Mathew Foresta
@mathewforesta.bsky.social
Writer and journalist. Words in HuffPost, USA Today, The Guardian, LAist, The Daily Beast, etc. Please subscribe. https://bettergracesandliberations.substack.com/
Pinned
The Prison You Can Find Yourself In
These are the times of ICE murders and ethnic cleansing. We are forever accountable for what we do in this moment, and the consequences of failure are grave indeed.
bettergracesandliberations.substack.com
My latest on our duty in light of the ICE murders & Alex Pretti.
"There are worse things than arrest or jail, injury or death. To be trapped in yourself, to waste away with the knowledge that you are a contemptable person, is one such example."
bettergracesandliberations.substack.com/p/the-prison...
"There are worse things than arrest or jail, injury or death. To be trapped in yourself, to waste away with the knowledge that you are a contemptable person, is one such example."
bettergracesandliberations.substack.com/p/the-prison...
Gavin Newsom has vetoed pro-Trans legislation and invited a fascist on his podcast to complain about Trans inclusion in sports. That's a no from me man. The candidate must be unapologetically and fully pro-Trans. www.advocate.com/politics/new...
February 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Gavin Newsom has vetoed pro-Trans legislation and invited a fascist on his podcast to complain about Trans inclusion in sports. That's a no from me man. The candidate must be unapologetically and fully pro-Trans. www.advocate.com/politics/new...
We were worried you'd laugh to hard and hurt yourself. 🥰
Why did nobody tell me Drew Pavlou got deported and sent back to Australia?
February 17, 2026 at 11:59 AM
We were worried you'd laugh to hard and hurt yourself. 🥰
A general strike is a Republican psyop? Pure, unfiltered blueanon bs right here.
You do realize any person doing a general strike would be one not voting for the Dem nominee and not one not voting for the Rep nominee, right? This is indistinguishable from a GOP psyop, even if it isn't one.
February 17, 2026 at 11:57 AM
A general strike is a Republican psyop? Pure, unfiltered blueanon bs right here.
Liberals often hate the left and workers far more than they hate fascists.
February 17, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Liberals often hate the left and workers far more than they hate fascists.
For the record George Lucas has said publicly that ROTJ was an analogy for the Vietnam War. You're wrong on this.
The politics of Star Wars is that literal comic-book dictators are evil. In Return of the Jedi it adds a native resistance with Stone Age weapons which is presented in significant part as comic relief. Some politics could be derived from that but they make Avatar look like a graduate thesis
February 17, 2026 at 11:54 AM
For the record George Lucas has said publicly that ROTJ was an analogy for the Vietnam War. You're wrong on this.
Almost all of Trump's deportations have targeted regular people not sex criminals, and it is both telling and contemptible you mock the idea of a general strike.
February 17, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Almost all of Trump's deportations have targeted regular people not sex criminals, and it is both telling and contemptible you mock the idea of a general strike.
Problem is you think voting is the end all be all. It isn't. U clearly hold the idea of strikes and any form of militancy in contempt. Voting for centrist, do nothing, corporate types & only doing the most passive activism is a toxic form of respectability institutionalism & respectability politics
February 17, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Problem is you think voting is the end all be all. It isn't. U clearly hold the idea of strikes and any form of militancy in contempt. Voting for centrist, do nothing, corporate types & only doing the most passive activism is a toxic form of respectability institutionalism & respectability politics
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Being opposed to and mocking a general strike in favor of voting for a corporate centrist party is the height of liberal apathy and foolishness. This is downright reactionary and only adds to the list of reasons why activists should be skeptical of Will Stancil.
February 17, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Being opposed to and mocking a general strike in favor of voting for a corporate centrist party is the height of liberal apathy and foolishness. This is downright reactionary and only adds to the list of reasons why activists should be skeptical of Will Stancil.
Defending deportations of any kind right now is a reactionary and violent act.
He was the deporter-in-chief without the cruelty, racism, murder of American citizens & chaos. He deported criminals not farm workers
February 17, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Defending deportations of any kind right now is a reactionary and violent act.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies at 84
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies at 84
He will go down in history as one of this country's most influential civil rights leaders.
www.axios.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dies at 84
Hey you figured it out man. Good on you.
February 17, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Hey you figured it out man. Good on you.
I'm labelled as a troll and the only posts I have labelled are ones calling out Stancil. His reply guys are using an 8,000 subscriber labeler to harass his enemies. Very toxic behavior.
I mean anti Alf action is a large list being maintained by hard core Stancelites
February 17, 2026 at 11:32 AM
I'm labelled as a troll and the only posts I have labelled are ones calling out Stancil. His reply guys are using an 8,000 subscriber labeler to harass his enemies. Very toxic behavior.
I'd be more offended man, but after that season the Mets had I just kind of feel bad for you.
February 17, 2026 at 11:21 AM
I'd be more offended man, but after that season the Mets had I just kind of feel bad for you.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Notice how the base infrastructure was already there for Trump to exploit and expand. Obama actually got less for ICE from Congress than he requested. Immigrant activists called him "the deporter-in-chief." www.npr.org/2026/01/21/n...
