After the murder of George Floyd, I got rid of my Facebook account. Seeing the hatred of people being nasty and mean got to me as I was struggling with my sobriety and I wanted out. And after I did, I noticed a change in my behavior. Now, I did start a Twitter, but that was to follow a TV show called The Boys, but after Elon took over, I left. But that's a conversation for another day.
Soon after, I started unplugging from pointless subscriptions I didn't use. An app to help do math better and use my brain more that never seemed to help. Another to help me meditate. One for sober people that you pay to connect with when AA is free. I even cancelled my Netflix account much to the dismay of my ex girlfriend who used it after we had broken up.
What I realized is how good these companies are into tricking you into getting your money. I had to take a marketing class for my job due to retailing some of our food items,- David, you need to try pimento cheese if you haven't, ask Monica about it. - and they went over how these companies pull you in. The ease of use, the color pallets used, the noises and most importantly, the instant gratification of having a trial run but where you're not reminded that you have to cancel or you're going to be charged. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Now, after unplugging and unsubscribing and getting back into reality, I've noticed just how amazing life is. And how important it is to live it. I turn 40 this year, and it's shocking to me the brevity of life; that my memories are now years past though it felt just like yesterday. And it is better to talk to someone, to shop local and support a cause, to support a minority owned business, to give my dollar to a homeless or unhoused person, rather than give it to some company who gives zero fucks about anyone or anything other than themselves or their checking account. I again still have some things I need to work on, I still use some services like Prime and Spotify, but I do try my best. I'm just wanting to experience life to it's fullest. Our lives really are but a vapor, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by not helping others and being a part of society in some facet.
Also, I had my girlfriend put on Dark Tourist last week- she has Netflix haha- and she enjoyed your interaction with Popeye and the Santa Muerta folks. She wanted a piece of the cake mostly.
And as always, thank you for posting. That was a good read for the weekend for sure. Such good stuff and amazing to know we have great people out there in the world sticking it to man.
I feel you about the 40 thing. It all hits pretty hard, right? I am sort of doing what you are doing - but slower. What you wrote out is motivating for me - so thanks.
I hear you mate, as a fellow elder millennial in recovery I've been struggling for ways to connect and find meaning beyond talking about whatever the Murdoch hate machine and and Zuck's algorithm wanted me to ponder. Decided to just keep on sticking it to The Man in small ways. Also, how good is The Boys!?
When you started talking about helping others, it resonated with me because that's what we do in recovery. So it makes your article hit even deeper knowing that you're a fellow millennial in recovery. It all makes sense now. Would you say that being in recovery helped you to see more of the faults in how these companies operated? As in how they get us hooked in and making us feel like we need their product, free or not, to function? And that's awesome you're in recovery. Congratulations on that! And I must say, this was well written article that many people here in the US should read.
It's funny how sticking it to the man really comes down to just being involved and supportive in the local community around you and growing from there. These companies like Facebook and Twitter make it seem like you're making some huge impact in the world, when really it's just a digital soap box that uses that data to sell ads. We become so consumed by it that we become addicts. And that's what they want. But like you said, disconnecting and getting involved with helping others and being of service to others as well as shopping or joining co-ops makes things so much better.
Even though The Boys is on Amazon Prime, it's fantastic. The comic is way different as is always the case. But it's truly social commentary mixed in with a fantasy world of corrupted superheroes ran by a corporation. It's The Justice League meets Wall Street the movie. The last season really was riffing on Trump and the political climate in the US. The writers are amazing and I hope that once this strike is over they get paid even better. And Antony Starr is one of the best bad guys, he really owns the role. As does Karl Urban. And I'm not just saying that because they're from New Zealand. They really are the show outside of the plot line.
Sorry if it showed other replies. My phone was freezing up and the app wasn't responding and it broke up my response. Androids I suppose.
I joined Webworm not long ago so thank you for the link! I get stuck reading the Qanon and church stuff when looking at your older articles. It's all good stuff.
He is such an amazing actor and really gives Homelander life. That whole tean is a amazing. I will need to check out Outrageous Fortune. My friends met him when they were shooting Banshee near here in Mooresville, NC and said he was a good guy and quite funny.
"Would you say that being in recovery helped you to see more of the faults in how these companies operated?"
I like your point about people in recovery helping people in recovery, but that's a tough question over all for me. I don't think so: I was lefto/socialist/anarchist before I stopped drinking. I could write a whole 'nother piece about sobriety and finding a type of recovery that works for me. Every day I learn something about myself and I use that to try and stay sober and sane. I also read a shit-tonne and listen to far too many podcasts, and — I think I wrote about this in a comment on my last piece here about Jungian synchronicity — things just fall into place. Which is a long way of saying that who I am and my experiences lead to common themes, I'm lucky enough to be able to write about them semi-coherently.
The mutual aid organizations and activities I'm involved are the best things in my day to day life, all with no cash or corporations involved.
Through Timebank I can trade services without paying : I mend clothes and handknit socks to earn time credits credits , then when I recently had to move house twice in 2 months, 19 local acquaintances helped me in exchange for my credits.
I help organise a Crop Swap twice a month, where we bring surplus from kitchen or garden to exchange. I don't have much of a garden due to renting insecurity, but I can bring some baking and foraged herbs and walk away with a big bag of fresh vegetables.
I recently joined one of the local savings pools, a small group who loan eachother money interest free.
Once a month I meet at someones house with a few others who share an interest in alternative healing. We spent the past few years holding space for each others grieving, somehow staying connected through great tests of our philosophical differences (alt healers are not *all* antivax). This year we've evolved into a writers support group, encouraging eachother to produce a memoir, a haiku collection and my own nonfiction book, The Secret Lives of Teeth.
I've struck a deal with a neighboring single dad with 3 kids and a big garden but no spare time. I help plant vegetables and prune fruit trees in exchange for a share of our harvest. It's closer than the community garden a few blocks away, but I can help there too if I want.
