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!

Hey, that’s “Civil” Forfeiture in 2024.

“We have guns and riot gear. Wtf you gonna do about it?” – Signed, Bullies with Badges

So glad someone other than me is pointing this out!

This article really struck a chord with me. Maybe it’s confirmation bias, but I feel so much of the same things described here, and I do see NYC changing as it was told. I love NY for exactly the diverse and no-nonsense, hard-working attitudes that persisted here for decades. All of the color of life that makes NY so unique is rooted in the working class population… And they’re being squeezed out of every space, not just here, but everywhere.

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?!

A.k.a., 'It’s a feature, not a bug."

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! 😊

Exactly. I don’t wear it all the time, but I’m one of the few people at my job that wears a mask (although it’s mainly because I work around people that open mouth cough and sneeze into the air without covering it 🙃). I just try not to be in the office or around people when I’m sick, but I for sure still wear my mask regardless cause I just prefer not to be sick.

I’m such a major fan of the FTC and Chair Khan right now. This is spot on.

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!