I think the local is a much better space for meaningful democracy but even there citizens need to make a real effort. Example, a nearby Missouri town, Festus, where citizens are waging a campaign to stop a recently approved AI data center. They've booted half of their city council and are going after the mayor as they mount a challenge. Showing up for town, city, county meetings can have a real effect but even more than that, at the local level we should be building new democratic formations such as neighborhood assemblies.
As to Democrats winning, I would argue that is not a solution to the systemic problems unless those Democrats are going to make significant efforts to passing legislation needed to open up the system to multiple parties. If Democrats are serious about expanding democracy and then they should work to end the two party system, it should be a priority. Why is that never done? Ending the two party system would have broad public support.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116416299214999201","date_published":"2026-04-16T20:35:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-16 20:35","date_timestamp":1776371753,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88388119","content_html":"@Gustodon I see the point you make as it is made many times and with an increasingly fascist Republican Party willing to do open fascism, what you say is reasonable but it is also a lie of omission in a certain sense. It is incomplete and no longer good enough to say that we must support the democrats because they are more civilized and play by the rules.
Because the rules are a part of the problem. That is the lie and the omission. See?
The rules are a part of the problem because they are an expression of a system that is itself the problem. The decorum, the rules serve the rulers. And the Democrats and the good cop always rely on this same formula. It's how we end up with Democrats being willing partners in genocide. It's how we end up with a climate catastrophe that is now likely irreversible.
Capitalism cannot be amended. It cannot be made to serve humans or freedom or democracy.
And, side-note, the establishment of the Democrats still have not accepted Mamdani.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116415444927392374","date_published":"2026-04-16T16:58:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-16 16:58","date_timestamp":1776358717,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88387002","content_html":"@Gustodon
The problem is THEY RELY ON THE SYSTEM BENT AS IT IS, a two party system with no choice. His and similar posts ignore the larger context of decades of the Democratic Party moving further to the right, always doing soft fascism and colonialism. It's decades of \"Not now, we have to win against the greater evil.\" Decades of concession. And always relying on \"We can't change the system, you must vote for us.\" And always hostile towards the left.
The Democrats are right-wing shit because they've been steadily moving to the right for decades. And the pressure of the system (including the Dems) is to not rock the boat. Not step out of line. Do it proper, politely and via the vote.
It's not a winning strategy and they refuse to take responsibility for their loss, their choice, their conduct of politics. It's always our way or the highway. Love it or leave it. That's the kinda shit I hear when I'm protesting genocide and war. And then they blame the left for being too left.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116415364763524647","date_published":"2026-04-16T16:38:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-16 16:38","date_timestamp":1776357494,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88390696","content_html":"Saw a post this morning from a very angry, frothing at the mouth #Democrat (I assume) who is frequently boosted, always stating that leftists not voting are the reason we have Trump. And, always that voting is only the way to rid ourselves of Trump (and fascism).
Every post I've seen from him is this same. Rage-blaming leftists for not voting followed by repeated demands that people vote.
He is willfully ignoring the truth of the #Democratic Party. There are quite a few that refuse to see reality. Blue #MAGA, that seem to be as blind to reality as Red MAGA. These folks, pretending to be moderate and sensible, approve of #US global hegemony via constant foreign interventions, often #violent but usually kept fairly quiet. #Genocide? \"Shut up and vote you filthy leftist!\"
They're privileged, comfortable, white, middle class. They're okay with soft fascism because it doesn't touch them. Soft #fascism is for the non-white working poor and those of the Global South.
","summary":"","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116415283006160834","date_published":"2026-04-16T16:17:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-16 16:17","date_timestamp":1776356247,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"88245020","content_html":"@alisynthesis Sometimes things do take a long time. We've got used to making so little progress and so used to doing so little, I think we underestimate what we can achieve if we set ourselves to the task.