Every week I meet up at someone's house with 2-5 people to play board games. None of my old friends like games, but I've found new friendships with this odd bunch of Wingspan and Parks enthusiasts.
I also give and take from Aroha Stands, free pantries (streetside cupboards) where folks can leave surplus food or books etc and anyone can take what they want for free. I found a nearly new pair of winter shoes there a few weeks ago that fit perfectly, my first new shoes in 2 years.
I occasionally go along to one of the knitting meetups at a cafe and get the local gossip while I make socks for timebank trades. Knitters love to share advice, tools, surplus materials, and throwing their efforts into knitting for premmie babies, rest home residents or cyclone
Our little village of 3500 offers all this and more that I'm not involved in personally like the volunteer fire brigade, church and marae based activities heaps of environmental programs (from seed sorting to pest trapping) and stuff for kids to do.
Oh and our local mutual aid is expanding. We're starting a new Repair Cafe next week. I'm psyched to offer my textile mending services and hopefully get my broken fan fixed.
I enjoy all this while working full time in my own business, writing and self publishing my book and being sole support for my elderly mother. I have no time for Facebook or Netflix and i like it that way!
im happy to chat about timebank etc. Its based on a format /software started in America and used by communities all round the world. This is my second timebank community for a total of 12 years involvement. https://www.whaingaroa.org.nz/timebank/
Repair cafe comes from the uk i think. Crop swap is unique to nz maybe.
Though I have always belonged to a union, my big revelation on the power of collective action came with the Christchurch Earthquakes. The initial jolts were devastating but a unique feature of this event was the liquefaction that came sludging up through the ground, eventually setting like concrete. Millions of tonnes of it.
A group of students got together and asked the council if they could help with the clearing up. I'm pretty sure the response was along the lines of "Leave this to the experts, sonny," so the Student Volunteer Army used social media to align "help needed" with "help available" and the whole thing really took off. The model was adopted by farmers (The Farmy Army) and pretty soon there were thousands of people heading off each morning to dig out liquefaction, with the council meekly saying "We're in charge. Which way did they go?"
Two memories stand out from my involvement in this. First was a solo mum whose house, garage and garden had been submerged in up to a metre of sludge. She returned from her job as a postie, saw it had all been cleared up and spontaneously burst into tears. Then she cycled off to buy the workers some beer.
There was also a woman in her eighties, on her own, whose whole pristine garden had been destroyed. She sailed along, unperturbed, dishing up cups of tea to the workers as though it was just another day.
Contrasting with these memories was a guy who had summoned help to clear what appeared to be a single bucketload of powdery dirt on his otherwise unscathed concrete driveway. Five of us stood around, staring at this tiny pile, as he strolled past us announcing that he had somewhere important to be.
I often reflect on apocalyptic fiction, which operates on the premise that any removal of or disruption to authority will lead inevitably to chaos and anarchy. Think Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The experience of Christchurch people suggests otherwise. Troops and police who arrived from all over the world in order to maintain order reported being baffled by friendly people coming up to them, shaking their hands and saying "thanks."
SVA is a really great example of Kiwi Mutual Aid in action. As with any system there are going to be some people who try to take advantage, but the cool thing about MA as an organising principle is that it starts to break down some of those "wait... you're doing this for free... and you don't expect anything in return?" barriers.
I loved Dark Tourist and I also enjoyed Zac Efron’s show (although it did sometimes smell a bit of elitism?) I’m a huge proponent of volunteering in the local community. So many organizations out there need help and depend on volunteers, so there’s never not a need. Some small businesses are down for bartering, (volunteer to serve popcorn, watch a movie for free; do some cleaning and organizing, get free clothing,etc.) I recently made crocheted penises for my tattoo artist in exchange for some tattoo time😂 and once a year I wash windows in exchange for 2 hours of massage time. I realize volunteering and donating resources can be a luxury for some, but even just taking a bag and going for a walk in your neighborhood picking up trash is a help. Helping others is contagious and encourages others to get involved, you might even make a friend or two along the way 😊
Crocheted penises for tattoo time.. I'm inspired! I once made a bunch crocheted vulvas for a street art project in Melbourne. It's a medium that lends itself well to making genitalia .
I constantly waver on deleting social media - I definitely need to, but I also help run some really helpful, well functioning groups that I don’t want to let go of. I spend quite a lot of time helping my clients who are perfectionists (I’m a psychologist) loosen the tendrils of capitalism. The question “so who told you that your value as a human was directly linked to your productivity/achievements” usually gets a good long reflective pause, and over time (with a lot more discussion and reflection) a paradigm shift.
Beautiful. My approach has been to disengage as much as possible. I have Signal/iMessage groups for my friends for actual communication. I only regularly post on Insta and that's more of a creative outlet / broadcast of the things I do, not much scrolling. FB is absolute minimum + Marketplace (because my penchant for a secondhand bargain beats the ethical quandary). Twitter is dead to me. Reddit deleted.
I refuse to use Amazon. If I can buy locally produced products, I will. I have a Facebook account - it was the only way I could keep in touch with some of my friends overseas, but I rarely look at it - twice a month at best. I don't use Uber and don't travel so no Air Bnb. (I hear that some places have Fair BnB which is an alternative where you do actually go to use a spare room in people's homes.) I use Mozilla Firefox as a browser and this allows me to install an excellent ad blocker, so I rarely see adverts. That is very liberating and also explains why I dislike YouTube. I use Ecosia as a search engine and they plant a tree for me after a certain number of searches.
I think long and hard before buying more stuff and try to buy second-hand wherever possible - Trade Me is my "go to" and the first Refine tool I click on is "used". I'm also largely vegan and give 10% of what I live on - which isn't much - to animal and environmental charities.
