EEDA Newsletter Vol 6, Res 3: Six Years and Still Going (So Many Resources!)
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! I have been so wrapped up in
Before we get into today’s newsletter, I want to share this image of the dedication from Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba.
As much as I would like to write an essay this week, I need to keep the resources flowing. My write-ups of the resources may be a bit sparse or vague moving forward, depending on what they are. Also, I’ve been doing this for SIX YEARS now and I do not expect any of you to remember every resource I’ve shared so if there is something that was shared in the past that I find particularly relevant now, I’m going to reshare it. That being said, if you go to the archive page of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice there’s a search bar.
First though: Yes, you are seeing what you are seeing. No, you are not overreacting. You are reacting appropriately to the reality we are currently in. Yes, good things and horrible things can happen at the same time—they are not mutually exclusive. In the very first issue of this newsletter 6 years ago, before the pandemic, before George Floyd, before the last election, before last week, I wrote: “We’re in this together.” I fucking meant that with all my heart and maybe I’m too earnest sometimes but here we are. We are in this together and we have to have each other’s backs. Catch us on the podcast next week.
Resource 1: You Feel Like Shit: A Self-Care Game
First order of business: we need to take care of ourselves. I give more detail about what this is in the issue where I first shared it “Volume 1, Resources 2: DIY Self-Care Self-Check & Ambient Sounds to Transport You.” I’m fascinated that I shared in February 2020, before the pandemic really hit in the U.S.
Resource 2: “On Organizing” by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
First shared in “Vol 5, Res 25: Resource Encore, More Actions, & an Optimistic Piece” November 2024 and still incredibly relevant
Resource 3: “How to laugh away the far-right: lessons from Germany”
“In the many instances where far-right activity attempts to exhibit solemnity, gravity, or strength, a well-aimed joke is a powerful act of resistance.”
Resource 4: 28 Days of Black History
It is somehow also Black History Month already so here is a daily newsletter that sends the entire month.
Resource 5: Simple Sabotage Field Manual by United States. Office of Strategic Services | Project Gutenberg
Here’s an article about it and here is a snippet of the summary from the site:
"This manual acts as a guide for ordinary civilians to conduct simple acts of sabotage against enemy operations without the need for specialized training or equipment. Its main topic revolves around promoting small, accessible forms of resistance that could collectively disrupt the enemy's war effort. The manual outlines various strategies and techniques for citizens to engage in sabotage that could be executed discreetly and with minimal risk … Overall, the "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" serves as a unique historical artifact that illustrates grassroots resistance efforts and the belief in the collective power of ordinary people during wartime.”
It’s a thing of beauty. I love it so much. Pardon my language here but so much of it is basically “Act d*mb as shit.” One line actually says, “‘Misunderstand’ orders. Ask endless questions or engage in long correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you can.”
Another line simply says, “Act st*pid.” It’s an easy read, a short read, and an important read.
Resource 6: Digital privacy and security measures for staying safe while protesting
Unfortunately still helpful!
Resource 7: IDP Shareable Infographics and Know Your Rights
You can download and print them and hang them up everywhere! Look at you, doing something! Full page here and I’m especially fond of the ones about two-thirds down the page about the lies they tell. Also, make sure you know your rights.
Resource 8: DEI Policy Tracker for the People
As always I encourage people to also look things up for themselves but this is a great start: bit.ly/corpdei
Resource 9: What I Wish Someone Told Me Before Boycotting
An Instagram post that is incredibly helpful.
Resource 10: A Couple Black Owned Business Guides
If you’re wondering where else to buy things, check out these guides from Shop the Hood and Addie Rawr.
Resource 11: Another Helpful Instagram Post
I’d put some details but I’m trying to be careful about what words I’m using because I don’t want to attract the wrong attention.
New Project: Optimistic Hoarder
My mother was aggressively happy and extremely sad. She bought, collected, scavenged, and hoarded when she was joyful and when she was depressed. She passed suddenly in March 2023, leaving a lifetime of belongings in multiple caches.
This newsletter is my attempt to make sense of things as I, her only child, sort through them one box at a time.
Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice is not the right place for these essays so you can find & subscribe to Optimistic Hoarder here: https://buttondown.com/optimistic-hoarder. I do not know how frequently I will write nor do I know if I will ever paywall it (currently, sign-ups are free).
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop. Links are affiliate links.
Recently Read:
We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something by Amie McNee (out 3/11)
Poetry as Spellcasting: Poems, Essays, and Prompts for Manifesting Liberation and Reclaiming Power by Tamiko Beyer, Destiny Hemphill, & Lisbeth White
Sleep Groove: Why Your Body's Clock Is So Messed Up and What to Do about It by Olivia Walch (read about 90% through before DNF’ing)
Currently Reading:
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (reread)
On Her Terms by Amy Spalding (out 2/25)
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.