And given the immediacy of the climate emergency and other various crises, now more than ever, we have to demand from ourselves that we move forward with haste. If ever there was an emergency this is it. We have to recognize ourselves to be in a real existential planetary crisis.
But all this means upheaval. This truly means the lives we've known in recent decades are about to change in a way that they will be unrecognizable. That's the kind of deep revolution we need.
The folks of Minneapolis gave us a taste of what can happen in a very short period of time when they mobilized to defend their neighbors against ICE. That kind of mass, city-wide mobilization is what we need and we need it in every city.
WE BUILT THIS WORLD. WE CAN CHANGE THIS WORLD.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116403778529797799","date_published":"2026-04-14T15:31:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-14 15:31","date_timestamp":1776180702,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88245019","content_html":"@alisynthesis The bike co-op was started by a 17 year old high school drop out and it continues to this day. it was set-up to take in old bikes, teach neighborhood youth how to fix and rebuild a bike. They each rebuilt a bike that was then given to another kid. So they were learning skills and practicing mutual aid. Then they received a bike another had rebuilt. So, a cooperative built by youth, run as a democracy that was immediately helping the local community by providing bicycles that could be used as real transport while also upcycling at the same time.
Working class people working together to build a better world for themselves in defiance of capitalism. The co-op is appropriately named Revolutions. No laws, no legislation, no capitalism, no party poltics.
The Wobblies also used to say: Direct Action gets the goods! They would also say: The workers only have to put their hands in their pockets to bring the system down.
We have to ask more of ourselves.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116403756953363657","date_published":"2026-04-14T15:26:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-14 15:26","date_timestamp":1776180373,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88237782","content_html":"@alisynthesis
Hmmmmm. The Wobblies of the IWW (and many others of similar thinking) have said for a long time, we are building the new world in the shell of the old. It's prefigurative so in that sense it is both intermediate and even immediate. A small example: 27 years ago I and a group of anarchists built a housing co-op in Memphis. We immediately saved money (contributing less to capitalism). The house served as a home base/starting point for many community-based projects like neighborhood gardens, a micro-radio station (long live Free Radio Memphis!), a bike co-op and more. We were a mess. But we were also a group of mostly young folks building a very different kind of life, different social relations that challenged our upbringings. Weekly house meetings to do democracy. We ran our own democracy. So did our many off-shoot orgs like the bike co-op, the radio station, and more. We implemented these things immediately. And our projects were real. They had impact...
@alisynthesis We build organizations like the DSA, Democratic Socialists of America but even that's not enough. It can't be based on any one organization, even a big socialist one. We have to fully support communities of struggle on the ground. Every community, small town, city, neighborhood, Everyone everywhere. A truly mass social movement grounded in challenging hierarchies and decades of thinking and living lives rooted in power and domination. The goal is deeper than mere political change.
This would need to be a cultural revolution as much as a political and economic revolution. It is a broad-scale social revolution that builds solidarity between all oppressed people and movements.
And it's one that also needs to recognize our international dependence, our role in empire and colonialism. Our strength and commitment needs to be connected to the struggle of Southern Nations upon which we've been preying, starting with Cuba and all of our southern neighbors in this hemisphere.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116403497747620223","date_published":"2026-04-14T14:20:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-14 14:20","date_timestamp":1776176418,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88233695","content_html":"@alisynthesis
I'm pushing for a bottom-up take-over of the economic and political system. At a fundamental level the party system, as an electoral system and a political process of governing is not a truly democratic system. I think we all know it was never really designed to be. The aristocracy designed it not to be.
It's time for a new revolution. Doesn't have to be violent. But it does have to be us rebuilding from the bottom up. Folks like Clara Mattei who's written a book \"Escape from Capitalism\" are out doing this work in communities right now.
WE BUILT THIS WORLD. IT'S TIME WE UNDERSTAND THAT. IT IS OUR WORLD.
There is nothing sacred about capitalism. It's a piece of shit system based on violence and theft. So, my take, is fuck the entire thing.