I vote Green - voting is really, really important if you want to change the system and you should vote for the party that is going to make the country a better place for those at the bottom, not those at the top. Socialism works. Look at Denmark.
I'm not very good in my community being someone who likes my solitude, but I do try to be a good friend. I always make a point of greeting shop assistants and having a short chat before asking for service. My apologies to you rushed and busy shoppers waiting to be served, but my inane conversation gives them a breather and, I hope, makes them feel like someone has seen them.
I've unplugged from a lot of these "default" services like Amazon and Uber. It killed me to get rid of Audible but then I found xigxag and it's superior for the exact reasons Jackson talked about. I think it's easier for people to understand that part of unplugging. The actual human community coming together aspect I've noticed is harder for people. I recently moved away from the city, for a number of reasons, but one was community. My friends, all in their mid 30s were struggling to understand my decision. Cos I was moving to a place I knew no one, so in their minds, less community. But away from the churn of the city I found exactly that community environment Jackson talks about, feeling comfortable to help other humans and receive help.... If you strike up a unsolicited conversation in the city it more often then not gets you a dirty look. Moving to a small town is not a solution for everyone. I grew up in a small town, the city drains my social battery because I find community a bit harder to find amongst all the other distractions. It's there, 100% it's there, but it's a bit more hidden away in my opinion. I was confused that my friends didn't seem to understand or value community, but after reading this piece I realize it might not be as intuitive as I thought... Apologies for any typos, phone typing is not my forte. Thanks David and Jackson for a great piece to start my Sunday
The scary thing is that we're living in a dystopia that so many sf writers predicted last century.
The best one is Fred Pohl's 1955 short story, "The Tunnel Under The World". It was part of a UK TV anthology, "Out of the Unknown" - a series of creepy, dark "Twilight Zone" style stories.
"Tunnel Under The World" is almost a glimpse into the future of 2023, predicting the influence of advertising and the dehumanising demands of capitalism. If you get a chance to find the story have a read: you'll be gobsmacked how close Pohl got to foreseeing the future.
(As an aside, Pohl predicted the ubiquitous smartphone/personal computer in his novel, "Age of the Pussyfoot" - written in 1965, a full year before we got to see the hand-held, flip top, communicator in 1966 in "Star Trek".)
As for that juicer, I laughed my arse off. They've made it so incomprehensibly complicated. Compare to current second hand juicer I have: plug in, put stuff in, switch on, drink. Sorted.
Reading Cory Doctorow’s pieces on what he calls the enshittification of services like Facebook, Amazon, Uber etc has convinced me to use them as little as possible. He’s worth reading and is a prolific blogger and writer, much of it in his free daily emails.
There are 2 moments that changed my life around how I engaged online/with any form of web application forever.
Firstly when I was a teenager in the 90s and Internet first arrived in homes. I decided to search for my favourite band Blur. There were so many pictures on there and many were taken by paparazzi and I felt creepy and gross. It was like a trash magazine, but next level. I was looking at pictures of people I idolised they had not endorsed and had no control over the viewing off. I just really didn't like it at all. We have come so far from that point now that even in the face of so much information around the very real risk we put photos of our own children on there now, tagging locations and in easily identified situations and places. How?
The second thing was working for a bank during the 2000s and getting an understanding for data. I remember a roll in collections requiring us to scroll through spending to create a picture of a person we would both judge them and try and trap with with. This reached full creep factor when I went to a meeting one day where they talked about selective advertising of products using prompts provided by new software digging through everyone's data (lots of baby stuff- how about a discounted personal loan? just purchased flights somewhere, here is a great credit card deal! Overdrawing your account each month- an overdraft with a variety of hidden fees can help with that! ). It was so gross. And also so dangerous. What if the baby didn't come to fruition and you said something that would feel like another kick in the face. How invasive and unnecessary and bad.
(Just FYI you can turn off your data being used like that- just check your settings, or as brilliantly suggested, move to a co-op).
I live pretty low-fi and don't engage in any streaming platforms, I just see movies at the cinema and predominantly choose things that are locally made with a particular passion for indigenous films. They need my money and support- not Netflix (and thank you for all that detail around how they are even shiter than I thought).
In new zealand the red cross and civil defense are great organisations to reach out to if you would like to increase your level of community involvement, most suburbs will also have a community hub of some kind that offers lots of opportunities to get involved too.
I cant wait to read this book recommendation, thank you.
I recommend Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, it was written in the early 90s and also deals with how far removed our amazing modern lives are from anything that is actually fulfilling- rather we feed capitalism in ever more creative ways.
Thanks both for this. Holy moly is it information that needs to be out there and shared. Its no wonder mental and physical illness is rising exponentially. We just don't live in the ways we are designed to and that can truly make us happy and connected. We are just so trapped in a cycle of clicks and algorithm deciphered "delight factor".
Ishmael added to my reading list. Next book is 'Spare' though. In my defence I a) didn't buy it and b) have enjoyed asking my colleagues for a random number and then flipping to that page and doing a dramatic reading. Prince Harry is someone who could defs use a hug and a bit of wholesome community time.
It's about a 11 week wait at the mo but I had plenty of other stuff to read while I waited and then I finished it in about a day and a half. I found it very easy to read and there were some good stories and insights to be had...
Love the article and suggestions; I was just reading a Jonathan Haidt article from a few years ago about roughly the same topic. I had already actively begun limiting my Amazon purchasing. Limiting Facebook is a lot harder for me, as I suspect it is for many of my fellow introverts. Most of my closest friends and family do not live near me (read 400-2000 miles away at least), and so "face to face" is not feasible. Facebook is our hangout, and getting all those people (who each have their own "other" circles that don't include me or other mutual friends) to go elsewhere online is nigh unto impossible - some of us have actually attempted it without much success. We crave connection with one another, and we're not likely to be out doing things with other people a lot unless we really, really have to. Which I get can be troublesome as well (it's hard to REALLY help from a chair!). Just wanted to give another perspective.
