Uncommitted, But Not Unprepared

My plans for an "Alternative 4th" hit a few detours; a Cyber Security course ended up taking longer than I thought, and, in January, my Mom ended up going from the emergency room, to a hospice ward, to her death in the span of fewer than two weeks.

October, 2023, brought the beginning of what can only be called a genocide in Gaza. I find it ironic that a country created as a refuge for victims of a genocide against a religion seems to have no problem engaging in the same tactics.

The response to this has been actions in the streets and at the polls. One way American activists are protesting at the polls is by casting votes for "Uncommitted" in their state's Democratic Primary. The goal is to convince Biden to support and press for a ceasefire, among other actions against the Zionist government of Israel. These activists seem unconcerned about Trump's plan to hunt immigrants and others down to send them to internment camps or plans like "Project 2025" to turn the United States into a right-wing authoritian state. I don't understand the thinking behind it; some may see it being necessary to push people towards a revolution to bring down capitalism, but a revolution may be hard with the leaders in camps, etc, others see the Palestinian struggle as part of a larger resistance against colonialism, etc.

There seems to be little organization at street level. I have seen little effort in my circles to build the networks of mutual assistance that long-term direct action would require. The community defense brigades are not being raised either. If Trump does win, activists seem ill-prepared.

I an planning on writing in "Uncommitted" when my state has it's primary, but I am trying to be ready to assist the resistance too. First, I am in the process of organizing an event to bring organizations together; at this time, we are striving for the Fall. I have ideas on how to use my particular skills to assist. By the end of April, I should have a certificate in cyber security, and I plan to take that knowledge and educate activists on basic security to keep their mobile phone or computer from being a ticket to one of Trump's camps.

I plan to repurpose some tech for demonstration purposes. An older Raspberry Pi will be turned into a secure file drop box and my late Aunt's PC may become the latest attempt at "Safespace".

The most interesting, and complex, idea is to take one of the desktops from my family's home to try to use it to self-host a fediverse instance, an alternative media channel or some other resource that Trump's "vermin" could use for communication.

Not all of my efforts are online. I hope to get a basic ham radio license and a simple transceiver , get my photography skills back up and finally literally get a drone off the ground.

In 2016, activists were caught off-guard. In 2024, we can't afford to be.