(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . AntiCapitalist Meetup: That's Why [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-16 Please allow me to open by acknowledging the many millions who cannot afford to shed tears over middle class drama such as mine. Everybody deserves food, shelter, health care and autonomy. There has been enough to go around for as long as we know, just not enough for people to be as wasteful as we want for very long. We voted to give rich people more so that they could trickle down lasting shared prosperity. What we got was hierarchies of sycophancy running protection rackets built around money and finance. Marketing, propaganda, disinformation, bots and social manipulation feed re-emerging fascism. Try as we might, we will never win in media, enthusiasm polling, and campaign financing without solidarity in ground support, organizing and results for residents. Outrage, sound bite politics, absentee representation, and incessant fundraising yield disillusioned and divisive hatred more than they build community. As I ponder what Democrats in my areas are doing I have been sending out replies like this one. How are you building a grassroots campaign other than through soliciting donations? Are you hitting the ground anywhere yet, like this? https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/25/2148336/-Native-Organizers-hit-the-ground-Arizona-is-already-a-battleground-state-for-the-2024-Presidency Here is another one taking their message to every holler and hill. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/30/2149770/--Can-you-bring-me-a-yard-sign-My-neighbor-well-you-ll-have-to-come-see-it Do you see any lessons? Please share this with candidate Nothing beats the support or isolation people experience in their daily lives. Here at home, we experienced a tornado warning last night that got me to hoping that this was just an isolated funnel cloud and not one of the increasingly frequent tornado outbreaks in a shifting tornado alley. Fortunately, the damage last night was minor compared to my worst fears. That’s the way it usually works, even in bad times. Many people don’t see the worst of a disaster firsthand. Corrupt administrators can be tempted to control information rather than deal with problems. Fascists and other corrupt gangster totalitarians fix problems by stifling our ability to see what’s happening and spreading propaganda about how those problems vanished with a mere wave of the hand from the macho strongman leader, all while sowing division about other neglected people being the real reason billionaires have to keep us in line and can’t trickle down any more. I am glad to participate here in the ACM, where we can talk enough for pleasant surprises, such as participants last week pulling out and adding numerous relevant points to my hastily written, partially satirical post. NeverEverAgain posted 12 design principles of permaculture after I linked a video that I found to be informative. OK, OK, here they are again. 1. Observe and interact (journal, observe slowly, potential, new solutions...) 2. Catch and store energy (rainwater, mulching, using pruned wood, etc...) 3. Obtain a yield (crops, plus - starts for my neighbors, recreate area, ornamentals, 4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback (from the garden/environment...) 5. Use and value renewable resources and services (perrenials, natural systems, more pollinators, pest control...) 6. Produce no waste 7. Design from patterns to details 8. Integrate rather than segregate (compost pathway, wall/verticle garden...) 9. Small and slow solutions (no-till, one rainbarrel, then add...) 10. Use and value diversity 11. Use edges and value the marginal (behind the shed, along the fence, what can I use those spaces for?) 12. Creatively use and respond to change (flexible, adaptable) I have been using them and applying degrowth in my urban ag garden, though as you can see, I buy outside materials, don’t yet store much water and energy, and have yet to produce much yield. That’s just on my home lot. Throughout our communities, we have hard choices and need improved economic models to better deal with the end of our fossil fuel binge energy borrowing for wasteful consumption. ACM discussions help me, and I hope others, to learn, improve and make some differences. Just mentioning degrowth spurred the insight from NY brit expat that degrowth discussions need to address equity in order to avoid poor people once again paying for wealthy excesses. We also listed perspectives on degrowth that included less consumption coordinated production across sectors local production more diversity in production more informal exchange less climate altering energy inputs less emphasis on property and patents less waste use what is available without adding energy and materials more value for informal and manual labor smarter transportation and commuting planning communities prioritizing basic needs for all over unlimited rich consumption That is why I participate in the Anti-Capitalist Meetup. Great ideas and fruitful discussions are presented. Solidarity is practiced. I am trying to act. We need more local and organized action, and less focus on money and media, if you ask me. 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