I know what you mean. I keep Facebook basically for a reality TV and real life in NZ podcast-based group of internet friends who have great recs (shoutout the Cornies) and also my local neighbourhood pages which only occasionally go off the rails but mostly are a tool for me to connect with my community. I balance this out with volunteering in real life in the community too. The volunteering I do has been always aided by using fb, in fact a couple of the roles I would have not found out about if it wasn’t for Facebook.
I communicate with my friends by text if they live in Oz or NZ and by email if they live elsewhere. I find both perfectly satisfactory and to be honest, don't "get" Facebook. And of course, there's always the telephone!
There's also platform fatigue. As well as being ad-serving platforms most socials media have messaging. Sometimes I find myself having simultaneous conversations with the same person across iMessage, Signal, and Insta. Its brain-breaking, but v effective to keep your eyeballs on that product.
Thanks to you and Jackson for this piece - such an important and ever-timely reminder!
I'm always finding myself backsliding into capitalism and social media - going weeks away from the algorithm drive to finding myself bored and suddenly looking at twitter again - especially when there's been news about trans folks in Aotearoa, i feel this perverse drive to see what people are saying about it.
Jackson's piece reminded me that change doesn't have to happen all at once - the revolution can start small, with little pieces of kindness. Thank you!
"I'm always finding myself backsliding into capitalism"
I wish there was Capitalists Anonymous where people could go sit around a drab church hall and talk about how they tried to extract profit out of people.
What a wonderful surprise to hit my inbox today -- I LOVED Dark Tourist. To pieces. And I've re-watched many episodes. You bring a lot of care to the subjects you cover, David, and I personally will never understand why it wasn't renewed either. It was a fascinating show, delightfully dark, and unlike any other travel show that was out at the time, IMO. I don't even remember how I discovered it, really; I think I was really drawn to the red/black illustrations, and I have a thing for nerds in glasses. 😅
My summoning circle for a second season didn't work, unfortunately, but I'm so glad to support you here and I hope to catch Mister Organ in the States! (I haven't seen Tickled yet. I am sorry.) Cheers, David!
PS I think if you handled Dark Tourist you can handle Tickled. I feel more proud of Tickled - so hope you get to give it a watch at some stage. It's like a strange little thriller, but with tickling!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! I only see bits that I would have liked to have done better, or moments that happened in reality that we didn't manage to capture. But overall feel really proud of what we made. And I am glad the empathy come through!
Mutual aid is my JAM - so is throwing a middle finger up to capitalism. Fuck that soul-destroying shit. I work in community development and just can't get enough of building community for mahi and for the betterment of my life.
My fav projects are:
- Timebanking - I've been involved in Wellington Timebank since it started. Share your skills, knowledge, talents for time - not money! We have a diverse membership and I love that it connects me to so many different people with different world-views and I get to learn new things and receive support from a wide network of people . I love how it reframes asking for help - you need me becomes - we need each other! Everyone has skills to be able to share - I love how it values all skills equally - unlike capitalism.
- Savings pool - me and some mates pool our $ together, loaning of one another rather than the bank. It's been particularly useful for some of our contractors/musician mates, where bank loans can be harder to obtain. We mostly use it for smaller-fry stuff.... It's great to be able to use in a pinch for dentist and car stuff. recently we've loaned some for supporting a member with topping up their maternity leave... and we put someone through the dev academy (coding and web development school in Aotearoa) (as it wasn't studylink accredited at that time - not able to get student loans for it) - so that felt pretty special.
Haha - I support this! Always happy to chat this stuff and promo always helps our grant applications/accountability reports ;)
I missed by biggest buzz - Co-housing. Been meeting with a few friends for several years - we've got policies, a shared kaupapa, vision, a lawyer, a relationship with council - all that good stuff. The aim is to become our own developers - a create a small co-housing community, shared spaces and resources, small individual dwellings....the dream of living in community, balanced with privacy though! We're hoping to purchase a paddock or two in the next 8 months. It's been a long, windy, challenging road - hoping we can get there!
I appreciate seeing a piece on mutual aid and Kropotkin (though I am a non anti-capitalist anarchist—Kropotkin's ideas are generally influential in anarchist philosophies).
It's focused on America, but Bowling Alone by political scientist Robert Putnam is an interesting read on the disintegration of social capital starting around 1960 that has led to less mutual aid being baked into our cultural behavior and social fabric.
I read Bowling Alone for a Pol Sci honours paper* and it blew my mind. This concept has been percolating in my brain for like 15 years. It's completely applicable outside of the US, just manifesting in different ways.
After the murder of George Floyd, I got rid of my Facebook account. Seeing the hatred of people being nasty and mean got to me as I was struggling with my sobriety and I wanted out. And after I did, I noticed a change in my behavior. Now, I did start a Twitter, but that was to follow a TV show called The Boys, but after Elon took over, I left. But that's a conversation for another day.
Soon after, I started unplugging from pointless subscriptions I didn't use. An app to help do math better and use my brain more that never seemed to help. Another to help me meditate. One for sober people that you pay to connect with when AA is free. I even cancelled my Netflix account much to the dismay of my ex girlfriend who used it after we had broken up.
What I realized is how good these companies are into tricking you into getting your money. I had to take a marketing class for my job due to retailing some of our food items,- David, you need to try pimento cheese if you haven't, ask Monica about it. - and they went over how these companies pull you in. The ease of use, the color pallets used, the noises and most importantly, the instant gratification of having a trial run but where you're not reminded that you have to cancel or you're going to be charged. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Now, after unplugging and unsubscribing and getting back into reality, I've noticed just how amazing life is. And how important it is to live it. I turn 40 this year, and it's shocking to me the brevity of life; that my memories are now years past though it felt just like yesterday. And it is better to talk to someone, to shop local and support a cause, to support a minority owned business, to give my dollar to a homeless or unhoused person, rather than give it to some company who gives zero fucks about anyone or anything other than themselves or their checking account. I again still have some things I need to work on, I still use some services like Prime and Spotify, but I do try my best. I'm just wanting to experience life to it's fullest. Our lives really are but a vapor, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by not helping others and being a part of society in some facet.
