against Israel’s colonial rule. Because I am an Israeli citizen, the proceedings in the case are held in an Israeli court in Jerusalem and not at the military court, where Palestinians are tried.

It has been almost nine years since the last time I was incarcerated for more than a day or two. Much has changed since. Politically, reality does not even resemble that of a decade ago, and none of the changes were for the better.

Politically, the world seems to have lost much of its interest in the Palestinian struggle for liberation, placing Israel at one of the historical peaks of its political strength. I am in no position to discuss the profound changes within Israeli society and how even farther to the right it has drifted. Israeli liberals are much better suited for such a task, because they hold their country dear and feel a sense of belonging that I cannot feel and do not want to feel.

Personally, I am older, more tired and, mostly, not as healthy as I was. Of course, the price I have paid for my part in the struggle is a fraction of that paid by Palestinian comrades, but I cannot deny its subjective weight on me: from physical injuries, some irreversible, through sporadic despair, anxiety and sense of helplessness, to the encumbering sensation of loss and the presence of death – and the grip all these have on my day-to-day life. And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Right now, just as it was back then, sitting in prison is better than any other alternative available to me.

The legal fallacies that riddle the case against us are of little significance. While it is fair to assume that had I agreed to cooperate, the trial would have ended up with an acquittal, my refusal to recognize the court’s legitimacy is based on two main grounds.

The first is that my Palestinian comrades do not enjoy the luxury of being tried in the relatively comfortable conditions of the Israeli courts. Rather, they are tried as subjects in the parody of a legal system that are Israel’s military courts. Unlike me, Palestinians do not have the option of refusing to cooperate with their captors, since the vast majority of them are tried while remanded into custody for the duration of their proceedings.

Additionally, the punishment Palestinians are faced with is significantly harsher than that specified in Israeli law. Thus, in this regard as well, despite refusing to recognize the court’s legitimacy, the price I am likely to pay is significantly lower than that paid by my comrades.

The second, more fundamental ground to refuse to cooperate is that all Israeli courts, military or otherwise, lack any legitimacy to preside over matters of resisting Israeli colonial rule, which employs a hybrid regime, ranging between a distorted and racially discriminatory democracy in its sovereign territory and a flat-out military dictatorship in the occupied territories.

Faced with the tremendous shift to the right in Israeli politics, the shrinking remnants of the Zionist left – once the country’s dominant elite group – are consumed by lamenting the decline of Israeli democracy. But what democracy is it they wish to defend? The one that has dispossessed its Palestinian citizens of their lands and their rights? The one that, at best, views these Palestinian citizens as second-class? Perhaps it is the democracy that governs the Gaza Strip through vicious siege while it reigns as a military dictatorship in the West Bank?

Despite the obvious nature of the Israeli regime, Israeli liberals are not willing to contest the fundamental premise of internal Israeli discourse and acknowledge that the State of Israel simply is not a democracy. Never was.

To join the fight to topple Israeli apartheid, the few Jewish citizens of Israel willing to do so will first have to recognize that they are overprivileged and be willing to pay the price of relinquishing that status. An open rebellion against the regime has been taking place for decades, carried out by the Palestinian resistance movement. The price paid by those involved in it is immense. Jewish citizens of Israel must cross over and walk in their footsteps.

[4dkellysworld]

luvcompass highlights: Surrender

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ♡ .* :☆ﾟ.･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ♡ .* :☆ﾟ.･･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ♡ .* :☆ﾟ.･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.♡ .* :☆ﾟ

We think that we are our mind/body (identity) and we try desperately to get away from "it" - that leads to questions like "How do I change my awareness?". By society, we're taught to make effort, try harder, do this, do that. But the funny thing is, what's required is "no" effort - the watercourse way - no effort from the side of the mind. Because "trying to change" is the equivalent of trying to fight a shadow. The identity is a shadow, it is not us. Analyze your mind briefly, and you will find that it is nothing but a byproduct of societal conditioning, peer opinions, books, movies, whatever content you've most willingly consumed. The mind is incessantly thinking 24/7, it never stops. It drags you into its each and every thought. It's not really you thinking, you are being thought. "I want to change my awareness" - who does? The mind? It is not even you. You merely believe it to be yourself, and let yourself get dragged away by the thought. How do we stop this? There's only one way: surrender. Stop fighting. You cannot fight a shadow, you will only look like a fool. When you surrender, you go beyond and you re-realize yourself. Surrender. Surrender to however you are, whatever state you are in. Surrender to whatever is going on, whether you believe it to be good or bad, it does not matter, because it is the mind putting these labels on it. Stop chasing, because there is nothing that you need to achieve. Not even awareness, because you already are. There is no need to "go beyond the mind" because you already are beyond it. Do not try to intellectually understand this, just accept it, because it is truth. Your blood is flowing now, but your mind is not controlling that. What is? Awareness. You are already aware. So leave it. You are perfect as you are, perfection, godliness, divine.

Source

[random-xpressions]

What's the one advice I would give to my 20-year old self?

"Grow up, get realistic and stop being a sentimental fool, the world doesn't care!"

Random Xpressions

[intheiruniverse]

[luv4kokafox]

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

day 005/100 of study!

< 26/01/2024 >

Hello all! how are you? 🫶

Today is a pretty free day, I have 3 full hours of independent study where I can knuckle down and (hopefully) get a lot of work done that I haven’t had to chance to before. I’ve printed out a LOT of questions that I probably won’t have the chance to complete but it’s worth a shot over this weekend!

Tonight, I’d like to finish off those questions and write up all the notes that I’ve missed out on, but being realistic means that I’ll probably relax with my boyfriend 😭😭 the struggle of actually being productive starts now 😭

[goals]

✔️ finish biology questions

✔️ finish chem + bio notes for the tests

✔️ relax with bf 🩷

mock countdown : 74 days!

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

[videogamelover99]

Anyway I'm pretty convinced that Chuuya as a mentor Atsushi is someone who wants Atsushi to unlock all his Tiger powers and by god will there be so much destruction of property because of it.

[smogteeth]

Carver the Slasher

Carver was my design for a slasher character that was also a monster. Not a deformed person, but a real monster. Something attempting to be human, and failing at it. Taking it out on humans in the end, like a true narcissist. I had a LOT of fun designing and building him, and had a blast showing him off at Monsterpalooza!