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Molly White

Newsletter: A message to those asking “what do I do now?” How to protect yourselves, and how to fight.

citationneeded.news/wind-the-c

Citation Needed · Wind the clock
More from Molly White
#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
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Molly White

I am disappointed. I am sad. I am afraid. But, you see, I was disappointed, sad, and afraid before the election, too. In and outside of the United States, across the political spectrum, governments are and have been failing their people.

#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
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Molly White

And it is the people who have been fighting not just to protect themselves, their communities, and the things they love, but also fighting for people they’ve never met, in places they’ve never been, living lives they’ve never lived, facing horrors they’ve never faced.

I had allowed myself to hope that American voters would choose the better of the presidential options available to us, and I was wrong. I am disappointed. I am sad. I am afraid. But, you see, I was disappointed, sad, and afraid before the election, too. In and outside of the United States, across the political spectrum, governments are and have been failing their people. And it is the people who have been fighting not just to protect themselves, their communities, and the things they love, but also fighting for people they’ve never met, in places they’ve never been, living lives they’ve never lived, facing horrors they’ve never faced. No matter how the United States election went, the fights were going to continue. A Harris victory would not solve our problems, domestically or worldwide. Nor would it change the fact that a sizable portion of people in this country are buying what Trump and his allies are selling. The only open questions were who the specific adversaries in the White House would be, who among the fighters would keep fighting, and who would join the fight. The first question has been answered. Now the questions are: if you have been fighting already, are you going to continue to fight? If you haven’t been, are you going to begin?
Illustration: Three arrows: a black arrow pointing right, a blue arrow pointing up and slightly to the left, and a red arrow pointing more to the left
#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
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Molly White

Maybe you’re not ready to read how to fight yet. It’s okay to take some time to rest, grieve, be angry. When you're ready, read on.

#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
Molly White

First, take steps to protect yourself. Find community. Take care of your health. Learn how to protect yourself digitally. Find and nurture sources of reliable news and information.

Now what? First things first, protect yourself. Even if you think the threat of authoritarianism is overblown, take steps to defend against it. If you’re a journalist, maybe read this section twice. Find your communities. Most people have many communities: the friend group you hang out with in real life, your family, your neighbors, your internet friends, your coworkers, your church or synagogue or mosque or other religious community. Strengthen these communities. If you don’t feel like you have much in the way of community, begin forming them: join new social groups, and try to meet likeminded people near you. Introduce yourself to your neighbors. Join (or start) a union. There’s strength in numbers, and especially if your industry may fall under threat, you’ll want to unionize now and not wait for that threat to materialize. Consider taking proactive steps to obtain healthcare that could become challenging to obtain in the future, if you are able. For example, if you need to replace or are considering getting an IUD, now might be the time. Use end-to-end-encrypted messaging apps for your communications. I use Signal heavily, but there are other options. Please know that not all apps that advertise E2EE enable it by default or offer it for group chats (looking at you Telegram), so double check that. Consider choosing a VPN to help protect your privacy online, and learn about the pros and cons of using them. Learn when, why, and how to use Tor.
Consider reducing your reliance on centralized social networks controlled by billionaires, and instead establishing a web presence you control. Evaluate the risks when choosing hosting providers, make backups, and make it as easy as possible to switch hosts should the need arise. Consider no longer using apps that collect and store sensitive data, such as period tracker or fertility apps. Be cautious about location tracking and other tech-enabled surveillance. Find and support trusted sources of news and information. If you rely heavily on mainstream news outlets owned by billionaires who were first in line to congratulate Trump on his victory, consider diversifying your media diet. ProPublica, 404 Media, and Flaming Hydra are a couple of great publications, or the Institute for Nonprofit News has a great directory of many more. Subscribe to and/or financially support independent solo writers like Parker Molloy (The Present Age), Erin Reed, Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket), and Seamus Hughes (Court Watch). Pay for a subscription to your local newspaper. Maybe also subscribe to a non-US paper while you’re at it. Consider supplementing your social feeds with an RSS-powered blogroll.
#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
Nov 08, 2024, 07:16 PM·Public·Web
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Molly White

Then: choose your fights. Think about what matters most to you, and look for ways to fight for those things. Find people who are members of communities under threat and/or experienced organizers doing this work already, and ask them what they need. Help the people around you.

