Must-Reads and Simple Acts of Solidarity That Matter

Must-Reads

From the Pentagon’s deepfake aspirations to drug-sniffing dogs thwarting abortion care, here are some of the most important stories I’ve read this week.

• AI-Powered Social Media Manipulation App Promises to 'Shape Reality' by Emanuel Maiberg. “Impact, an app that describes itself as ‘AI-powered infrastructure for shaping and managing narratives in the modern world,’ is testing a way to organize and activate supporters on social media in order to promote certain political messages. The app aims to summon groups of supporters who will flood social media with AI-written talking points designed to game social media algorithms.”
• Legacy of John Brown’s Abolitionist Raid Lives On, 165 Years Later by Derek Seidman. “‘Brown and most abolitionists, even pacifists like William Lloyd Garrison, completely admired the Haitian Revolution and Toussaint L’Ouverture. Garrison held Toussaint L’Ouverture in higher esteem than George Washington because he freed his country but also ended slavery,’ [said historian Manisha Sinha].”
• North Texas Sheriff Running for Reelection Faces Grief and Anger Over Rising Jail Deaths by Sophie Novack. “The procession of grief and anger during the commission’s early October meeting speaks to the spike in deaths at the jail under Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, and the rising public pressure and outcry over jail conditions as he faces reelection in November.”
• The Pentagon Wants to Use AI to Create Deepfake Internet Users by Sam Biddle. “The United States’ secretive Special Operations Command is looking for companies to help create deepfake internet users so convincing that neither humans nor computers will be able to detect they are fake, according to a procurement document reviewed by The Intercept.”
• We’ve All Played a Role in the Rightward Shift on Immigration by Tina Vásquez. “Much like borders everywhere, the cataclysmic conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border are man-made—and if Harris has her druthers, soon they may also be woman-made. If elected president, Harris will join a long line of Democrats all too willing to harm immigrant communities irreparably for political gain.”
• Undelivered: Drug-Sniffing Police Dogs Are Intercepting Abortion Pills in the Mail by Debbie Nathan. “Thanks to a Jackson-based postal worker, Rip the dog, and a federal agency that says it has no desire to police abortion, nearly 100 pregnant people did not receive little pink packages containing the medicine they requested.”
• “It Was Like Hell on Earth”: Scenes From a Night of Horror in Gaza by Mohammed Mhawish. “The blaze consumed over 20 tents, collapsing the frail shelters onto families who had nowhere else to go. People attached to IVs were seen burning alive, and others succumbed to smoke inhalation. Those who survived the initial explosion were left with scars that would never heal.”
• My Uncle in Gaza Had a Lung Condition. Israel Turned It Into a Death Sentence by Ashjan Ajour. “I want to take this moment in this space to grieve my dear Uncle Mahmoud and to remember him — to share my memories, my relationship and to finally say goodbye.”
• Revealed: International ‘Race Science’ Network Secretly Funded by US Tech Boss by David Pegg, Tom Burgis, Hannah Devlin and Jason Wilson. “At a sold-out event in London last year, Ahrens was recorded urging his audience to join a secret club dedicated to restoring the power of ‘white society’. Later, he boasted of spending the next year ‘travelling around from major city to major city, just setting up these cells’.”
• It’s Not Just BioLab. Major Chemical Accidents Are Alarmingly Common in the US by Mike Ludwig. “‘This is what you get when you put the oil and chemical industry in charge of regulating themselves: fires, explosions and tragic accidents that kill people,’ [said Anne Rolfes, director of the environmental group the Louisiana Bucket Brigade].”

Doing What You Can, Where You Are

I know this is a moment of high tension and high anxiety in many of our communities. The news coming out of Gaza and Lebanon is heart-wrenching. The reality that we don’t know how to stop this genocide–and lack the power we need to do so–is agonizing. Many of us are worried about the upcoming election, and how our most vulnerable communities will be impacted. Will the next president be terrible or extra terrible? How will we defend our immigrant neighbors under Trump? What will become of desperate people along the southern border, under either administration? What will become of communities ravaged by climate catastrophes if FEMA is stripped down and privatized, as Project 2025 promises? And what about abortion access? Under Trump, we could see the Comstock Act activated in ways that could criminalize the shipment of abortion pills through the mail, or even the medical supplies needed to perform surgical abortions. Under Harris, abortion seekers will still be denied the care they need in at least 21 states, amid a massive abortion funding crisis–and I don’t know about you all, but I have no confidence that the Democrats will fulfill their wholly inadequate pledge to restore Roe.

Add to these concerns the constant destabilization of climate chaos as communities in the southeast grapple with the effects of hurricanes and wildfires causing devastation from Wyoming to Brazil. In Sudan, where rampant violence has already created the most significant mass displacement event in the world today, monsoon rains have displaced an additional 241,000 people and destroyed 15 main supply routes.

We are bombarded by facts and headlines about human suffering and disaster, and the enormity of these problems can leave us feeling inept and defeated. So, this week, I want to recommend some small steps each of us can take (or choose from) to defend our communities and alleviate suffering today. Doing what we can, where we are, can offer us a bit of peace, but more importantly, it can remind us that we are not helpless. Even when our actions feel small, they can be far-reaching, and this is especially true when we act together. This is a short list, and there are, of course, many other ways to reduce suffering or make an impact in your community and beyond, but if you need ideas, here are a few.

