literally what is the point

Hey everyone,

Hope you’re all hanging in there.

To get straight to the point: I know that the news is very very bad and everyone wants to feel like they can make a difference by literally doing nothing. But what exactly are we doing here? What are the demands of today’s “action”? Where’s the strategy? Where’s the impact? Where’s the community building? Why would Amazon care if you buy their garbage tomorrow instead of today??? Why did people give this random ~mindfulness facilitator~ named John $93K+ in donations for literally no clear reason??? Open the schools!!!!!!

I joke, I joke. And, look, the boycott is not the problem. As my friends could tell you, I love to participate in myriad targeted boycotts even when they pretty clearly aren’t moving the needle, because I am very petty and hate to give money to my enemies. And ofc I would love for more people to practice mindful consumption… perhaps even for more than one day at a stretch! But I’ve seen many comments saying that there’s no harm in this kind of “action,” and thus anyone who critiques it is some kind of psy-op. So, today, here is my psy-op of a newsletter.

We have seen time and time again that folks have a finite amount of time, attention and resources they’re willing to dedicate to an issue, even an issue as immense as fascist oligarchy. So when we uncritically repost a vague call to (in)action, let alone one that has clearly evolved into a grift—sorry, but $100,000 to “fuel real change” via “building platforms” and “organizing actions” ???? lol ok!!—we are weakening our movement’s ability to mobilize effectively in the future. If we offer broad, easy solutions that demonstrably do not work, not only are we wasting people’s time / attention / resources, but we are creating the false sense that movement work will be easy. Why would I make meaningful sacrifices towards liberation when I just can ~not eat fast food on one specific Friday~? Why would I gather with comrades to strategize, mobilize and build mutual aid infrastructure when I can simply repost??

Sacrifice, strategy and mobilization are, of course, all necessary elements in a successful boycott campaign. The famous UFW boycotts, which spanned nearly a decade, were led by full-time organizers who were paid $5/week or less to plan mass demonstrations, pickets, community meetings, and even hunger strikes. “You need a huge amount of on-the-ground organizing,” UFW organizer Stephen Lerner explains in this must-read interview. “You can’t just call a boycott and hope somehow customer pressure will bring companies to the table.”

Meanwhile, John has said that today’s efforts are supposed to to be “building momentum” for future “escalations.” To which I must ask: building momentum towards what??? What are you escalating towards??? Sir???? After watching several videos, I have learned that John is building “an organization that stands with the people — all people who choose to stand in solidarity for the betterment of all.” Okay!

“Our mission is to organize and mobilize… movements that will lead to the permanent beneficial change for every citizen,” John explains unhelpfully. How will we do this? “We are demanding the end of federal income taxes on American citizens… and freedom and equality for all.” Lol. Lmao, even.

I am all for bringing new people into movement work; I am less excited about recruiting new followers for a middle-aged white guy who just learned how to make Instagram Reels and only speaks in Live Laugh Love vagueries that range from anodyne to troubling. (“Our real power is not in the streets, but in our unity,” John says in one video, proudly displaying an American flag on his laptop.)

But enough about John and his dog whistles. This isn’t about him, really. It’s about strategy and mobilizing and community-building and patience. It’s about informed sacrifice for a clearly defined cause. It’s about building lasting coalitions, and about finding one tangible way to show up for one real person in your life today, instead of wasting time worrying about whether buying groceries for your neighbor is breaking today’s special mission from an infographic.

More than anything, this is about critical thinking. If some white guy is asking you for $100,000 while demanding the end of income taxes, does his “end corruption and greed” message seem trustworthy? More broadly: when is a buzzy event obfuscating its political aims? When is an “action” an attempt to divert your energy from true disruption? When is an action ignoring your power as a worker, as a community member, as a human in a body? When a movement is asking you take even one single step that isn’t towards revolution, is it wasting your time and energy? When you ask yourself “literally what is the point of this,” do you have an answer?

In other words… who’s the psy-op now? And what will we do instead?

Xo,

Tuck

PS, to my paid subscribers: Sorry, I tried to write a normal newsletter and then this happened. Once again, this is public so feel free to share it. I’ll send you something normal soon, I promise — including a very fun Organizing Thing You Can Do Instead :)