How do I fight? For anyone feeling like you don’t know what to do, I urge you to think hard about what matters most to you, and look for ways to fight for those things — particularly if you have specific skills that you can put to use. Are you a good writer? Tech savvy? A compelling leader? Good at coming up with new ideas? Find things that play to your strengths. And most importantly, find people who are members of communities under threat and/or experienced organizers doing this work already, and ask them what they need. Help the people around you. Be there for the people you love. What matters to me may not be the most important thing to you, and it’s easiest to keep fighting when you’re fighting for something you care deeply about.
#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
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Molly White

If you need ideas, here are a few of the things that matter to me.

#1: Press freedom and access to information

Press freedom and access to information Trump and his allies have issued multitudes of threats against journalists, and anti-media sentiment is reaching a fever pitch across the political spectrum. The United States has already sunk to #55 on the Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom tracker — the lowest it has ever been — and will likely only fall further once Trump takes office. Fight back against Trump’s attempts to weaponize the FCC and other government agencies against news organizations, such as by revoking TV stations’ broadcast licenses or accusing publishers of “treason” for factual reporting Urge your Senators to back the PRESS Act to protect journalists from surveillance and provide journalist-source confidentiality Push for a federal anti-SLAPP law to replace piecemeal and easily dodged state-level protections for journalists from the kinds of frivolous but financially ruinous defamation lawsuits popular among people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Support groups working on journalist legal defense initiatives, like the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and others. If you’re a lawyer, consider offering pro bono legal representation. For the tech savvy: help journalists, writers, and archivists protect themselves and their work. Those who are looking to go independent are often looking for advice or tech help. Consider contributing to open source projects like the Internet Archive.
Support and fight for your local libraries. Get a library card and use it. Volunteer. Push back at the local level against efforts to ban books in schools, or to remove important topics from school curricula. Support data activist groups like DDoSecrets. Support and contribute to open knowledge projects like Wikipedia and those stewarded by the Free Law Project (CourtListener and RECAP among them).
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Molly White

Finally: remember to take care of yourselves. There is a long road ahead, but we’re in this together.

Quote: “As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness. Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” E.B. White (1973)
#CitationNeeded#USpolitics#USpol
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šel pro krev 🇺🇦

@molly0xfff i'm not sure if there's an upright man, but there's a few habilises around here

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Bina Femaroll

@molly0xfff Dear Americans, you can rely on your transatlantic friends in Germany. We stand side by side for an international network of humanity and democracy. It's getting dark everywhere at the moment. Let's stand together. Let's stick together. Let's fight together: against all forms of authoritarianism, despotism and dictatorship!

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ulrich aꜩ

@molly0xfff Please consider #5 separation of church and state.

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JW Prince of CPH, Radicalized

@molly0xfff I may be less eloquent but at least I could fit my thought of the same on a T-shirt, which I just ordered for myself & decided to make available for anyone who might want one, too: etsy.com/dk-en/listing/1807768

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RobbH

@molly0xfff thank you for the elegant words and valuable pep talk

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Feoh

@molly0xfff To that web I’ve been volunteering with techs for reproductive justice: techies4rj.org/

it’s been amazing and I’m coding for a project that helps people in need of reproductive healthcare who live in areas where that’s illegal. Get the help that they need in the form of travel, lodging, and coordination.

I feel really good about that. Knowing that your labor is actually moving the needle in meaningful ways helps a lot!

techies4rj.orgT4RJ
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TracingVRL by A.J. Fish

@molly0xfff "Learn how to protect yourself digitally." She makes it sound so easy!

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