Also, I had my girlfriend put on Dark Tourist last week- she has Netflix haha- and she enjoyed your interaction with Popeye and the Santa Muerta folks. She wanted a piece of the cake mostly.
And as always, thank you for posting. That was a good read for the weekend for sure. Such good stuff and amazing to know we have great people out there in the world sticking it to man.
I feel you about the 40 thing. It all hits pretty hard, right? I am sort of doing what you are doing - but slower. What you wrote out is motivating for me - so thanks.
And consider pimento cheese added to the list.
PS - THE CAKE WAS EXCELLENT.
I have some things I still need to work on. Im far from perfect. Jackson's article really is inspiring. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I hear you mate, as a fellow elder millennial in recovery I've been struggling for ways to connect and find meaning beyond talking about whatever the Murdoch hate machine and and Zuck's algorithm wanted me to ponder. Decided to just keep on sticking it to The Man in small ways. Also, how good is The Boys!?
When you started talking about helping others, it resonated with me because that's what we do in recovery. So it makes your article hit even deeper knowing that you're a fellow millennial in recovery. It all makes sense now. Would you say that being in recovery helped you to see more of the faults in how these companies operated? As in how they get us hooked in and making us feel like we need their product, free or not, to function? And that's awesome you're in recovery. Congratulations on that! And I must say, this was well written article that many people here in the US should read.
It's funny how sticking it to the man really comes down to just being involved and supportive in the local community around you and growing from there. These companies like Facebook and Twitter make it seem like you're making some huge impact in the world, when really it's just a digital soap box that uses that data to sell ads. We become so consumed by it that we become addicts. And that's what they want. But like you said, disconnecting and getting involved with helping others and being of service to others as well as shopping or joining co-ops makes things so much better.
Even though The Boys is on Amazon Prime, it's fantastic. The comic is way different as is always the case. But it's truly social commentary mixed in with a fantasy world of corrupted superheroes ran by a corporation. It's The Justice League meets Wall Street the movie. The last season really was riffing on Trump and the political climate in the US. The writers are amazing and I hope that once this strike is over they get paid even better. And Antony Starr is one of the best bad guys, he really owns the role. As does Karl Urban. And I'm not just saying that because they're from New Zealand. They really are the show outside of the plot line.
Just in case you missed this earlier Webworm from 2020 - I spoke to Ant about my love of this show!
https://www.webworm.co/p/episode-4-i-love-the-boys-because#details
Sorry if it showed other replies. My phone was freezing up and the app wasn't responding and it broke up my response. Androids I suppose.
I joined Webworm not long ago so thank you for the link! I get stuck reading the Qanon and church stuff when looking at your older articles. It's all good stuff.
He is such an amazing actor and really gives Homelander life. That whole tean is a amazing. I will need to check out Outrageous Fortune. My friends met him when they were shooting Banshee near here in Mooresville, NC and said he was a good guy and quite funny.
"Would you say that being in recovery helped you to see more of the faults in how these companies operated?"
I like your point about people in recovery helping people in recovery, but that's a tough question over all for me. I don't think so: I was lefto/socialist/anarchist before I stopped drinking. I could write a whole 'nother piece about sobriety and finding a type of recovery that works for me. Every day I learn something about myself and I use that to try and stay sober and sane. I also read a shit-tonne and listen to far too many podcasts, and — I think I wrote about this in a comment on my last piece here about Jungian synchronicity — things just fall into place. Which is a long way of saying that who I am and my experiences lead to common themes, I'm lucky enough to be able to write about them semi-coherently.
*very coherently!
Agreed with David about coherently.
" Everyday I learn something about myself and I use that to try and stay sober and sane. " I felt that.
The mutual aid organizations and activities I'm involved are the best things in my day to day life, all with no cash or corporations involved.
Through Timebank I can trade services without paying : I mend clothes and handknit socks to earn time credits credits , then when I recently had to move house twice in 2 months, 19 local acquaintances helped me in exchange for my credits.
I help organise a Crop Swap twice a month, where we bring surplus from kitchen or garden to exchange. I don't have much of a garden due to renting insecurity, but I can bring some baking and foraged herbs and walk away with a big bag of fresh vegetables.
I recently joined one of the local savings pools, a small group who loan eachother money interest free.
Once a month I meet at someones house with a few others who share an interest in alternative healing. We spent the past few years holding space for each others grieving, somehow staying connected through great tests of our philosophical differences (alt healers are not *all* antivax). This year we've evolved into a writers support group, encouraging eachother to produce a memoir, a haiku collection and my own nonfiction book, The Secret Lives of Teeth.
I've struck a deal with a neighboring single dad with 3 kids and a big garden but no spare time. I help plant vegetables and prune fruit trees in exchange for a share of our harvest. It's closer than the community garden a few blocks away, but I can help there too if I want.
Every week I meet up at someone's house with 2-5 people to play board games. None of my old friends like games, but I've found new friendships with this odd bunch of Wingspan and Parks enthusiasts.
I also give and take from Aroha Stands, free pantries (streetside cupboards) where folks can leave surplus food or books etc and anyone can take what they want for free. I found a nearly new pair of winter shoes there a few weeks ago that fit perfectly, my first new shoes in 2 years.
I occasionally go along to one of the knitting meetups at a cafe and get the local gossip while I make socks for timebank trades. Knitters love to share advice, tools, surplus materials, and throwing their efforts into knitting for premmie babies, rest home residents or cyclone
Our little village of 3500 offers all this and more that I'm not involved in personally like the volunteer fire brigade, church and marae based activities heaps of environmental programs (from seed sorting to pest trapping) and stuff for kids to do.
