Blue Umbrella

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====== Personal Life ======

===== Fortify Yourself (Cassandrich) =====
Some advice for (white, cis, etc.) folks not directly targeted by fascism at present: identify the levers that will be used to make you collaborate, and dismantle them.

1: If you have debts, identify which ones can be safely ignored or for which you can obtain bankruptcy protection, if needed.

2: If you have a mortgage you know you won't be able to afford without keeping a job that's going to insist you collaborate, DOWNGRADE NOW not later. Sell and buy something you can actually afford.

3: Similar for cars: if your car being repo'd would be catastrophic, get rid of it now and replace with one you can buy with cash. Or, if it's an option for your health, household makeup, etc., go e-bike or similar instead.

4: Social relationships are also a lever. If you feel like you'll be ostracized from your in-person social circles, directly or indirectly, for refusing to be a collaborator, start forming new ones now.

5: Get involved locally in mutual aid. It strengthens everyone involved against fascism both mentally and materially. Great post on it here: https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/113589807117870451

6: This one is borderline out-of-scope, since needing meds to survive puts you in the class of "targets of fascism" already.  However, if you feel like access to meds would be leverage over you, figure out what you can stockpile by underdosing, faking losing a bottle now and then to get extra as "replacement", getting doc to increase dose, obtaining from illicit sources, etc. This includes doing the research on safe shelf life, etc.

Source: https://hachyderm.io/@dalias/113985247957601262

===== What to Do (TechDirt) =====

This isn’t about grand heroic gestures. It’s about the daily choice to be fully present in your own moral reality. It’s about deciding that, whatever comes, you’ll be able to face yourself in the mirror. It’s about recognizing that in times of systemic failure, the only reliable security comes not from institutions or financial reserves, but from the bonds we forge through authentic moral action and mutual aid.

So what should you do? Stop asking that question as if there’s a single answer that applies to everyone. Start asking instead: What does my most authentic self demand in this moment? What action would make me feel whole rather than diminished? What truth needs speaking that only I can articulate in my unique way?

Then do that thing. Not once, not as a performance, but consistently. Not with an eye toward results, but with a commitment to process. Not because it will necessarily “work,” but because it’s the only thing that will allow you to recognize yourself when this is all over.

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/what-you-should-do/

===== This is How We Win =====

There is no single action, no perfect strategy, no one-time gesture that discharges your moral responsibility. The question isn't what you should do—it's who you should be. Every minute of every day.

Be the person who names the lie, even when everyone else plays along. Be the one who remembers what happened yesterday, even as others accept today's contradictory reality. Be the colleague who refuses to participate in the ritual humiliation of others. Be the friend who doesn't laugh at cruelty disguised as humor. Be the citizen who treats democratic norms as sacred, not optional.

These choices don't require special talents or privileged positions. They don't demand heroic sacrifice or martyrdom. They simply require the decision to remain morally awake when everything around you encourages sleep. To maintain your full humanity when systems push you toward becoming a fraction of yourself.

Every minute of every day, you have opportunities to practice standing firm. Each small choice builds the moral muscle memory you'll need for bigger challenges ahead. Each moment you choose courage over comfort, clarity over confusion, community over isolation—you're not just preserving your own humanity. You're keeping something precious alive in our collective existence.

https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/this-is-how-we-win.html