Absolutely stellar breakdown.

We’re in an era where money is power, and it affords you the time, energy, and other resources to mostly ignore anything you want, even laws. While the working class comparatively has little to no control over their few resources, those that organize are doing so because they feel they have no other choice, and it’s literally about survival. I’m sure most folks involved in protests have important things to do in their daily lives and they wouldn’t be demonstrating en masse unless it was deemed important.

Strength in numbers is all we have, and to understand the scope of an issue, we must organize, educate, and then disrupt and demonstrate if we ever hope to reform or dismantle systems that continue to exploit every single thing with value in this world. We’re seeing the consequences of inaction in real time, and guess what? Climate and ecosystem collapse + severe economic inequality is what we get when we do nothing to course correct.

This is the way.

Hear hear!

100%. I imagine this dude was just begging for a moment like this to shoot someone. Very reminiscent of the young girl that was murdered by the upstate NY homeowner when they turned on to the wrong driveway. This is so awful. I hope that young boy and his friend are okay, and I hope the shooter catches prison time.

Moving past feeling “lucky” to be able to pursue my desires in life, I can’t help but feel shame when I reflect on the multitude of reasons why Afghanistan has deteriorated to this state. Yet another tragic victim of foreign invasion and meddling, of which my country is complicit.

Hell yeah, ebikes! As a decarbonization strategy, it’s one of the most sound, but we need to have safe, separate bike lanes and infrastructure that isn’t shared with cars because car drivers are frankly not interested in sharing the road. Transportation is most often the leading cause of GHGs - that or emissions from buildings (they seem to be at parity). So if we can kick the car lobby out of state decision making for city planning and transportation, we can actually have a chance at safer, equitable single occupant transport options for all income levels, and reduce our climate impact at the same time. Who’s with me?!

I really appreciate your points and this comparison, but the pictures are giving me Attack on Titan vibes lol

Such a good blog post. It covers so much important information in an entertainingly snarky tone.

You know that effect you get when you stare at a dancing soap bubble in the sunlight? All of those! 😊

Pixelated, even!

I think I get how this can be related to politics, but maybe the discussion lies in the conditions where capitalism is positioned to thrive off of the backs of working class folks by stealing their precious little free time.

You talk about the effect that it has and that does have value. But if we’re to learn how to fight against oppressive systems, we have to start somewhere by focusing on a sector to improve the awareness or interest in, say, mutual aid networks.

How do they serve us, the working class, and how might we reclaim this precious free time by changing our approach to something we do day to day? Fighting capitalism and oppression takes time because we have to learn why we’re being oppressed.

And if I may, you might focus on union busting tactics and legislation. What’s the friendliness factor toward labor movements in your local government? Who in your city council is a thorn in the side of labor movements? How do they systematically prevent people from helping people through collective action?

Just a few observations and thoughts that might get any conversation on track. Hope it’s helpful!

That really puts it in perspective.

It’s not smooth, but it sure acts like it sometimes.

It’s always disturbing to see the influence that money has on information flow. Kudos to Bianca Graulau for having immense journalistic integrity and not backing down on sharing this story!

This comment isn’t helpful, but I really love Demon’s Tilt. I appreciate this post and the suggestions here!

It surely is a big deal. You’re ignoring the “having to find another place to live” part. When you have no place to go and no plan or agreement in place to be somewhere else, it can feel very isolating and hopeless because you lack stability. If you’re low income, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or disabled, good luck finding a place easily. The article itself even mentions that there was higher competition for rentals nearby after a severe weather catastrophe.

Sure, as a homeowner you have to eat the cost of repairs, and often times you’re required to carry insurance on a property, so there’s some coverage and help there, but you can literally pitch a tent on the land and not be bothered or kicked out because you literally own it. Not so easy for a renter.

This is my hope as well. As a mostly independent voter, she’s gonna have to do more to convince the Greens, PSLs, and Liberals that she won’t renege on things she’s signaled have her support and what will be challenged.

The fact that so many international companies have decided to side with a major aggressor during this terrible event in history is one of the most awful things I didn’t expect to witness. We all know that big business and money shapes world politics, but damn… This is straight up horrible. It could be any of us for any reason moving forward.

Standard Texas government corruption and lack of accountability. Sadly no surprises here.

There is a procedure in place for granting permits to industry like this in every state. In New York, for example, when a potential site is selected, the business must apply for the permit to build and goes through a process of reviewing environmental and human harms in the area based on their operations. They are also required to notify residents and hold public participation events to ensure residents can ask questions about the development. “Good neighbor laws” are sorely needed in Texas, but the state would never allow that cause there’s no money to be made in protecting the people and the planet.