One thing I don’t understand is why, when people are outraged by some injustice or affront — like book bans — they don’t first look to see who is already tracking the issue, who’s already working on education + organization. “We need to do something!” People *are*. Find them. Help them.
facts. i just keep remembering all the folks post-dobbs who were saying things like, “you can stay with me in NY if you need an abortion!” and how *actual* pro-abortion activists had to be like “don’t do that; you’ll get people arrested!”
there’s a reason organizing takes so much work.
Yes indeed! The long-term organizers have most likely already thought through all the logistical and legal issues! (Also: I’m surprised to see this 8-month-old post resurface! :)
Pointing again at my US Blue State Challenge. If you live in a "blue state", pick the red state you hate the most and the issue you care about the most and find a group in that state working on that issue and support them.
Thanks for amplifying this message! (My initial post was inspired by The New Republic’s campaign to ship copies of banned books to red states — rather than fighting against the destruction of public libraries + schools and their boards!)
I think people are finally interested in this—working with folks already on the ground in "red states"—because of various recent events.
And that's good, but I still wish they had been interested months or even years ago.
I rant about this in environmental activism every day. It’s great that you just learned that the ocean is in trouble and needs help. The first thing that pops into your head about how to fix it is unlikely to be useful. Find a group that’s already helping and help them.
Evergreen post, for real!
Agree completely, and see it as a function of desperately individualistic Western culture.
It’s a legit problem, because we don’t reap the compounding interest of collective effort. Also lots of resources are wasted on the solo efforts…
😣
