It is good to see that more and more people are coming together to help each other in a series of mutual aid groups. Also most are saying they don't want things to get back to normal, as their normal was pretty dismal in the first place. The majority of people were struggle to hold onto a half decent life, others were far from a decent life and saw food banks as their main source of sustenance. The thought going through lots of people's minds is to hell with getting the economy back on its feet, it screwed us for generations, let's bring the economy down and do things by ourselves and for ourselves. We can make a better job of it than the economy ever could, and it feels better being part of a real community.
Let's all do our best to keep this attitude going, we don't need greed driven shareholders, plundering chief executives, and prancing political ballerinas, they're a burden we can jettison for good, that better world is ours to make.
Two weeks later, more than 10,000lbs of free groceries have been delivered to the homes of people in need. Hundreds of people have responded to the call to help, forming a large scale, highly effective operation almost overnight. It’s growing by the day.This is an amazing achievement, but it’s not nearly enough.
The fact is, capitalism has left our communities hollowed out, brittle, on the edge of collapse for a long time now. Everyone is desperate. Trump talks about getting the country back to normal, but there’s no normal to return to. No job, no childcare, no health insurance, growing debt, soaring rent: this is the status quo many have been barely surviving under for years – and that’s without a pandemic-fueled recession. If we return to normal, it will destroy us. We need to create a different world to return to.
Right now, while everything is on pause, we have a chance to build that world. Instead of going to work, a hundred of us spent the past two weeks figuring out how to get food to those who need it. Some have begun organizing with their neighbors to go on rent strike, or to open up abandoned houses to get homeless people a safe place off the streets. Out-of-work engineers are collaborating over video conference, working around the clock to design DIY medical care tools. Farmers are preparing new land to grow free food this spring.
The lesson is clear: When the economy stops, we keep going – and we’re actually more capable of caring for each other without it.
The Atlanta Survival Programs are a crisis response, but they’re not a short term measure, because the crisis isn’t over until survival is possible for everyone.