Immigration

If you are concerned about how immigrants will be impacted under Trump, or under Harris, check out this Community Defense Zone Starter Guide from Mijente. Discuss this resource with your neighbors. Talk about what it would mean to defend undocumented members of your community and how you can mobilize your neighbors to do so. You can also donate to No More Deaths, a mutual aid group that conducts search and rescue operations along the southern border, where thousands of migrants have died while attempting to enter the United States. I also recommend checking out this webinar about Silky Shah’s book Unbuild Walls to better understand what we’re up against.

Defending Communities Against Right-Wing Violence

If you are worried about the threat of vigilante violence, check out this toolkit on how to create an anti-racist neighborhood watch. Discuss these strategies with your friends and neighbors.

If you are worried about safety threats related to the upcoming election, check out this Electoral Safety Toolkit from Vision Change Win. Whether your group is involved in electoral canvassing or practicing mutual aid, building safety infrastructure is essential in these times. This toolkit offers best practices, templates, and questions to consider when making safety plans around a U.S. election.

Gaza

If you are heartbroken about what’s happening in Gaza, there are obviously many organizing efforts to support right now. Street action has been waning, so showing up for events when we are able matters a great deal. If you are looking for a place to donate, supporting individuals and families struggling to survive in Gaza is deeply important. Gaza Funds highlights many fundraising efforts that support people directly affected by the genocide Israel is waging. I have recently donated to support Muhammad, Ahmed, and Aseel’s family, and I encourage others to do the same. Like so many families in Gaza, they have endured countless hardships, including serious injuries, the loss of their home, and the constant struggle to acquire food and clean water. Donations have helped them keep their family, including their beloved cat Lisa, alive. This family’s fundraising efforts have been vetted, and if you want to bypass Gofundme’s cut, you can also support the family via Paypal.

Sudan

The Sudan Solidarity Collective resources grassroots civil society formations at the frontlines of relief efforts in the ongoing war in Sudan. You can support their work here. To learn more about the crisis in Sudan, where thousands have been killed and 12 million people have been displaced, you can check out this episode of Movement Memos.

Abortion Access

If you are worried about abortion access, you are not alone. I spend a lot of time thinking about how bad things are and how much worse they could get for people seeking abortion care in the United States. Abortion funds are experiencing a major funding crisis right now. Even small recurring donations are extremely important. If you want to support a local fund, you can use the National Network of Abortion Fund’s Find A Fund feature to connect with a group you would like to support anywhere in the country. You can also plan a house party to rally donations for an abortion fund. Here’s a resource about how to do that.

If you have no funds to donate at this time, please consider that making basic information about self-managed abortion (SMA) common knowledge is a moral and political imperative in these times. If you need a handy resource about how SMA can be safely carried out, you can bookmark this piece I wrote in 2022. However, it’s worth remembering that if Republicans reclaim the White House, we could wind up in a world where discussing these matters online is illegal, so please preserve this information offline and share it widely. One resource for sharing this information offline is the Abortion Pill Zine: A Community Guide to Misoprostol and Mifepristone by Isabella Rotman, Sage Coffey & Marnie Galloway. The zine can be purchased for $4.99, or you can download a PDF for $2.50.

Support for Hurricane Survivors

Survivors of the recent hurricanes in the southeast are urging the public not to forget them as the news cycle churns on. I am committed to supporting the Aflorar Herb Collective, a small mutual aid group that has done tremendous work in Asheville, North Carolina, and surrounding areas. Southerners on New Ground has also provided significant on-the-ground support to communities mobilizing for collective survival. As winter looms, BeLoved Asheville will be working to ensure displaced people have secure, warm, safe housing. Supporting any of these groups will help storm-ravaged communities navigate the long recovery ahead.

Election Stuff (If This Isn’t Your Thing, Feel Free to Skip This Section)

Lastly, I want to remind people who are worried about the outcome of the presidential race that arguing with people online will not shape the outcome. If you are looking for a way to plug into work that could have an impact, I recommend checking out the Working Families Party’s Get Active page. Trump’s weak ground game, and his reliance on Elon Musk’s goofy ass Super PAC, is one of his biggest weaknesses right now. If this area of work interests you, organized education and outreach is the best place to put your energy right now.

Reclaiming Your Resolve

I know we are living in discouraging times. However, it’s worth remembering that while so many people are intent on causing harm, or indifferent to the evils around them, many others are committed to liberation and justice. Rather than giving up on people en masse, let’s cast our lot with those scrappy groups and individuals who are refusing to abandon one another in these times. Let’s remember that we are all worth fighting for, come what may, and that every loss and victory along the way is part of a greater lineage of struggle. We cannot know where all of this is going, but we can endeavor to do good, and be assured that the good we do matters. 

If you are struggling emotionally, I recommend checking out the most recent episode of Movement Memos, featuring disability justice organizers Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Elliott Fukui. I found their words both soothing and necessary, and I hope you will, too.

Remember, if you aren’t sure what to do, just pick one thing. Move in the direction of your values however you can today, and know that your contribution is necessary. 

Much love,

Kelly

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