Meta (slrpnk.net)

This meta post isn't our typical monthly update.

📡 Technical updates 📡

The previously announced server maintenance of the supplementary services (Movim, XMPP, Wiki) had to be postponed to this month due to some difficulties encountered with the upgraded host system. We are currently looking into making it a bit more modular, but the PHP software doesn't lend itself very well to containerization.

We also started some slow improvements to our overall network structure to prepare for a potential upgrade to a 10 gbit fiber connection next year, but this will likely not have a big impact on SLRPNK itself as we are currently still far from exceeding the currently available bandwidth. It could allow for a sister Peertube site or something similar though.

💌 Donation support 💌

We hope to finally open a way to donate for helping to run the infrastructure that SLRPNK runs on this month. Initially it will be possible to donate through LiberaPay or directly to us through Stripe with a credit card. Since we are not a registered non-profit or so, we cannot provide you with a certificate for tax deductions though. If there is a big demand for alternative donation platforms like Patreon or KoFi etc. we can also consider it, but usually those just end up costing additional fees with little or no benefit to us.

We also applied for a small grant from NLnet to help us implement an option to donate through GNU Taler, which might become available to people in EU countries via a German coop bank sometimes mid 2025. We will keep you updated if that grant gets approved and how and when you can try it. If you are generally interested in GNU Taler, check out /c/money.

The United States elected a fascist government

SLRPNK is an international instance, and we try to avoid centering United States politics and news, as there is enough of that elsewhere in the Threadiverse. As the center of the world order, unfortunately much of what happens in the USA has resounding repercussions across the world. Sometimes those events are so big it becomes important to discuss them, even in our tiny corner of the internet.

During the campaign, the centrist Democratic Party appropriated a leftist talking point: Trump is a fascist. Now the Democrats are preparing for the peaceful transition of power to a fascist. This in unequivocally a bad thing for the people of the United States and the people of the world. A small cottage industry has arisen overnight of pundits giving post-election analysis. Here's what I think is relevant to you as a solarpunk:

You and I are in the midst of fomenting a media revolution through our participation in the Fediverse. It may sound self-congratulatory to compare the invention of ActivityPub to the printing press, the radio, internet, social networking sites, and micro-blogging. But I wouldn't be this committed to the platform if I didn't believe it was true.

Pay close attention to how fascists made extremely good use of emerging media messaging methods this election to disseminate false information to gullible voters. The last time fascists came to power, they did the very same thing with the new technology of radio broadcasting.

I believe there is a structural difference between Fediverse technology and those previous technologies - most of the fascists have already fucked off to their isolated islands, while our social graph continues to grow. If we can keep the Fediverse growing, the political revolutions it will eventually facilitate will have a much different character.

The other thing to notice is it wasn't just the United States where the incumbent party lost votes this election. Pundits have noted that during times of high inflation, it is typical for the electorate to blame their economic anxiety on the current government. This is backed by data.

[Image Description: Data showing historical and recent shift in vote share from incumbent parties across governments]

Every ruling party in every developed country got a smaller percentage of the votes than it did in the previous year. This is attributed to worldwide inflation and economic hardship.

As one of the few communities not in passive or active denial of the seriousness of global warming, we can recognize the climate catastrophe is directly responsible for a significant amount of this economic chaos. We can also predict that since little is being done to slow environmental collapse, economic conditions will get worse.

If there is an election in four more years, it is unlikely that fascists will stay in power. If there is no fair election, or Trump suspends elections, that does not change the facts on the ground. Ask Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain if autocracy saved them from popular unrest due to inflation. Trump is planting the seeds of revolt now by planning to dismiss his most competent generals and hundreds of thousands of female, gay, and transgender soldiers. If there is a revolution in the United States, it will probably involve the disbanded military.

Two years after the death of Hitler, Albert Camus published La Peste. It is a story where a plague overruns a city, only to disappear just as quickly, but with the looming threat to one day return. The plague is a excellent metaphor for fascism. I can't offer much solace, but I'm confident of this -- fascism is terrible but not sustainable. The silver lining of this tragedy is that it will one day be over. Let's continue our preparations so that day comes sooner, and that we and our loved ones survive to see it.

The preparations

The future is more difficult to predict than ever, but we can narrow down some essential preparations that could end up being the most critical. These recommendations are mostly based on Deviant Ollem's talk on Risk & Preparedness. I'd recommend watching that for more detail, if you have the time.