We build a bottom-up labor movement, radically democratic: Community assemblies, worker-councils and so on. We shut down the old system by mass mobilizations, strike after strike after strike, rolling general strikes with no end.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116403468368838607","date_published":"2026-04-14T14:12:49+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-14 14:12","date_timestamp":1776175969,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88236230","content_html":"RE: https://mastodon.social/@gwynnion/116394127711780639
Decades of history show that the Democrats are repeatedly the party of #capitalism alongside of the Republicans. They have continued to move further right. This is not a party that actually wants to build a fair, just and equitable society or one that cares about expanding #democracy. This is a party that relies on the lack of other choices and one that will almost always support the ruling class. They rely on an a #politics & electoral system that offers no choice to bully all of us who are not a part of the ruling class, which is most of us.
The #Democrats, as a rule, are the other party of the 1%.They have no interest in fighting #fascism because they're also a party of power.
The working class of the #US will never break this cycle unless we organize and build something new to bypass this system. Working \"in the system\" is a trap. We've stuck in decades of refusing to try.
We need to recapture the spirit of the resistance and organizing by #labor from 1860-1930.
","summary":"","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116403407419079914","date_published":"2026-04-14T13:57:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-14 13:57","date_timestamp":1776175039,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"88074730","content_html":"@mitch lol, seems like this is the 34th time you've switched back and forth.
I tried making micro.blog work for a few years but gave it up almost two years ago. Between the limitations of the activity pub support and the homogenous middle class white guy community it felt too much like a gated neighborhood for dudes. I still wish that were otherwise but it seems deliberately managed to be what it is.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116388631191314259","date_published":"2026-04-11T23:19:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-11 23:19","date_timestamp":1775949572,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88063237","content_html":"@JamesDBartlett3 Fair point!
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116387680648937557","date_published":"2026-04-11T19:17:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-11 19:17","date_timestamp":1775935068,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88064931","content_html":"Her answer? Art and music. UM. NO. NO.
Yes, art and music are a part of cultural change and provide many benefits to our lives. Yes, they do.
But is that what should be focused on in this context? FUCK NO.
The only answer to this question, in this context is the labor movement. THE LABOR MOVEMENT is the answer she did not mention. When faced with robber barons taking their democracy the people did not draw or play music.
What they did was they got in the streets and organized for the 8 hour day. They engaged in strikes and in several cases General Strikes. They fought, they lost, they organized, then they fought again.
As we come up on May Day, remember those organizers and demonstrators that gave everything for the 8 hour day in 1886. Remember the 8 Hay Market anarchist organizers.
And this struggle went on for years, well into the next century with the founding of the IWW in 1905. For decades the working class agitated militantly against the ruling class...
2/
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116379988095406767","date_published":"2026-04-10T10:41:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-10 10:41","date_timestamp":1775817689,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"88064930","content_html":"I know a lot of liberal folk speak fondly of Heather Cox Richardson, historian and YouTuber. I've watched a few of her videos and appreciate her knowledge of US History... BUT, to take her April 9 \"Today in Politics Explainer\" as a recent example, in answer to \"What we should be doing\" she advocates for USians to do the usual: \"Talk to your neighbors, write letters to the editor, put pressure on electeds\". That's always something she says. She still has faith in the history and the system of laws.
This next bit, yes, I'm 100% agree with this:
Close to a quote: \"building community, reinforcing community ties that remind people that we're all in this together, building across different generations, races, genders, regions, etc... we can rebuild the country from the ground up.\"
But then, she references a question she got, what people did during the late 19th century as they were losing their #democracy to the robber barons, how did they cope with that?
#Labor #Union #US #Politics
1/
","summary":"","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116379935294392050","date_published":"2026-04-10T10:28:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-04-10 10:28","date_timestamp":1775816883,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"87294406","content_html":"@alisynthesis Oh, glad to hear it! I hadn't actually listened to that particular episode. I'll give it a listen!
