Thread by @jfkantrowitz

Hi folks! I thought I'd do a quick thread on mutual aid, its origins, how it differs from charity, and how it is used on Twitter. I'm by no means an expert in this field, but it's something I've been learning about both in theory and practice, and I think it's really cool!

You may have seen fundraisers shared as "mutual aid opportunities." Or maybe you've seen #SettlerSaturday where folks share the needs of Indigenous families or individuals. Or maybe you give to @togetherrising or have received help from them. These are all forms of mutual aid.

Mutual aid differs from charity in a few ways. First, it happens within community, whether defined geographically, by marginalized identity, or otherwise. Second, there aren't givers & receivers, rather everyone rallies around the community member who currently needs support.

Third, it is political and revolutionary. Mutual aid is an understanding within a community that the current political and social structures do not provide for our survival and thriving, and that we need to step in to support each other as well as work for change.

The term "mutual aid" was popularized by the anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin as a social/evolutionary theory that posited, contrary to social Darwinism, that it is cooperation rather than competition that helps a species survive.

Twitter is one of the places where mutual aid is practiced. Because of this, among other reasons, the possibility of Twitter falling apart is particularly distressing to marginalized peoples such as the disabled community. slate.com/technology/202…

The thing that I find so beautiful and fascinating about mutual aid is that it's...magic? It's not, primarily, wealthy people giving huge amounts of money. It's the same $10 passed back and forth from person to person, and somehow, against all the rules of mathematics, it works!

@threadreaderapp unroll please and thank you