There have been lots and lots of threads and comments from people rightfully worried that shit is hitting the fan. Austerity, Brexit, COVID, climate change, inflation, the energy crisis, spiralling cost of living, Ukraine, corruption, a zombie government and probably a worse one to come - the list goes on.
For me, it's been good to read these threads and see that others feel similarly. But they also make me feel a sense of despair and, to be honest, fatigue bordering on apathy. I feel like we're all boiled frogs, totally burned out by the constant stream of bad news.
I'm desperate for the conversation to move on. So I wanted to start a thread where we could share ways to push back.
They don't have to be the best ideas, or even good, but for the sake of my own wellbeing I'd like to start thinking about what power we might have to influence our lives/society for the better.
Some caveats - making change takes time and resource, and it's a privilege. I don't want people to read this as a criticism of whatever they're doing, but rather a call to do what we can (even if that's nothing!). And I'm not fussed about this whole thread being seen as naive or utopian. Put simply, I disagree.
I'll start:
Campaigning and lobbying:
-Reflect - What is your ideal (within reasonable limits or not) for what society should look like in a year's time, or 5 years' time? What policy ideas do you think should be implemented to make this happen? Discuss your ideas with your friends, family, and co-workers. Start to build a coalition
-Identify people or groups who care about the things you care about, and/or are actively campaigning to make change happen. Go to meetings, take part in activities, set up direct debits to support them.
-Go to protests (yes, even though it's now illegal)
-Write to your MP (use Theyworkforyou)
-Call into the radio
-If you're a member of a political party, write and ask what they're doing about it. Put forward suggestions if you have any
-Door knock, leaflet, work phone banks. Either with your chosen campaign/support groups, or your political party.
-Fact-check, always. Be a paragon of accuracy and constructiveness in your discussions and debates. Show the politicians how it's done. Use fullfact.org
-Cherish your local landmarks. If someone's about to knock it down to build a car park or whatever, submit a planning objection on your council's planning portal
Solidarity and mutual aid:
-Be nice to your neighbours. Build a neighbourhood of people who look out for each other. Take their parcels, lend them your tools, give them extra biscuits, invite them to have coffee.
-Volunteer, for a big national charity or a small local community garden or anything in between
-Donate to food banks. Keep questioning why they're necessary.
-Be kind to people who are struggling to make ends meet. This is a lot of people, and it's not always who you think
-Take part in surveys by community groups or the council asking what improvements you'd like to see in your local area. Think bigger than "bins", councils are already well aware of the bin situation!
-Unionise!! Dear god, unionise. Both at work and a renter's union, if you're a renter
-Take in a refugee, or a young homeless person (via an established scheme please, see Nightstop as an example)
-If you see someone sleeping rough, use Streetlink to alert homelessness outreach services. Say hi, ask them what they need, and - if you can - give it to them with no strings attach
This is all my brain can come up with right now. I'd love to hear everyone else's ideas.