Dang, this reply is chock full of truth and good reminders. I fully agree with the need for helping with no strings attached, and it harms others when the help comes with stipulations. You also reminded me that it’s important to outwardly recognize that everyone has a strength, so ensuring people can exercise that talent in a safe space is what enriches and sustains a community. Also most importantly, you mention a reliable communication device, plus electricity access – such good points to keep in mind as we find ways to connect folks that are overburdened from climate change and other systemic pressure with these resources. Amazing, thank you for this!

I share your frustration as I’m from a red state. Say you didn’t have such selfish and unfortunately ignorant neighbors - would you feel differently about engaging them?

Thank you for this education. My goal is always centered in respect for all and I appreciate you. In the spirit of the point of mutual aid networks, what do disabled folks need in times of crisis or extreme weather, in your opinion? I know the spectrum of needs is vast and varied, but I’m always seeking to learn more, should you or others wish to share!

It’s true that scientists were expecting that tropical cyclones would evolve like this with climate change, and I’m hoping we can expand on building those mutual aid networks needed post-storm in the most vulnerable communities. Between the threat of storm surge and the flooding due to torrential rains and monsoons, it’s gonna be a doozy of a task to deal with all this moisture. If we can’t manage storm water and waste water systems, or keep installing permeable surfaces, planting mangrove forests, and other mitigation/adaptation measures, we’re going to see a major public health crisis erupt from lack of access to resources, mold that causes airborne illness, wastewater exposure, and more. Not to be negative, but I just don’t see much support for addressing this because there’s so much political theater that jams airways. Anyone that could help from a governmental standpoint with grants and incentives to mitigate are too busy with bickering and personal gain.

It’s time we take matters into our own hands and establish mutual aid networks ourselves. This means getting to know your neighbors, where to share resources, how to gain access to water filtration and rain water collection, establishing community gardens, clean/renewable energy generation, transportation, communication, and ensuring elderly and differently-abled persons have an action plan when these events happen… and they will more often.

I hope to use this platform and social media in this way. We must start planning to take care of ourselves and our communities, and do away with “every person for themselves” because that just doesn’t work anymore.

Thank you for the actual source link. This assessment is spot on, and it really irked me to see a white dwarf star be called a “frog star” like, wtf no one says anything like that cause it’s not a thing.

Is that all these “officials” know how to do? I only ever hear them lying, spinning, redacting, harassing, bullying, shaming, and spewing hate filled messages at people they deem “lesser,” which seems to be a lot of people. (Not to mention the ongoing genocide they’re leading…)

And in the meantime, we’re seeing the US vote to defund a humanitarian organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)), that also helps the population prove they are indigenous to Filasteen and have a right to own land there, and land that is currently colonized as well. Because they house this info, Western governments probably see it as a threat to the legitimacy of the occupation and want to erase it from history.

I love this concept. Now make fossil fuel companies and billionaires match the royalties!

Pressure from businesses and the auto industry lobbyists, I presume.

Imagine if NYC didn’t give in! Imagine if we didn’t give in to corporate interests on the regular. Imagine if we came together to fight for good community-building things…

I love this. It’s a simple way to train an open-minded carbrain that there are easy ways to convert existing infrastructure on the cheap!

To add insult to injury, they’re also not quiet about their desire to make money from a trade route they want to build through Gaza, and the offshore oil reserves there they want to drill for so desperately. They would rather kill innocent people to level Gaza for monetary gain and positioning in the Middle East. Active, calculated cruelty.

Your feelings are well warranted. I can’t stand how invasive just about every device is these days. From apps to cars.

I’m so about this life.

I think this comic is supposed to be based in the future.

Seems pretty relevant now as well. Just ask the brave environmental activists with RICO charges in Atlanta, for starters.

RIP Tortuguita

I get into this headspace often, but try to remember that all human systems are subject to being disrupted and dismantled, no matter their power or influence.

This is also implying that common everyday people actually have control or can influence the situation.

Here’s why I take issue with this statement:

• this ignores collective/mass action
• this disregards the few government entities that actually do serve public interests, albeit imperfectly

An example of an individual creating meaningful positive change is teachers. Most people have had a great teacher, and larger schools have greater reach and influence, thus an individual with many students over a period of time can make a big difference at the local level. And one of those students can rise to prominence and do further good.

Another is some benevolent nonprofits that seek government funding to maximize their reach and support of the community. Often they’re run by one or a small handful of folks. If they’re lucky, and prepared, they can affect positive change for many, like community garden organizers.

There can be a large volume of good change from a single person’s actions because of influence. Not saying that it’s a fast mechanism for change, but I refuse to abandon it. Because although it’s likely the only solution we have, it’s still one that is fueled by will and daily choice, which most everyone can enact in small and big ways.

Frankly, if we could just put solidarity of the working class first, we outnumber them.

Truth. Furthermore, accidents involving a bike and a car have mostly happened because of a lack of infrastructure and options for safe travel on bikes. Public residential streets, for example, are for all modes of transportation, not just cars. Car brains are hysterical and don’t like that, and my life has been threatened many times while riding my bike on residential streets. I even had an older woman match my speed, roll down her window, and say “Next time I see you I’m running you over.” Cyclists do absolutely nothing to deserve this, and even if they’re holding up traffic, it’s no excuse for homicide.

Precisely this. People are taught by the wealthy class to devalue certain jobs because they are deemed “lesser than,” and that the people that occupy those jobs are “not worthy” of a living wage, benefits, a stable living situation, respect, and more. This systematic dehumanization prevents us from realizing the true harms that working class people of all backgrounds are experiencing. Of course, the harms are compounded if you identify as a woman, a person of color, as having a disability, or if you don’t speak the native language.

Environmental Justice is what we need - a sense of community, mutual support, and a collective realization of past harms that have been baked into every policy, from the local to the federal level. These harmful policies have to be disrupted and dismantled, which can only be possible through education and action. The more people that engage in collective action under the banner of Environmental Justice, the better chance we have of really making meaningful, positive change.

/rant