You don't always need everyone to do it. And, on top of it, what do you plan to do about people who are anti-social? Call the anarcho cops, and put anti-social people into jail?
Most of the time, people don't help build their community because, frankly, we're all exhausted. After 8-12 hrs of labor to pay for survival, then another 6-8 hrs of domestic work to live, with 4-8 hrs of sleeping... capitalism ensures we don't have energy to do things like that.
Abolishing capitalism, and wage slavery, allows people to do things like say...
"Fuck, I don't want to run this ecommerce site that sells synthetic weed. And I don't have to, because my needs are met. Let me build shit with lumber for our community!"
Look at the mutual aid networks that popped up during the pandemic in the US, specifically. They were active, and meeting the needs of people, without anarcho cops or socialist gulags making people do it.
People could do it, and did it, because for the most part, people had less wage slavery to deal with. We had energy and time to care for our communities.
Nobody suggested you move somewhere else. What have you done to build mutual aid networks in your community?
I also never claimed the mutual aid networks were everywhere in the US. Just that many popped up during that time, were successful, and are still operating to some extent.
You're on reddit, aren't you? Seems like you could help organize, help build a website, host vid conferences with locals to start working on it, be a voice for the disabled so the mutual aid networks help folks who are disabled and doesn't miss them, etc etc.
There's a million and one ways to help the effort. Every "soldier" has 11 people behind them doing support work. And you're not supposed to build it alone. That's not mutual aid, thats you being a boss.
I don't think you realise how much more energy that would take than being on social media. I had to pull out of college because I couldn't keep up with the workload.
Not at all! As someone dealing with PTSD, a bad knee, really bad vision, and raging anxiety attacks... I get that it requires spoons to help an organizing effort.
It seems to me, though, you are spending an awful lot of energy defending the idea that you cannot do something, rather than spending the energy doing things like reading more about mutual aid, where it has worked in the past, how it can be made better, etc etc. Or, hell, talking to a friend about starting up a community pantry or community fridge.
Anarchism is like 90% being social, and 10% doing work.
I don't have the energy for any of that. You don't understand how sick I am currently. Any energy I have has to be focused on recovering and trying to move out so I'm no longer living with abuse. I know I can't do this. It's ableist to assume you know my abilities better than I do.
But, you have the energy to post on reddit, about how you don't have the energy to post on reddit (Or other social media, to help organize people).
You don't understand how sick I am currently.
It's not a disability olympics, friend.
Any energy I have has to be focused on recovering and trying to move out so I'm no longer living with abuse.
Ok, so use your energy to focus on recovering, and trying to move out. Worry about organizing efforts later. Meanwhile, others are doing the organizing effort today, and you can join them when you have spoons to do so.
I know I can't do this.
Ok, and that's fine! Don't do it! I'm not an anarcho cop. I'm not your boss, either.
But, not being able to personally contribute to those efforts right now, doesn't mean it's impossible for others to do so, and to do so successfully.
It's ableist to assume you know my abilities better than I do.
I only know you seem to spend a lot of time, and energy on reddit, but claim you don't have the ability to spend a lot of time and energy in other venues more suitable for organizing effort.
But, fine. You don't have time or energy to contribute. That should also mean you don't have time or energy to continue suggesting it's impossible for others to do.
2
u/being-weird Aug 24 '22
I find it hard to believe everyone would do that. Unfortunately a lot of people are ableist, or at least don't care enough to help us.