How ICE grew to be the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency
ICE's budget hovered around $10 billion for years. But President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are taking the agency's funding to unprecedented levels.
www.npr.org
February 17, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Notice how the base infrastructure was already there for Trump to exploit and expand. Obama actually got less for ICE from Congress than he requested. Immigrant activists called him "the deporter-in-chief." www.npr.org/2026/01/21/n...
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
I can't even describe how telling it is that you're mocking the idea of a general strike Will. This has been planned for a long time and it won't just last a day as you know given the Olympics and upcoming election it will merge with other movements.
generalstrikeus.com
bsky.app/profile/whst...
generalstrikeus.com
bsky.app/profile/whst...
February 17, 2026 at 10:47 AM
I can't even describe how telling it is that you're mocking the idea of a general strike Will. This has been planned for a long time and it won't just last a day as you know given the Olympics and upcoming election it will merge with other movements.
generalstrikeus.com
bsky.app/profile/whst...
generalstrikeus.com
bsky.app/profile/whst...
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Also, you'll never walk alone. Go Liverpool.
February 17, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Also, you'll never walk alone. Go Liverpool.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
You can't have effective activism without economic disruption. That's why we have to push back against media narratives that try to frame it as an annoyance. We can't resist fascism and tell everyone there will be zero inconvenience.
February 17, 2026 at 11:04 AM
You can't have effective activism without economic disruption. That's why we have to push back against media narratives that try to frame it as an annoyance. We can't resist fascism and tell everyone there will be zero inconvenience.
Liberals mocking a general strike is very in character for them, but it doesn't make it less contemptible.
Leftists live a fantasy world
If you are so concerned about actual change why not become a general strike organizer? That is how we will defeat fascism, by seizing economic power by shutting down the means of production, transportation, and communications. It is being planned. jacobin.com/2025/12/may-...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
February 17, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Liberals mocking a general strike is very in character for them, but it doesn't make it less contemptible.
Being opposed to and mocking a general strike in favor of voting for a corporate centrist party is the height of liberal apathy and foolishness. This is downright reactionary and only adds to the list of reasons why activists should be skeptical of Will Stancil.
February 17, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Being opposed to and mocking a general strike in favor of voting for a corporate centrist party is the height of liberal apathy and foolishness. This is downright reactionary and only adds to the list of reasons why activists should be skeptical of Will Stancil.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Why are you so against any attempt by workers and normal people to take power. Only voting and nothing else has proven insufficient.
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
“Your strategy, voting, pales in comparison to mine: trying organize a nationwide general strike for one day in 2028”
If you are so concerned about actual change why not become a general strike organizer? That is how we will defeat fascism, by seizing economic power by shutting down the means of production, transportation, and communications. It is being planned. jacobin.com/2025/12/may-...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
February 17, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Why are you so against any attempt by workers and normal people to take power. Only voting and nothing else has proven insufficient.
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
I didn't know you were such an admirer and preservationist of Walmarts Will.
oh are you saying that voting pales in comparison to your strategy, fire-bombing a walmart
February 17, 2026 at 10:45 AM
I didn't know you were such an admirer and preservationist of Walmarts Will.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Or, because people were sick of being taken for granted and their representatives pushed out of all positions of power while at the same time told they have no choice but to vote for people who despise them because these other people would despise them even more.
February 17, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Or, because people were sick of being taken for granted and their representatives pushed out of all positions of power while at the same time told they have no choice but to vote for people who despise them because these other people would despise them even more.
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
Yes, you could join the DSA, IWW (I'm a member of both), the Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation, the SRA, or the Working Families Party to name a few.
bsky.app/profile/ceeb...
bsky.app/profile/ceeb...
"The left". Where can I sign up? When are the meetings? Can I get a copy of the agenda/platform?
February 17, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Yes, you could join the DSA, IWW (I'm a member of both), the Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation, the SRA, or the Working Families Party to name a few.
bsky.app/profile/ceeb...
bsky.app/profile/ceeb...
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
If you are so concerned about actual change why not become a general strike organizer? That is how we will defeat fascism, by seizing economic power by shutting down the means of production, transportation, and communications. It is being planned. jacobin.com/2025/12/may-...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
February 17, 2026 at 10:41 AM
If you are so concerned about actual change why not become a general strike organizer? That is how we will defeat fascism, by seizing economic power by shutting down the means of production, transportation, and communications. It is being planned. jacobin.com/2025/12/may-...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
bsky.app/profile/whst...
Reposted by Mathew Foresta
It can happen quickly if we force it, and we do that by organizing and shutting this nation down man. We do a general strike. We block roads and ports. We refuse to be moved and stand strong until our demands are met. We need to get militant.
February 17, 2026 at 10:29 AM
It can happen quickly if we force it, and we do that by organizing and shutting this nation down man. We do a general strike. We block roads and ports. We refuse to be moved and stand strong until our demands are met. We need to get militant.