We Have Power

There are many ways to fight the system and win.

Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

It’s easy (and understandable) to get dejected in the face of interminable oppression and injustice. But we are not powerless. We can draw strength from the courageous activists who came before us, and we can get inspiration from those around us who refuse to give up or give in.

One example is Kshama Sawant. Jordan Bollag writes:

On November 15, 2013, a socialist economist named Kshama Sawant was elected to the Seattle City Council not as a Democrat but as a member of the Marxist party Socialist Alternative. Having operated under a very different political strategy than progressives in D.C., Kshama Sawant and the Socialist Alternative movement represent exactly how the left can effectively use elected office to deliver substantive results for the working class.

When Sawant was elected on the promise of passing a $15 minimum wage, every other member of the City Council opposed it. Instead of writing a polite letter to her colleagues pleading with them to support it and then giving up when that failed, Sawant and Socialist Alternative created a campaign called 15 Now.

Essentially, “Sawant used her position as a city councilmember and the big media spotlight on her to build a powerful grassroots movement from below.” It was this grassroots mass mobilization—and its credible threat of a ballot initiative that would have passed an even more progressive minimum wage law—that led the Seattle City Council to reverse its opposition and pass the $15 minimum wage, the first of its kind in any major U.S. city, which quickly spread to other cities and even states and changed the national debate.

From direct action to strikes to mutual aid to protesting, we have an array of tools at our disposal. I posted a question on Twitter about actions we can take to bring about positive change.

Peter Daou @peterdaou

NEED YOUR SUGGESTIONS WHAT DO WE DO? Friends - I want to write a piece for @DirectLeft that suggests actions we can take to bring about positive change. From mutual aid to local organizing, please share your ideas of what people can do to make a difference. Thanks!

Here are some of the many interesting replies:

Mary Eilene Lynn @MaryELynn

@peterdaou @DirectLeft One of the biggest things individuals can do right now to ensure collective survival, is to start growing food. Just 1-3 plants is a perfectly fine start, even indoors! Community gardens, too. The oligarchy has & will leave us to starve if we don't.

commonsensehome.comHow to Start a Garden – 10 Steps to Gardening for BeginnersWant to start a garden, but not sure where to begin? We’ll take you from bed preparation through harvesting your vegetables, flowers & herbs.

Kathy Durkin ☭ @Kathy_Durkin22

@peterdaou @DirectLeft A general strike of even one day would be a good start but for anything more than that we need to build our own safety nets because people will get fired, lose money, get hurt, arrested, etc. People need to feel safe

No more lies. @roscalt

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Laborer owned cooperatives

Paul Reverse @PaulReverse11

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Support independent media. For larger-scale operations, consider setting up news organizations that are run as co-ops, owned collectively by the journalists themselves and their sustaining audience members.

wildcatsanddogs @wildcatsanddogs

@peterdaou @DirectLeft general strike. everyone take to the streets.

K Tavane Griffith @Scoreindigo1

@peterdaou @DirectLeft From experience: I've been PETITIONING MY GOVERNMENT FOR REDRESS for years here in FL concerning ED REFORM (financial and career curriculum) I just realized others were doing the same - so BUILD YOUR NETWORK! 1/

Marco Kaltofen 🇺🇸🇮🇩🇳🇱 @MKaltofen

@peterdaou @DirectLeft I am often asked what to do and where to live to better survive climate change. I always give the same answer; form better community and social connections.

Abe Drayton 🕸 @AbeDrayton

@peterdaou @DirectLeft This is my ongoing effort to build an answer to "what should we do about all this?" I'll just add that the overall goal is to build as much of our new world now, so that as the old one crumbles, we've got a social infrastructure to catch those that fall

freethoughtblogs.comDirect action in the face of a warming climate and rising fascism: Preparation without escalationThis is a work in progress, and I’ll update it as I learn more, find more resources, and as events develop. This version was last updated September 11, 2021. I continue to believe that while …

Phyllis @periwinklerose2

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Smile when someone walks by, kindness, acceptance, love thy neighbor, don't ask what party someone belongs to. Mostly, just be kind to everyone and treat people with dignity.

ABORTION is HEALTHCARE//ACCESS is CARE @guckert_k

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Consider elevating disabled voices on matters of healthcare and public health issues. In meaningful ways. How to transcend virtue signaling from allyship on all fronts.

☭ The_Halfling ☭ @halfling_the

@peterdaou @DirectLeft The entire thing should be focused on how to organize a general strike which will take 2-3 years. It should focus on the strike disabling rail, sea ports, & air traffic. It should mention the inevitable violent government response and what can be won of we hold out.

Protagonist syndrome @SmallTownBigPic

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Appropriating unused land for community gardens. Organising open dialogues in public spaces, all welcome so long as they're civil (this might break down... but something I've thought of recently). Non-Union workplace: talk to your co-workers and local labour councils/orgs

Alex Reish @AEReish

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Getting trained as / training a body of campaign staff that is willing/able to work for leftist/progressive candidates. Right now it’s a high burnout, low-paying field that’s largely dominated by establishment careerists. It takes more than just a candidate to win a race

Little Bird 🌹🚩 @LittleBirdSteph

@peterdaou @DirectLeft I think this is a good idea. Mutual Aid should be attached to; bail funds, strike funds, cohousing, community gardens, food drives, unions not just worker unions, but there are self defined tenant unions as well. This is how we begin to take our power back.

Nemie J @RemiJSchultz

@peterdaou @DirectLeft Think small local economies. Get rid of the notion that everything has to be on a grand scale. Start a form or system of economics at the local level that doesn't use the current failing system we all live under. The left needs to get more creative and less reactive.

If you’re a Twitter user, feel free to share your ideas in the thread, or you can reply to this post. Thank you for making a difference!