Taking action in the face of atrocities.

Tangible steps on a path when we often feel lost and hopeless.

The world is burning.

We don’t always see it in our day-to-day, but we can no longer ignore what’s happening.

Most of us feel helpless—hopeless. Some of us feel that this is the natural order of things, and that, honestly, makes me feel more hopeless, but I feel as though there is a critical mass of people coming to the conclusion that things are headed in a bad direction. Sadly, most of us are still at the stage of apathy instead of fear and rage.

Fear and rage are powerful motivators in today’s culture that constantly seeks to placate us. Fear and rage demand action instead of apathy. Action can be hard to reach because so much of what’s happening in the world feels intangible and out of reach. And so the first action we are called to take in our rage and in our fear is introspective—and that’s hard, right? It’s hard to go in when we want to lash out. It’s also hard to do the work for ourselves when so much of the work that is actually required is out there in the world.

But I truly believe that when you’ve done that introspective work, you can see the cultural propaganda clearly. This is what they used to call woke, right? Before the term got co-opted. When you wake up, you can see everything with clarity.

I came here to write because I want to talk about taking action in the face of atrocities. I want to share what it means to move through the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness and connect all the pieces of dismantling colonial and capitalist propaganda so that we can take real, meaningful action.

Boycott, Divest, Sanction.

You’ve probably heard this term recently in relation to the genocide in Palestine. The premise is that by targeting organizations and companies that play a part in the colonial machine, large groups of people can injure those responsible by affecting their financial bottom line.

Boycotting means that consumers like you and me refuse to buy from specific companies that are practicing harmful activities, thereby reducing their corporate profits.

Divesting means that companies and organizations who often make financial investments in other companies ensure that they remove all funds from those responsible for harmful activities, regardless of the profitability of that investment.

Sanctioning means that governing bodies put restrictions on interactions with other organizations or governing bodies that are responsible for the harmful activities.

Obviously we, as individuals, have more control over some of these options and less control over others, but the BDS movement is a still great one, and if you’re looking to learn more about how to boycott, divest, and sanction effectively, especially in relation to the ongoing genocide in Palestine, check out https://bdsmovement.net.

There are, though, many other actions an individual or groups of people can take together to divest from harmful systems that help perpetuate things like colonial genocide, climate collapse, and other systems of oppression.

Rejecting consumerism as a cultural construct.

Consumerism feeds capitalism. Capitalism upholds colonialism. It’s all incredibly connected, and one of the best actions you can take and encourage others to take is to reject the mindless consumption of goods and resources in the name of capitalism. This shit is hard but really, really far reaching. Here is a list of really practical ways that you can reject consumerism:

• Buy Secondhand: Shop at thrift stores, consignment shops, or online marketplaces for used items.

• Repair and Upcycle: Learn to fix items instead of throwing them away. Get creative by repurposing old items.

• Freecycle: If you have something that is still usable but you don’t need it anymore, find a freecycle community or even just ask friends and family before throwing it away.

• Stop Impulse Purchases: Implement a waiting period before buying non-essential items. Write things you want down on a whiteboard and wait for 30 days to see if you still want them.

• Practice Minimalism: Focus on quality over quantity. Keep only what you truly need and love.

• Support Local and Sustainable Businesses: Choose to buy from local artisans and businesses that prioritize the same principles that you do.

• Embrace DIY: If you have the time and resources, there is so much that you can do on your own rather than outsourcing.

• Focus on Experiences: Prioritize experiences (like travel or activities) over material goods.

• Avoid Shopping Malls: Limit exposure to consumer-driven spaces that encourage impulse buying and mindless purchasing.

• Stop Shopping Online: Shopping offline means that you have to make more of an effort, giving more thought to your purchase. Shopping at stores means you also form relationships with others in your community.

And finally, a huge part of divesting from consumerism is about understanding and prioritizing your own basic needs: start with food, water, shelter, clothing, community connection, and rest. How can you get affordable, sustainable food? Can you avoid bottled water? What does it mean to be a landowner, and what kind of caretaker might you be? What does sustainable fashion look like? How can we feel comfortable in clothing without contributing to harmful practices like fast fashion? Can we connect with friends without paying money? Where does the need for rest fit in with the need to earn money to exist in capitalism? What happens when I neglect rest? How much labour do I need to sell in order to have these basic needs met? Can I live comfortably just prioritizing these needs?

Beyond these basic needs, everyone will have their own personalized needs that require addressing. And only you can dictate what those needs are. There’s no recipe—no how-to guide—that can determine what those needs are for you or how you might meet those needs outside of colonial capitalist culture. Again, this work is introspective and requires a real degree of self-honesty in exploring our real personal needs in the sea of capitalist propaganda. We are being advertised at to constantly consume more and more goods. These advertisements are largely positioned as “must-haves,” when in reality, they are rarely required. How do we cut through a lifetime of marketing to recognize that alternative ways of living are both possible and necessary? And when we do recognize our own personal needs to prioritize, how might we then meet those needs outside of a consumerist paradigm?

Connect to networks: friends and family, local organizations, affinity groups, etc.

I know it sounds strange, but community is so often the answer to the problems we face, especially when those problems are founded on the principles of colonialism and capitalism. When we can come together to support each other, we rely less on the top-down structures that uphold systems of oppression.

A really super basic practice that you can start today is to organize a regular meetup with friends and/or family. I love potlucks, but board game or movie nights and park dates are all great excuses to get together. In a time when so many of us feel isolated and divided, coming together despite our differences is a requirement to fight against the status quo. As they say, we are social creatures, and being divided in our cubicles, in our cars, in our homes, and even on our devices means that we don’t spend time in community the way our nervous system truly needs. And then, as our needs do come up, rather than consuming in isolation, we can lean on those networks to have our needs met!

Getting connected to local organizations is also a really amazing way to have a positive impact on our local communities. There’s tons of folks out there doing really good work, and almost all of them need more energy and more hands. If you even have just a few extra hours to volunteer your time, it’s time well spent. Try reaching out to local soup kitchens, neighbourhood groups, or organizations providing resources for under-served communities. Helping others feels good AND limits the time we spend in isolation.

Finally, affinity groups are small communities of folks who are connected with the specific intention of supporting each other through mutual aid and activism. They often use collective decision-making and prioritize direct action and communal learning and living. I am dreaming of building a small affinity group in my community but haven’t made these steps yet. One can dream ;) Here’s a great resource if you’re interested in learning more about affinity groups.

Keep asking questions. Keep learning and growing.

This has been the framework of my own personal action, but, in truth, this is only the launch pad. When asking questions around divesting from colonial and capitalist culture, the culture that perpetuates so many harmful practices, the implications are far reaching. Here are some other tertiary questions that you might start exploring:

• How can I use active transportation instead of travelling by car to help lower the costs of my own basic needs and prioritize things like nature connection, slow movement, and physical and mental health?

• What does regenerative food look like, and how can I contribute to a food system that shares my priorities?

• How do we dismantle colonial and capitalist culture in our relationships? In our parenting practice? In our caregiving?

• How does all of this tie into practices of decolonization and the land-back movement, and, as a settler on Turtle Island, what actions can I take to support and not appropriate?

• What does it mean to practice alternatives to a capitalist economic system? How do I deprioritize efficiency and reprioritize connection to others and the land where I live?

• Where does my ego reside in all of this work? (This one is fucking huge.) How do I decentre myself from this story and centre my community, especially underrepresented members of my community?

These are questions you can ask yourself with the hope that the answers you discover can help guide you on a path to personal action, remembering that this work is important. It is connected. It may not feel like enough, but it does provide a path forward during a time where many of us are lost.

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