I also always try to check my own ableism. I do prefer gathering in person but who does or can that leave out and how does the internet offer infrastructure that’s still needed from a disability justice lens.

Mostly it’s giving me food for thought on what kinds of collaborations Build can have within Chicago but also with other indie cafe/bookstores in the south for the sake of building community infrastructure.

I do think that the hyper online folks who claim left as a way to virtue signal are definitely guilty of weaponizing or abusing identity politics in a way that reveals their inner cop. And they physical space is a way to contend w digital noise.

i appreciated this article even tho i did not agree with all of it. I’m also less interested in cafes/bookstores for the sake of the left and more so for class-race-gender solidarity. and it also takes not just reaching across campaigns but identity groups to make that happen.

"To imagine a (re)connected left across bookshops, women’s centres, unemployed workers’ centres, and more. To have those spaces rooted in vibrant discussion and solidarity, with strong community. . .We can collectively build new infrastructures of solidarity – ones that are worth fighting for."

thank you for sharing and reading friend <3.

this graph has been floating around from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. sure you can turn this into advocating for journalism orgs to host gatherings but that isn't the root. people are overworked and deeply underpaid. people used to be able to live off of working class, union jobs. key word LIVE.