If you're feeling despair over the fires in the Amazon, here's my attempt to be useful. Thread.
Some of you have read this one. It's a reflection on living on the edge of ecological collapse. I wrote it bc I needed to read it and I return to it weekly.
transformativespaces.org/2019/06/08/sat…
This piece is the best rundown I've read on the history of deforestation in the Amazon and its impacts on the Indigenous people who live there. It also discusses Indigenous resistance efforts. If you care, this stuff is worth knowing.
interc.pt/31V1DUa
This is a shorter piece by award winning climate reporter @DahrJamail about the fires & their context. If you're thinking, "this isn't making me feel better," I get it, but I believe understanding these things is part of the process of overcoming despair.
truthout.org/articles/the-a…
There is hope in the fight & in our willingness to fight. Part of the struggle in this moment is to help ppl make connections between their pain over what's happening in the Amazon & the work that needs to be done here in the U.S. Trump is waging his own war on the natural world.
Like Bolsonaro, Trump has used hate speech to promote environmental destruction. Trump's wall will devestate ecosystems. Bolsonaro wants to clear the rainforest for commercial purposes before global alarm over ecological collapse creates greater pressure to preserve the forests.
Sadly, Bolsonaro doesn't presently have a lot to be afraid of, in terms of substantive international pressure. In truth, most of us have not paid close attention to the quickening pace of deforestation in the Amazon in the last 7 yrs or so. But that can change.
Last yr, a student at a talk I gave asked me what I'd say to students who want to get involved w social justice work but are super busy and don't want to risk getting an arrest record. I told him Indigenous ppl were already dying each week to ensure life on Earth, including his.
This moment is an opportunity to get right with the struggles we have not honored or appreciated. It's a chance to reconcile that Indigenous people, who have already suffered the violence of colonialism and imperialism, have often fought alone. We can acknowledge and change that.
The U.N. has clearly stated that the transformation required of us is massive and that Indigenous people, who are historically the best stewards of land, have the best guidance to offer. This is a moment to spread and embrace that truth.
thenation.com/article/biodiv…
Remember that the context of these events is fascistic and that fascism and ecological collapse are mutually reinforcing. We can panic about that foreshadowed spiral or we can get our learn on and fight fascism.
There's good content out there about how to build a mass movement against fascism. It can be done. Listen to people who know their shit on this.
truthout.org/articles/portl…
When it comes to environmentalism and direct action, we don't have to start from scratch. We can learn from recent history and from the brave work that many people who are still in the fight have made happen -- and we can show them due respect.
If you're thinking "we are not ready," you are right. But we are not the first group of people who've had to join forces with whoever is willing to fight and throw down like everything depends on it, because it does. Prison organizing offers a great model. truthout.org/articles/the-m…
When it comes to the climate crisis, I won't tell you that what's done can be undone. Some actions have irrevocable consequences. But we can fight to keep the natural world alive as long as possible, and we should.
When it comes to our politics, transformation is possible.
I'm not saying "don't be afraid." I'm afraid. Every damn day. Of fascism. Of the end of the world. But if the end comes sooner than later, I know who I want to be at the end of the world. Do you?
The person you are now is the person you would be at any moral crossroads in human history. Who is that person? Who will that person be in the ultimate struggle between life and death? Between good and evil? I'm guessing that person could be pretty bad ass.
We must recognize that Trump is not the totality of the crisis and beat back narratives that say otherwise. We can work to inform people that capitalism, white supremacy and neoliberalism have culminated in the rise of fascism & rally our communities against all of these forces.
People who have long done the work of direct action have gifted us with a great deal of knowledge. Collectives like mine reshare that knowledge through workshops, but there's also a lot of great content to read out there.
byebye45.net/introduction
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