Oh and our local mutual aid is expanding. We're starting a new Repair Cafe next week. I'm psyched to offer my textile mending services and hopefully get my broken fan fixed.
I enjoy all this while working full time in my own business, writing and self publishing my book and being sole support for my elderly mother. I have no time for Facebook or Netflix and i like it that way!
Fantastic! What a great citizen you are. You are an example to us all of what makes a village and a community work. 💕
YESSSSSSS THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. Would love to chat sometime to learn more about how you set up the Time Bank!
Of course,
im happy to chat about timebank etc. Its based on a format /software started in America and used by communities all round the world. This is my second timebank community for a total of 12 years involvement. https://www.whaingaroa.org.nz/timebank/
Repair cafe comes from the uk i think. Crop swap is unique to nz maybe.
Meliors - are we living the same life?! Ha, ha!
Love meeting other savingpoolers and timebankers in the wild!
Love Raglan and all you got going on there <3
Yay! It's such an abundant, expansive way of life isn't it. Where are you timebanking?
Pōneke - Wellington :)
Though I have always belonged to a union, my big revelation on the power of collective action came with the Christchurch Earthquakes. The initial jolts were devastating but a unique feature of this event was the liquefaction that came sludging up through the ground, eventually setting like concrete. Millions of tonnes of it.
A group of students got together and asked the council if they could help with the clearing up. I'm pretty sure the response was along the lines of "Leave this to the experts, sonny," so the Student Volunteer Army used social media to align "help needed" with "help available" and the whole thing really took off. The model was adopted by farmers (The Farmy Army) and pretty soon there were thousands of people heading off each morning to dig out liquefaction, with the council meekly saying "We're in charge. Which way did they go?"
Two memories stand out from my involvement in this. First was a solo mum whose house, garage and garden had been submerged in up to a metre of sludge. She returned from her job as a postie, saw it had all been cleared up and spontaneously burst into tears. Then she cycled off to buy the workers some beer.
There was also a woman in her eighties, on her own, whose whole pristine garden had been destroyed. She sailed along, unperturbed, dishing up cups of tea to the workers as though it was just another day.
Contrasting with these memories was a guy who had summoned help to clear what appeared to be a single bucketload of powdery dirt on his otherwise unscathed concrete driveway. Five of us stood around, staring at this tiny pile, as he strolled past us announcing that he had somewhere important to be.
People, eh?
I adore everything about this. Pure Mutual Aid.
It's nice to reflect on some of the good that came out of such a hideous, life-changing event.
I often reflect on apocalyptic fiction, which operates on the premise that any removal of or disruption to authority will lead inevitably to chaos and anarchy. Think Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The experience of Christchurch people suggests otherwise. Troops and police who arrived from all over the world in order to maintain order reported being baffled by friendly people coming up to them, shaking their hands and saying "thanks."
SVA is a really great example of Kiwi Mutual Aid in action. As with any system there are going to be some people who try to take advantage, but the cool thing about MA as an organising principle is that it starts to break down some of those "wait... you're doing this for free... and you don't expect anything in return?" barriers.
I loved Dark Tourist and I also enjoyed Zac Efron’s show (although it did sometimes smell a bit of elitism?) I’m a huge proponent of volunteering in the local community. So many organizations out there need help and depend on volunteers, so there’s never not a need. Some small businesses are down for bartering, (volunteer to serve popcorn, watch a movie for free; do some cleaning and organizing, get free clothing,etc.) I recently made crocheted penises for my tattoo artist in exchange for some tattoo time😂 and once a year I wash windows in exchange for 2 hours of massage time. I realize volunteering and donating resources can be a luxury for some, but even just taking a bag and going for a walk in your neighborhood picking up trash is a help. Helping others is contagious and encourages others to get involved, you might even make a friend or two along the way 😊
Crocheted penises for tattoo time.. I'm inspired! I once made a bunch crocheted vulvas for a street art project in Melbourne. It's a medium that lends itself well to making genitalia .
You aren’t kidding. They brought me such great joy!
I constantly waver on deleting social media - I definitely need to, but I also help run some really helpful, well functioning groups that I don’t want to let go of. I spend quite a lot of time helping my clients who are perfectionists (I’m a psychologist) loosen the tendrils of capitalism. The question “so who told you that your value as a human was directly linked to your productivity/achievements” usually gets a good long reflective pause, and over time (with a lot more discussion and reflection) a paradigm shift.
Beautiful. My approach has been to disengage as much as possible. I have Signal/iMessage groups for my friends for actual communication. I only regularly post on Insta and that's more of a creative outlet / broadcast of the things I do, not much scrolling. FB is absolute minimum + Marketplace (because my penchant for a secondhand bargain beats the ethical quandary). Twitter is dead to me. Reddit deleted.
I refuse to use Amazon. If I can buy locally produced products, I will. I have a Facebook account - it was the only way I could keep in touch with some of my friends overseas, but I rarely look at it - twice a month at best. I don't use Uber and don't travel so no Air Bnb. (I hear that some places have Fair BnB which is an alternative where you do actually go to use a spare room in people's homes.) I use Mozilla Firefox as a browser and this allows me to install an excellent ad blocker, so I rarely see adverts. That is very liberating and also explains why I dislike YouTube. I use Ecosia as a search engine and they plant a tree for me after a certain number of searches.
I think long and hard before buying more stuff and try to buy second-hand wherever possible - Trade Me is my "go to" and the first Refine tool I click on is "used". I'm also largely vegan and give 10% of what I live on - which isn't much - to animal and environmental charities.
I vote Green - voting is really, really important if you want to change the system and you should vote for the party that is going to make the country a better place for those at the bottom, not those at the top. Socialism works. Look at Denmark.