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116321309210063704","date_published":"2026-03-31T01:58:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-31 01:58","date_timestamp":1774922320,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86730157","content_html":"@theTangentSpace
100% yes. I had that very thought this morning!! Not only is it chock full of unnecessary movement and visual flair, it's really not in keeping with the primary message of our need to adapt to a low energy future. Nor does it help anyone better understand the complexity and depth of the content. It's just a distraction.
@small_cypress I think I missed that one, thanks, I'll check it out.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116267015579472045","date_published":"2026-03-21T11:51:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-21 11:51","date_timestamp":1774093865,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86578451","content_html":"@jessamyn
Yes, love that album and song too!
Utah Phillips tells the story of the 1912 Lawrence textile strike...
\"Fellow workers with their hands in their pockets have more power than the combined power of the bosses.\"
They gave everything, they won the strike.
\"We want bread, yes, but we want roses too.\" - A young woman striker
This song and album is a fantastic collaboration between Utah Phillips and Ani DiFranco.
#IWW #Art #Music #Labor #Union #Socialism #Women #Strike #Capitalism
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116259158725707345","date_published":"2026-03-20T02:32:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-20 02:32","date_timestamp":1773973979,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86595893","content_html":"Utah Phillips singing Joe Hill
#Organize #IWW #Resist
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o4fi8-F-V7E&list=RDo4fi8-F-V7E&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB
Tear the Fascists Down, Woody Guthrie
#Union #Fascism #Capitalism #Resist #Socialism #Anarchism #Antifa #Antifascism
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3xUPpkxAco&list=RD-3xUPpkxAco&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116258986913218789","date_published":"2026-03-20T01:49:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-20 01:49","date_timestamp":1773971357,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86595891","content_html":"Solidarity Forever, sung by Utah Phillips
#Union #IWW #Art #Music #Resist #Socialism #Labor #Anarchism
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mok_2xZ8iLU&list=RDmok_2xZ8iLU&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116258971035126839","date_published":"2026-03-20T01:45:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-20 01:45","date_timestamp":1773971115,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"86595890","content_html":"An excerpt of an interview with Utah Phillips in 2003. He talks about the origins of the IWW, the labor movement, corporate fascism and the US with a comparison to the rise of the Nazis.
Worth a listen.
\"The long memory is the most radical idea in America...\"
#Fascism #Resist #History #IWW #Wobblies #Labor #Union #Socialism #Anarchism #Organize #Solidarity #US
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=07H6-YjdQhk
","summary":"","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116258956263257503","date_published":"2026-03-20T01:41:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-20 01:41","date_timestamp":1773970890,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"85605180","content_html":"100%. I really wish the article would make it clear that any other service will likely do the same. People are jumping to the conclusion that other services will not do this and thus they might be safer with Tuta or other. Not true.
I don't know if Proton states clearly what they information they will give up if requested but, regardless, activist folks have to put more effort into protecting themselves as we go forward. This is a lesson. Use the free account or pay with cash.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116179571601433161","date_published":"2026-03-06T01:12:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-06 01:12","date_timestamp":1772759576,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85601250","content_html":"Proton also allows for anonymous payments, or, as you mention in your post, use a free account which can used without identifying information.
I think the 404 article should have also explained that other email providers would just as likely comply with court orders, etc from the authorities in the jurisdictions where they are operating.
Activists especially should be taking extra precautions. In addition to using only the free account in conjunction with masked hide-my alias addresses, also good to start using a VPN and a browser like Mullvad.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116179294781599392","date_published":"2026-03-06T00:02:32+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-06 00:02","date_timestamp":1772755352,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"85630149","content_html":"This article about Proton turning over information to the Swiss authorities...
Key points for activists:
- Don't get a paid account. You can get a free Proton account with 1GB of storage without any identifying information at sign-up! Plenty of storage.
