it’s an auspicious time. here in southern california, out-of-season wildfires are kicking off 2025. at the same time we are watching the elite pay fealty to the upcoming trump administration. stripping any semblance of opposition, agreeing society has become too Woke and rolling back the meager attempts at diversity and inclusion.

it isn’t a shock that mark zuckerberg doesn’t care about marginalized folk or the harm they endure online. rolling back rules about slurs and removing moderators to make facebook more like twitter is because he agrees with elon, with trump, that queer and non-white folks have been unfairly catered to. removal of safety is done under the guise of “free speech” and “fairness” as if vitriol flowing from every status update is somehow a social network normal people want to hang out on.

the destruction of twitter and facebook on this accelerated scale comes at a fucking terrible time, because we have increasingly relied on these spaces for community. that’s what the internet is now, for many. even if folks leave, or check it less, these cesspools still warp society with their level of hatred and obsession with conspiracy theories. allowing this to fester will only make us worse. 

with an incoming administration that is hell-bent on white supremacy, gross shit from these sites will get amplified and become part of the Discourse. we already see it happening since trump gets so much goddamn media attention. 

i am writing this after a week where the Eaton fire kept my store closed for two days, while hundreds of thousands evacuated and many have lost their homes. i don’t want to re-hash what folks like alissa walker have perfectly articulated, but the coordinated response from our local leaders has, frankly, sucked. 

we are on our own. it is not enough to elect people you think might do a good job. when officials spend more time emphasizing consequences for looters than providing concrete information, the point of civic duty has been lost. fear-mongering and locking folks up ^[1]gotta be Tough on Crime!!! have become more important than relaying life-saving information or having efficient emergency services. 

the vibes are the same with the rich dudes who control our social media spaces. currently the richest, most divorced one is spreading conspiracy theories about the fires in LA. how do we counter this? it is hard to imagine removing the influence of someone like elon, but he is so destructive we must try, right?

the idea that their ring-wing policies will destroy online communities that rely on their tools to communicate and share means nothing. folks like zuck and elon think many others feel like they do, and surely most people won’t abandon their socials. they are the normal ones, and all this Woke stuff is just minority groups becoming too powerful! grievance culture has eaten their brains out.

fires will keep burning, and so will the places we used to turn to for live updates and community. the question is, will our society silo off from each other, or will we find ways to connect that don’t rely on brain-melted billionaires? 

after destruction comes rebuilding, right? we must rebuild for the community, each other, and not the elite weirdos. focus on one or two issues where you can donate your time or money. at the very least, support those already out there doing the work.

resources:

• la in-person volunteer opportunities
• malan resources
  (mutual aid los angeles network)