Something That I Think Should Be An Important Part Of Solarpunk Aesthetics Is Screws.

Something that I think should be an important part of solarpunk aesthetics is screws.

Look at your smartphone. No screws. You've got to have specialized tools to get inside your phone to repair something. There are certain pieces of tech that are glued in place and glue can't be undone without permanently breaking the bond.

But screws!

You can take apart a broken old radio, repair what's broken, and, if you were careful in taking it apart, you can put it back together and have a fully functioning radio and all you need is a common screwdriver!

It's hard to build screws and other mechanical fasteners because it requires more planning than clamps and glues, but isn't that what solarpunk is all about‽ It's about care and sustainability and and a radio or a computer built carefully with repair in mind is a sustainable computer that stays out of landfills and in use.

Stonehenge by Xiangzhao Xi

Idk if any of y'all saw this video yet, but rn there's a tik tok going viral of of this white woman who confronted her parents bigotry on Christmas and got sent home. She's an upset mess about but not in a white savior/validate me way which I can respect.

And as always I have something to say about it.

So she says she starts a war after she reminds her parents that people are people and that she

"probably shouldn't have said anything to begin with because there's no point"

And I've seen this sentiment of "there's no point" a LOT among allies. Not just white allies to BIPOC either but with allies across the board, queer allies, ND allies, etc.

To clarify by "that sentiment" I mean the idea that your personal effort to correct, inform, or speak up on an issue is not Worth it unless it will cause a Change in the person/people you're addressing that You will be able to see reflected. Because if they won't change then you're just putting up with their vitriol, hostility, and ignorance for nothing, right? And why put up with that for nothing. You're a person with feelings and limited patience so if you're gonna experience something awful, it should be for something, right? Especially if it's someone you have to put up with see regularly like your parents.

And besties...

The point is trying. The point is challenging bigotry and ignorance wherever it exists. The point is to show bigots that their ignorance isn't tolerable. It's to show them that their bigotry isn't tolerable. And as many times as they will be harmful, you will rise to meet their challenge.

The point is to challenge bigotry because it is bigotry and there's no room for it in the future we're building.

And as awful as it feels to have your family disown, belittle, and berate you there are So Many people going through this. BIPOC, immigrants, queer folk, Muslims, etc. We know what it's like to have people who should love you treat you badly, what it's like to lose community and support. You're not alone in this feeling, you know?

But everyday we still talk to our families and communities and strangers online and we still challenge their bigotry and yeah it hurts sometimes but we do it anyway so the next generation of our community won't have to.

Because they may not be here yet but we are.

In my tribe we have this concept of 7 generations being deeply significant. Part of that belief is that you and your choices will impact the next 7 generations of your descendants. And I want to be a good ancestor. Not just to the generations of my family that don't exist yet but to yours too.

I want to be a good ancestor to family I'll never meet and the friends I'll never get to drink with. To queer kids that never had to answer to anyone for their love, to Muslim and Black boys who never had to be mindful of the toys they played outside with, to the loud brown girls who never felt out of place, to the disabled lady up the road who is the First and only voice her doctors listen to.

None of these people exist yet, but they will as long as I'm doing what I can for them today.

And absolutely everything I do is for them. It's for the future I won't get to see. For a world I'll never get to walk on. For laughter I'll never hear.

THATS THE POINT

B U T T E R

Yet again, the US proves that it is not a country of freedom, but of blood.

We send bombs to fuel Israel’s own bloodlust, we let the police terrorize people of color, we slaughtered and starved countless indigenous people, we can’t even keep our students safe for fucks sake!

And now our justice system takes the life of an innocent man.

Rest in power Khaliifah Williams, we will never forget you.

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