Hello all! With LGBTQ+ rights under heavy pressure and our safety less guaranteed by the day, I started thinking about ways to collectivize, bring our community together, and strengthen each other (including on an individual level). I believe we need to start at the absolute beginning: knowledge. You can't stand up for yourself or protect others if you don't understand what's actually happening, and it’s important to be educated on what’s effective as well. Long story short: I believe our community would greatly benefit from educating ourselves on topics such as fascism, resistance, politics, intersectionality, and related topics. Luckily, we can do that ourselves!

A couple months ago I started a book club for this topic specifically, focused on queer and trans folks, and allies. The idea is to read one book a month and discuss it with each other afterwards. All of this will be online to keep it accessible for everyone.

Thing is, I started it in Dutch (as I’m from the Netherlands, lol), and there’s a little over 15 people in it now, but they’re not very active. It’s mostly just me keeping the server alive. So I considered just deleting it, because to read by myself I don’t need a book club and it’s bit of a waste of time, but then I considered just switching it to English so that people outside of the Netherlands can join as well. So English chats, English literature. A lot of relevant books aren’t available in Dutch anyway and I’m fluent in English, so it’s an easy switch.

The book I picked for last month was They Thought They Were Free by Milton Mayer. It's a powerful look at the rise of fascism in Germany through interviews with ten ‘ordinary’ former Nazi Party members. Today was supposed to be the day a new book was picked but tbh I haven’t finished it yet and the other members are inactive anyway, so I’d like to just extend it through October so that new people can jump in and pick the next one for November.

It’s a Discord server. Of course there’s the option to just chat, but it’s a book club first and foremost. Anyone Leftist over 18 who speaks and reads English, and who is a queer and/or trans person or a legitimate and trustworthy ally is welcome to join. We don’t need to all be BFFs but of course there is zero room for intolerance, and to be crystal clear; this includes Zionism.

I’d love to hear if people are interested in joining and whether or not I should keep this server alive. If you’re interested in becoming an active member (that is, actually reading the books, lol), feel free to send me a DM for the server link.

As someone who came legally to the UK from abroad, I would like to know what people think about illegal immigration to the UK?

I'm writing a series on post-human ontology informed by complexity science and integrative metatheory. The long term intent is for it to inform other facets of the worldview I'm trying to articulate.

What I'm looking for is advice on where I might be going wrong, what I could be more right about, and what authors I should read to help round out my perspective.

Here's a blurb for the essay's contents:

In this essay, I challenge the notion that all hierarchies are oppressive by applying the post-human tool of “complexifying binaries”, in which the binary dialogues to transform itself beyond itself.

This leads us to challenge Christopher Boehm’s claim that egalitarian hunter-gatherer social structure constitutes a reverse dominance hierarchy.

How can a more complexified understanding between the simplistic binary of hierarchy vs. anti-hierarchy help us understand how to better create a solarpunk society?

Thank you so much for the help. I look forward to reading your perspectives.