Thread by @MsKellyMHayes

Some people have been talking about what's special about this site. Yesterday, someone texted me that my name came up in the program at our local elementary school's centennial celebration, bc I played a major role in helping to fund the school clinic. We did that. On here.

Those children have ready access to basic medical care, including vaccinations, on site, at school. Studies indicated that the clinic would reduce the number of missed school days and be a huge help to parents. It has accomplished both.

Remember the time we crowdfunded the plumbing works for six immigrant families who needed running water? I do. I think about them all the time.

https://twitter.com/MsKellyMHayes/status/1274963580622901248?s=20&t=b4yR8dG5mtLfd5WkhQCFIg

Or the times we rallied to get dozens of people out of immigration detention.

https://twitter.com/MsKellyMHayes/status/1146942866108964864?s=20&t=pmGVGHZg7d8OBsSWJdJxCQ

How the #FreeBresha campaign stopped the state of Ohio from locking up a 14 yr old for killing her abusive father in self defense. Decades of a young person's life were saved and twitter was among the more crucial organizing spaces for that campaign.

https://twitter.com/MsKellyMHayes/status/866818354262224897?s=20&t=jCgW3wfN3F86kNQXoeCK-Q

How we raised funds on here for Bresha's housewarming, when she moved here to my neighborhood in Chicago to start a new life and be with my collective, of which she is now a member.

https://twitter.com/MsKellyMHayes/status/1451935489968287756?s=20&t=b4yR8dG5mtLfd5WkhQCFIg

Bresha was at the center of a campaign we waged on here. Now, she's like family and one of the most important people in my life. This space has brought so many people into my world and allowed me to work in concert with others to do more good than I can honestly even remember.

We have gotten SO MANY people out of jail, covered car and home repairs, medical expenses, replenished mutual aid pantries, bought generators that were sent to disaster zones, and so much more. That's why I am here until the fucking wheels come off. Bc we have done good here.

I also want people to understand that social media was not built to facilitate this work. It simply created a realm so unprecedented that the usual, manufactured stumbling blocks, that maintain the status quo, didn't hold us back.

Marginalized people got shit done on here bc no one saw us coming. We built out platforms & campaigns, not bc some benevolent company wanted to help, but bc we were one step ahead of the status quo. We've already seen retaliation, from people who resent that prominence, for yrs.

People like this site's new owner don't think people like us should have that kind of power. In their minds, something like that school clinic should only exist if a particularly rich person is feeling benevolent -- and they def don't want our opinions to drive social norms.

Don't get me wrong. Twitter and social media are all kinds of fucked up. I could go on for days about that. But what's happening now is even more fucked up, as are the reasons. So I'm gonna keep doing what I do. Just as I always have. Bc that's me. I am no stranger to disaster.

I may branch out and try to establish other options (Project Mushroom, hit me up), but I am not going anyfuckingwhere until this place either collapses or loses all utility. I realize we are on the edge of those outcomes, but for now, I will tweet from the edge.