Notices by Beardy Star Stuff (dennyhenke@social.coop)

@WarnerCrocker As a US citizen I'm boycotting, to the extent that is possible, US companies, especially big tech, that are going along with fascism. I'd like to get out of all of their services completely in the next year. Hoping that all of this brings about an entirely new, more balanced global order, with the US and corporations based here, deeply demoted.

Apple, big tech, lock-in and the corporate colonization of life experience

"Over the past few weeks, months really, as I've been considering the state of the world and the US (as many have) I've found myself increasingly of the mind that it was time, probably past time, to more specifically redefine my use of computing technology. I've written about the most recent kick in the ass that finally got me moving and that was Apple's ..."

#Apple #Enshittification #Computing

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-02-26.html

Worth a watch given the current moment in the US.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5EDKRGkgLsI

"The larger solutions to our common woes, if they ever arrive, will be something new. Something we haven’t tried yet. I feel very confident they won’t take the form of another march or involve everyone finally agreeing to be the same kind of communist/anarchist/whatever. Shawn Fain, chief of the United Auto Workers Union, has called for a General Strike in 2028, and that so far is the only clear plan I’ve heard anyone make that feels like it has a ghost of a chance."

https://shatterzone.substack.com/p/we-failed-to-stop-the-rise-of-fascism

Liberals in the US rightly criticize MAGA folk as being delusional in regards to the truth of Trump. But when I see those same liberals praising Biden while ignoring his ongoing support of genocide in Gaza I feel the deepest disgust. History will remember Biden for his role in genocide.

"Respect the process".

Uh huh.

#Gaza #Genocide #WarCrimes #Israel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y_QQW0igcs

@WarnerCrocker I'm glad you opened that door. I usually don't go there with folks because I'm not sure they're interested! Agreed with you completely! Too many years ago I majored in anthropology and sociology and around 1990 discovered Murray Bookchin's Social Ecology. In particular his book "The Ecology of Freedom" which goes deep into the origin of human hierarchies, the earliest, most basic forms of domination, which he proposed were the foundation of our social ecological problems.

@WarnerCrocker It actually fits very well with the title of your blog post in that he suggested the earliest forms of human hierarchies were based in age and the emergence of shamanism which he proposed was a kind of defense used by the oldest in a tribe during times of scarcity. Simply stated, accumulated knowledge used as leverage, expressed as power over others. From there a myriad forms of social power-over other develop and become institutional systems from religion to nation states.

@WarnerCrocker Great post Warner. I would only add that the whole process, the whole system is a farce long ago corrupted by capitalism. In fact, though few have the stomach for it any honest reckoning, the truth is to be found in the historical foundations and design. Generations since have just gone along for the ride. We've only ever attempted to paper over the deep problems. Not just the mess of electoral politics and legislation, but the foundational violence of genocide and slavery.

How the rich talk about us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmBdADq00xc

Federico is rediscovering the joy of using the iPad: https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2024-12-19.html

@WarnerCrocker As of January his newsletter goes paid only, I won't pay for it. No doubt, all the big-name pundits will and we'll have to listen to them go on and on about it. Yuck.

I love the iPad because it's durable. A foldable form factor just seems to add a possible breakpoint. Benefit is it fits in a pocket or, if larger, a huge screen can be folded to fit a backpack? But, realistically, who's going to buy that given the weight? Seems like a very niche product.

@WarnerCrocker Yeah, I had the exact same thing in the same spot that you highlighted in your post. I ended up rewinding it and it worked without changing settings.

"This is not who we are."

Let's get this out of the way right off: what we have right now is exactly who we are and who we've been since the first days of Europeans setting foot on the Americas. From day one we subjugated a population of people that lived here first.

Stop and consider that, don't move past it. Don't pretend that it's ancient history that is not relevant. Don't pretend there is an expiration date for land theft and genocide..."

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2024-11-13.html

In 1995 I volunteered with a literacy agency in Memphis TN and learned then that the adult illiteracy rate in the US was around this same rate. It's been awhile so I don't remember the exact number but this is close enough that I think it's fair to say it hasn't changed in nearly 30 years. Same for the number on sixth grade reading levels.

It says a lot about our cultural and political priorities that we've not been able to improve these numbers. https://mstdn.social/@DemocracyMattersALot/113467910852523422

Have we finished our mourning? Because we need to move onto community defense organizing. Don't be a "Good German". We can't be "Good Americans". Now is not the time to keep your head down.

A lot of liberal folks spent the past few months warning of coming fascism or authoritarianism. I hope that they understand what that means and that it is coming. Fascists do not share power via elections. If you're holding onto "get through the next 4 years" drop that delusion now.
#BuildCommunityDefense

@WarnerCrocker I did.

It's not enough to oppose autocracy.

"Okay, let's look at this fundamental problem. The US is not actually a democracy. It's a system of white privilege initally designed by wealthy white men for their benefit but with the appearance of input from "the people". Hey, we're throwing off the yoke of tyranny! A government of and by the people, yeah! But it wasn't and isn't. Not really. We know this but we're very good at pretending. Who's this we that's pretending?"

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2024-10-28.html

@WarnerCrocker ❤️😍🥰

The outlandish proclamations of the tech press

What is it with the common practice of the tech press publishing stories that are more breathless opinion than actual substantive analysis? The coverage of the Orion glasses already has many of them excited about the replacement of smart phones with these devices that do not exist in a sellable form. Where is the critical thinking in this coverage? And why is it alway that one device has to replace another or even...

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2024-09-30.html

Browsing open tabs this morning I read through Mandy Brown's "What are we making together? "Where she discusses a retreat from social media timelines and the structure and patterns of those timelines.

I think this is what some of us are looking for when we talk about weaving a social web experience with personal sites that link freely and often. Not so much spiders in search of a meal but frogs in a pond visiting one another's lilli pads to share a croak.

#SmolWeb
https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2024-09-29.html