Hopepunk Guild - Blog Posts

hope is a skill

Hope is resilience, and it is fucking tough. I was talking with a friend about how if you expect the worst, don't let yourself be hopeful, you feel protected and strong, but it is fake. My friend was telling me that he tends to think: "If I know in advance that it was going to be shitty and horrible, I'm no fool, I was right." But then he realized: "Wait, why am I happy to be right about that? This is shitty and horrible!"

Being negative and in a "I'm no fool" mindset feels safe but actually does not protect from harm. It comes from fear. As my friend concluded: "Being hopeful and open is actually the brave thing to do. And I don't want to be a wimp."

don't give up

When I say “free water, free food, free shelter, free healthcare, free education for everyone” in that “everyone” I even include the people I hate. Too many people get surprised at the idea that I do wish for the people I hate to have better lives.

there is a judge in Seattle who does the weekly name change hearings, and who says it's her favorite part of the week. she says she doesn't read out previous names, or ask about the reasons why people want to change them. she says it's a beautiful moment, and a celebration; a claiming of a new identity, or a reclamation of an old identity. she encourages the room to clap for folks. then she welcomes everyone up, one by one, by last name and with warmth; she shows them the court order where nobody else can see, asks them to double check the spelling, and then they're done! do they want a picture? do they want their friends and loved ones who came with them to be in it too? do they want the court order in the photo? she helps everyone pose, shakes hands and stands with them for as long as they need to take it, recruits the clerk for help taking photos of the folks who came alone. then she tells them where to go next, congratulates them, and claps along with the rest of the room.

probably three quarters of the people there were trans, and she centered their experience quietly, with love and joy.

I think I'll be thinking about her a lot this January, and for a long time after. it's good to know she's there.

cruelty is so easy. youre not special for choosing it

“I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do.

To make others less happy is a crime.

To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts.

We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances.

We must try.”

​— Roger Ebert, “Go gentle into that good night.”

I love that so much, it is what I'm trying to do! And no, love is not a popular movement. People are very suspiscious of love as a movement. There are some good reasons for that, but not enough to not try anymore. So, let's all try to be a bit kinder, a bit more compassionate. Not only for others, but for ourselves as well, because it feels nicer inside.

Meeting The Man: James Baldwin in Paris

(via Mubi)

I feel that you summarized in a single sentence everything I want to do with my writing, and pretty much what I want to do with my life the most. Thank you so much for that.

And cheers to all people who already do exactly that, and the ones who want to join. Let's have a guild.

My contribution, I hope, is to find the ideas that matter the most and connect them in a way that is highly actionable.