I'm not very good in my community being someone who likes my solitude, but I do try to be a good friend. I always make a point of greeting shop assistants and having a short chat before asking for service. My apologies to you rushed and busy shoppers waiting to be served, but my inane conversation gives them a breather and, I hope, makes them feel like someone has seen them.
Ecosia, eh? Thank you for that!
This is exactly what I am talking about. Keep doing this and keep being awesome.
I've unplugged from a lot of these "default" services like Amazon and Uber. It killed me to get rid of Audible but then I found xigxag and it's superior for the exact reasons Jackson talked about. I think it's easier for people to understand that part of unplugging. The actual human community coming together aspect I've noticed is harder for people. I recently moved away from the city, for a number of reasons, but one was community. My friends, all in their mid 30s were struggling to understand my decision. Cos I was moving to a place I knew no one, so in their minds, less community. But away from the churn of the city I found exactly that community environment Jackson talks about, feeling comfortable to help other humans and receive help.... If you strike up a unsolicited conversation in the city it more often then not gets you a dirty look. Moving to a small town is not a solution for everyone. I grew up in a small town, the city drains my social battery because I find community a bit harder to find amongst all the other distractions. It's there, 100% it's there, but it's a bit more hidden away in my opinion. I was confused that my friends didn't seem to understand or value community, but after reading this piece I realize it might not be as intuitive as I thought... Apologies for any typos, phone typing is not my forte. Thanks David and Jackson for a great piece to start my Sunday
Why use Audible when you can use your local library for free?
100 reasons to have a library card: https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/100-reasons.aspx
The scary thing is that we're living in a dystopia that so many sf writers predicted last century.
The best one is Fred Pohl's 1955 short story, "The Tunnel Under The World". It was part of a UK TV anthology, "Out of the Unknown" - a series of creepy, dark "Twilight Zone" style stories.
"Tunnel Under The World" is almost a glimpse into the future of 2023, predicting the influence of advertising and the dehumanising demands of capitalism. If you get a chance to find the story have a read: you'll be gobsmacked how close Pohl got to foreseeing the future.
(As an aside, Pohl predicted the ubiquitous smartphone/personal computer in his novel, "Age of the Pussyfoot" - written in 1965, a full year before we got to see the hand-held, flip top, communicator in 1966 in "Star Trek".)
As for that juicer, I laughed my arse off. They've made it so incomprehensibly complicated. Compare to current second hand juicer I have: plug in, put stuff in, switch on, drink. Sorted.
Frank
In-house Geek
I had never heard of it - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31979/31979-h/31979-h.htm - thank you!
I fuckin' love The Tunnel Under The World. I really hope our future is more Star Trek than The Expanse though.
Oh 100%!!
It is way more positive. Well, socially anyways...
Reading Cory Doctorow’s pieces on what he calls the enshittification of services like Facebook, Amazon, Uber etc has convinced me to use them as little as possible. He’s worth reading and is a prolific blogger and writer, much of it in his free daily emails.
ALL OF THIS
There are 2 moments that changed my life around how I engaged online/with any form of web application forever.
Firstly when I was a teenager in the 90s and Internet first arrived in homes. I decided to search for my favourite band Blur. There were so many pictures on there and many were taken by paparazzi and I felt creepy and gross. It was like a trash magazine, but next level. I was looking at pictures of people I idolised they had not endorsed and had no control over the viewing off. I just really didn't like it at all. We have come so far from that point now that even in the face of so much information around the very real risk we put photos of our own children on there now, tagging locations and in easily identified situations and places. How?
The second thing was working for a bank during the 2000s and getting an understanding for data. I remember a roll in collections requiring us to scroll through spending to create a picture of a person we would both judge them and try and trap with with. This reached full creep factor when I went to a meeting one day where they talked about selective advertising of products using prompts provided by new software digging through everyone's data (lots of baby stuff- how about a discounted personal loan? just purchased flights somewhere, here is a great credit card deal! Overdrawing your account each month- an overdraft with a variety of hidden fees can help with that! ). It was so gross. And also so dangerous. What if the baby didn't come to fruition and you said something that would feel like another kick in the face. How invasive and unnecessary and bad.
(Just FYI you can turn off your data being used like that- just check your settings, or as brilliantly suggested, move to a co-op).
I live pretty low-fi and don't engage in any streaming platforms, I just see movies at the cinema and predominantly choose things that are locally made with a particular passion for indigenous films. They need my money and support- not Netflix (and thank you for all that detail around how they are even shiter than I thought).
In new zealand the red cross and civil defense are great organisations to reach out to if you would like to increase your level of community involvement, most suburbs will also have a community hub of some kind that offers lots of opportunities to get involved too.
I cant wait to read this book recommendation, thank you.
I recommend Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, it was written in the early 90s and also deals with how far removed our amazing modern lives are from anything that is actually fulfilling- rather we feed capitalism in ever more creative ways.
Thanks both for this. Holy moly is it information that needs to be out there and shared. Its no wonder mental and physical illness is rising exponentially. We just don't live in the ways we are designed to and that can truly make us happy and connected. We are just so trapped in a cycle of clicks and algorithm deciphered "delight factor".
Amazing mahi ❤
Ishmael added to my reading list. Next book is 'Spare' though. In my defence I a) didn't buy it and b) have enjoyed asking my colleagues for a random number and then flipping to that page and doing a dramatic reading. Prince Harry is someone who could defs use a hug and a bit of wholesome community time.
I read it on Overdrive for free from my local library: https://auckland.overdrive.com/media/9537388
It's about a 11 week wait at the mo but I had plenty of other stuff to read while I waited and then I finished it in about a day and a half. I found it very easy to read and there were some good stories and insights to be had...
Turn off your location on your phone. That's how "they" know where photos were taken.
Petey Krops 💖💖
I was very pleased when my brain thought of this one.
