Just a reminder that K9s and police dogs are not cute. They are not “uwu smol pupper bean trying their best!1!1!” They are a twisted and evil creation of white supremacy and police violence. They are abused, tortured, and trained to maul victims to death unless they are removed with brute force. They are trained to attack harder if the victim adopts a defensive (nonthreatening) strance. They are *racist*, frequently trained to be particularly violent to black folks. And the vast majority of them are abused and euthanized. Remember this the next time you see a seeminly cute picture of a German Shepherd puppy in a too-large K9 vest: that dog is going to be trained to murder and brutalize, it is going to be tortured throughout training and service, and it will be killed just as thoughtlessly as its victims when it is no longer of use.
You are in control of your attitude. Even on your worst day, you can treat people with kindness and respect. Going through a tough season is not an excuse to take that out on the people around you. Hold yourself accountable for your emotions and responses. And if you find yourself reacting negatively, be quick to apologize. Do not buckle down and let pride convince you you have a right to be a jerk. Own up to your bad attitude and apologize for projecting that on someone else’s peace.
How much longer until the utopic Solarpunk future where Capitalism is dead and we all live in ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities? Asking for a friend.
Until we make those ecologically sustainable high-tech forest cities ourselves. It’s going to take a lot of us to do it though, so best to spread the word (and gather native tree seeds).
And, like, get started now. Then our “weirdo houses” will be the only thing functioning when everything falls apart!
The only reason why we don’t live in a solarpunk world right now is because no one has bothered to make it yet.
We’ll have to make it ourselves, and we’ll have to help each other make it. That’s why it is solarpunk.
Some resources to consider creating or joining or doing:
Repair cafes - create or join your local repair cafe! Repair stuff, learn how to repair stuff, teach others how to repair stuff.
Map of Makerspaces - make some things! learn how to make some things! teach others how to make some things!
Community Garden Map (note that this is US-only, and not a complete list) - join a local community garden
Learn some basics on passive solar design - clever use of the sun can create extremely energy efficient homes and buildings. You can use these principles to save on energy bills, even if you’re renting.
Free USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision - cut down on personal food waste! Learn how to safely preserve food. Very useful if you suddenly harvest / purchase for crazy cheap in season / dumpster dive a ton of perishable food.
Donate to One Acre Fund, which provides training and capital to farmers (making them more productive and pulling them out of poverty) in various east African countries
Donate to Bridges to Prosperity, which provides technical expertise, money, and volunteers, to help local people build and maintain their own footbridges in extremely isolated rural areas
joining r/solarpunk, and sharing links/ideas/art/music with the community. Also, upvoting stuff for greater visibility. There’s over 900 members!