- Use a VPN when you sign-up any anytime you want to obscure your IP address. Just, always use the VPN.
- Remember, only proton-to-proton email is encrypted. Or, other services where PGP is set up.
Switching to Tuta or other email providers is not going to help with this problem. Assume any provider will obey orders by law enforcement in the jurisdictions they operate in. What is getting turned over is billing info. US law enforcement found the email address on an activist Facebook account.
The content of the email on the Proton server is encrypted. Meta-data about the account and info found in the email headers is not.
#Privacy #Security #Activism #Fascism #Resist #Tech
https://www.404media.co/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protestor/
","summary":"","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116179008318332025","date_published":"2026-03-05T22:49:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-03-05 22:49","date_timestamp":1772750981,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"84948578","content_html":"@WarnerCrocker @shsbxheb
Lol, wait, what? I thought I was doing the opposite!
@WarnerCrocker @shsbxheb
Look at what has happened in MN the past three months. I would offer this as exactly what we are capable of when we face immediate danger. The level of resistance, the extension of empathy to \"the other\". People are not only stepping far outside of their comfort zone, but putting themselves in harms way in the face of real brutality. When have we last seen such a thing on this scale?
It's a demonstration that we can do more to fight back when we are put face to face with direct danger. The folks there have shown the nation what we can do when put to it.
My anecdotal observation of 35 years is that the comfortable not only failed to fight for others, they stop paying attention altogether. But this new-to-our-times threat has crossed finally crossed lines. Our immune system is responding to the attack. Now is actually the time that we can and should go on the offensive. And the previously more comfortable folks should follow the lead of the folks in MN.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116127402179499191","date_published":"2026-02-24T20:05:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-24 20:05","date_timestamp":1771963534,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"84930831","content_html":"@WarnerCrocker
I think that's not good enough.
To be honest, it's harmful because the apathy of comfort provided by the middle class USians contributes to exactly this moment we are in. Quiet fascism grows exactly because the comfortable stopped paying attention and stopped paying attention. My family is chock full of folks that stopped caring about poor working class people because it didn't affect them. During the 90s these folks got fully on board with the Democrats' demonization of welfare recipients.
Zinn documents it all though I faced it head on with my own family for the past 30 years. Same thing for our foreign policy and interventions abroad. Again, all documented by Zinn and those of us paying attention with our activism.
Frankly, I'm as angry if not more angry with comfortable middle class white liberals than I am with the MAGA folk.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116126367814511952","date_published":"2026-02-24T15:42:31+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-24 15:42","date_timestamp":1771947751,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"84929399","content_html":"I sometimes think the similarly. That said, indoctrination goes deep. BUT, this also goes for many liberal folk who have gradually been indoctrinated in their own way.
As a more radical lefty who's considered himself an anarchist/socialist for 30+ years I look at mainstream liberal folk, Democratic Party folk and ask, when will they step out of their comfort and privilege and more actively ally with the poor and working class. Only when things really get bad for them, when the norms of comfort slip as they are in the current moment is there a chance that they come out of their comfort zone to act.
But I suspect that their thinking and goals, even now, are just to get back to what they consider normal and safe... FOR THEM. Do they acknowledge they benefit from ongoing middle class white supremacy or do they shrug that off as crazy talk from the \"far left\"? My observation is that they're also stuck in their own bubble and resist uncomfortable truths.
","url":"https://social.coop/ap/users/116087615387651707/statuses/116126285382928212","date_published":"2026-02-24T15:21:33+00:00","author":{"name":"Beardy Star Stuff πΉπ΄π΅πΈ","url":"https://social.coop/@bss","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fsocial-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Faccounts%2Favatars%2F116%2F087%2F615%2F387%2F651%2F707%2Foriginal%2Fc5730291109a5704.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"bss@social.coop"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-02-24 15:21","date_timestamp":1771946493,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}