Love the article and suggestions; I was just reading a Jonathan Haidt article from a few years ago about roughly the same topic. I had already actively begun limiting my Amazon purchasing. Limiting Facebook is a lot harder for me, as I suspect it is for many of my fellow introverts. Most of my closest friends and family do not live near me (read 400-2000 miles away at least), and so "face to face" is not feasible. Facebook is our hangout, and getting all those people (who each have their own "other" circles that don't include me or other mutual friends) to go elsewhere online is nigh unto impossible - some of us have actually attempted it without much success. We crave connection with one another, and we're not likely to be out doing things with other people a lot unless we really, really have to. Which I get can be troublesome as well (it's hard to REALLY help from a chair!). Just wanted to give another perspective.
I know what you mean. I keep Facebook basically for a reality TV and real life in NZ podcast-based group of internet friends who have great recs (shoutout the Cornies) and also my local neighbourhood pages which only occasionally go off the rails but mostly are a tool for me to connect with my community. I balance this out with volunteering in real life in the community too. The volunteering I do has been always aided by using fb, in fact a couple of the roles I would have not found out about if it wasn’t for Facebook.
I communicate with my friends by text if they live in Oz or NZ and by email if they live elsewhere. I find both perfectly satisfactory and to be honest, don't "get" Facebook. And of course, there's always the telephone!
There's also platform fatigue. As well as being ad-serving platforms most socials media have messaging. Sometimes I find myself having simultaneous conversations with the same person across iMessage, Signal, and Insta. Its brain-breaking, but v effective to keep your eyeballs on that product.
Thanks to you and Jackson for this piece - such an important and ever-timely reminder!
I'm always finding myself backsliding into capitalism and social media - going weeks away from the algorithm drive to finding myself bored and suddenly looking at twitter again - especially when there's been news about trans folks in Aotearoa, i feel this perverse drive to see what people are saying about it.
Jackson's piece reminded me that change doesn't have to happen all at once - the revolution can start small, with little pieces of kindness. Thank you!
"I'm always finding myself backsliding into capitalism"
I wish there was Capitalists Anonymous where people could go sit around a drab church hall and talk about how they tried to extract profit out of people.
What a wonderful surprise to hit my inbox today -- I LOVED Dark Tourist. To pieces. And I've re-watched many episodes. You bring a lot of care to the subjects you cover, David, and I personally will never understand why it wasn't renewed either. It was a fascinating show, delightfully dark, and unlike any other travel show that was out at the time, IMO. I don't even remember how I discovered it, really; I think I was really drawn to the red/black illustrations, and I have a thing for nerds in glasses. 😅
My summoning circle for a second season didn't work, unfortunately, but I'm so glad to support you here and I hope to catch Mister Organ in the States! (I haven't seen Tickled yet. I am sorry.) Cheers, David!
PS I think if you handled Dark Tourist you can handle Tickled. I feel more proud of Tickled - so hope you get to give it a watch at some stage. It's like a strange little thriller, but with tickling!
If you are an Aussie or Kiwi with a library card holder, you can see Tickled online here: https://beamafilm.com/watch/tickled
I am so glad you enjoyed it! I only see bits that I would have liked to have done better, or moments that happened in reality that we didn't manage to capture. But overall feel really proud of what we made. And I am glad the empathy come through!
Mutual aid is my JAM - so is throwing a middle finger up to capitalism. Fuck that soul-destroying shit. I work in community development and just can't get enough of building community for mahi and for the betterment of my life.
My fav projects are:
- Timebanking - I've been involved in Wellington Timebank since it started. Share your skills, knowledge, talents for time - not money! We have a diverse membership and I love that it connects me to so many different people with different world-views and I get to learn new things and receive support from a wide network of people . I love how it reframes asking for help - you need me becomes - we need each other! Everyone has skills to be able to share - I love how it values all skills equally - unlike capitalism.
- Savings pool - me and some mates pool our $ together, loaning of one another rather than the bank. It's been particularly useful for some of our contractors/musician mates, where bank loans can be harder to obtain. We mostly use it for smaller-fry stuff.... It's great to be able to use in a pinch for dentist and car stuff. recently we've loaned some for supporting a member with topping up their maternity leave... and we put someone through the dev academy (coding and web development school in Aotearoa) (as it wasn't studylink accredited at that time - not able to get student loans for it) - so that felt pretty special.
- Tool Library & Repair Cafes - access over ownership! Repair don't replace!
- Community Fridge/Pataka Kai - more sharing economy and minimizing food waste goodness.
- Stitching circles - getting help to fix up your old clothes and getting to natter at the same time. Multi-generational goodness.
There are so many good suggestions here I might round them up into a separate newsletter as Webworm becomes a communism newsletter!
Really though, it should be no surprise to me that people here are already way further along this path than me, but yeah. Thanks for this.
Haha - I support this! Always happy to chat this stuff and promo always helps our grant applications/accountability reports ;)
I missed by biggest buzz - Co-housing. Been meeting with a few friends for several years - we've got policies, a shared kaupapa, vision, a lawyer, a relationship with council - all that good stuff. The aim is to become our own developers - a create a small co-housing community, shared spaces and resources, small individual dwellings....the dream of living in community, balanced with privacy though! We're hoping to purchase a paddock or two in the next 8 months. It's been a long, windy, challenging road - hoping we can get there!
I appreciate seeing a piece on mutual aid and Kropotkin (though I am a non anti-capitalist anarchist—Kropotkin's ideas are generally influential in anarchist philosophies).
It's focused on America, but Bowling Alone by political scientist Robert Putnam is an interesting read on the disintegration of social capital starting around 1960 that has led to less mutual aid being baked into our cultural behavior and social fabric.
I read Bowling Alone for a Pol Sci honours paper* and it blew my mind. This concept has been percolating in my brain for like 15 years. It's completely applicable outside of the US, just manifesting in different ways.
*And Mutual Aid!