Find a good lawyer and memorize their phone number ⚖️

This goes for everyone, but especially if you are an activist, a minority, trans, an immigrant, a person who is publicly leftist, or any other person who is likely to be targeted by the new regime. If they use the legal system against you, already having a lawyer in mind and their number in your head (or a business card with their number on it inside your phone case or wallet) will give you a critical leg up if you're sitting in a jail cell without access to the contacts in your phone. This advice may become less useful as time goes on and the courts become sidelined entirely, but at least right now, I would consider it worth the effort.

Get your passport 🛂

If you've ever thought about getting a passport but have been putting it off, or you have one that's expired: get one. Get it soon. There may come a time when you need to flee the country quickly to save your life, and the most critical piece of documentation you will need is a valid passport, and the time to get one is long before you need it. If it eventually becomes possible or necessary to legitimately claim asylum in a less hostile country due to political persecution in the US, having a passport will be essential.

Also, though this is highly dependent on your lineage, if you have a parent, grandparent, or possibly even great-grandparent who was a foreign citizen, look into the process of applying to become a dual-citizen for that country by ancestry. Some countries make the process somewhat easy, and will even be willing to sorta fudge things a bit to grant you citizenship (Italy is one example, more details in the Deviant talk linked above). If you're able to take this route, this would give you the easiest escape route out of the US if it became too dangerous for you to stay. If this is a viable route for you, I would advise you to gather the required documents and begin the process as soon as possible, as some countries can take 6 months or more to get a foreign passport in your hand, while others can be quicker.

Consider acquiring the means to keep yourself safe 🛡️

Having a good can of pepper spray probably wouldn't be a bad idea; they're cheap, easy to learn how to use, non-lethal, and usually quite effective at giving yourself an opportunity to escape a bad situation (I would recommend POM, who also offer inert training canisters to practice with).

In addition, it may be worth considering taking a reputable self-defense class that teaches you how to fight with your hands or a melee weapon effectively. Learning how to take a punch will really help if things get physical.

Learn First Aid! ⛑️

It is equally, if not more important, to be able to keep yourself and others alive if they get hurt. This is a tremendously useful skill for anyone to learn, you can never have too many medics.

Tacticool Girlfriend provides a great introduction building a personal first aid kit, called an IFAK, which can deal with things like bullet wounds and other serious bleeding wounds. I also want to emphasize her recommendation of only buying medical gear from reputable sources (not Amazon!), such as North American Rescue to avoid fakes that could cost you your life.

But you'll need to learn how to use that equipment, too. The best resource for that is to take a local Stop The Bleed class, which are pretty widely available in most places. They may cost a small fee, but can also sometimes be free. Alternatively, if you cannot access a local class, this video by PrepMedic will give you a solid understanding of how to use Tourniquets and Gauze for wound packing.

Injuries are less harmful if they are tended to early. Learning first aid can help conserve resources when healthcare becomes unaffordable. Having several medics in case of harm by police is an extremely powerful morale booster during a protest that may become a police riot. When you become comfortable with the basics of first aid, riot medicine is the next suggested step.

Establish or join local Mutual Aid networks ✊

If you haven't already, get to know your neighbors. Mutual aid is a willingness to support and grow your community. This can include informal networks through friends, tenant/renter organizations, solidarity groups, and industrial unions.

These are groups using direct action to solve each other's problems. Building strong communities makes it difficult for fascism to take root. The actions of the government are going to hit every community hard, and the ones who build trust in each other and work together are most likely to survive. We've been building a list of resources in !inperson@slrpnk.net to help you on your way.

This isn't only for your own community protection. Your ability to organize today will change the political landscape tomorrow. When revolution occurs, the social organizations that show the greatest resilience through the regime are the ones typically calling the shots when the dust settles. When it comes to elections, get out the vote drives are useless if most of the voters are fascists. At some point, you have to do grassroots political education if you don't want fascist candidates winning elections. Mutual aid networks are excellent forums not only for teaching each other good political ideas, but demonstrating them in practice.

Open Discussion

You don't have to endorse my or any of our views to be welcome on this platform. Our fight for a better future brings us all together. This isn't just my soap-box though - it's your soap-box too. If you've got questions about the server or the Fediverse in general, this is a great place to ask them. If you notice an issue with the service, posting the problem here will get it visibility.