You know what, while I'm doing hot takes. And this one may be obvious considering I'm actively contributing to hosting the Solarpunk Aesthetic Week event but like.
Dear everyone who's constantly deriding the aesthetic portions of the solarpunk movement/genre; do you just not understand that being able to visualize the future you want is immensely important to being able to work towards it? Being able to get other people on board with it?
When I first got interested in Solarpunk, it wasn't for the hot leftist takes about the top ways to dismantle the government for the people, or top tips on how to build your own solar panel apparatuses. What brought me in? Visions of a hopeful future. I learned and began to love the rest as I dove deeper into solarpunk circles, but there is no denying that my first intro to it--and likely many people's first intro to it--was via the art and aesthetic spheres. The term 'solarpunk' was literally coined to refer to the aesthetic movement, and we've been building up from there ever since.
'When are people going to realize the aesthetic parts don't matter and what really matters is praxis--' dude, the aesthetic parts do matter. Inspiring people does matter. Showing people visions of a hopeful future is immensely important, it's why so many people join this movement. We see glimpses of what a hopeful future could look like, through beautiful art or riveting stories, we're inspired by things like stained glass and organic designs and statues and fashion concepts--and then we think to ourselves 'how can we help make this future happen?' And we learn the praxis and we work towards the goals and we share it with others because that's just how we work.
Seeing isn't always believing, but sometimes in order to believe in something with your whole heart, it helps to be able to visualize what you want. For yourself and for others.
So yes. The aesthetic parts of solarpunk do matter. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk.
”what no im not being manipulated” <-guy who’s whole gimmick is being possessed by his sword (controls a bunch of guys whose gimmick is also being possessed by their swords)
DUNMESHI EP 3 WAS SOOOO BEAUTIFUL OMG THE ANIMATION WAS SO GOOD😭😭😭 LAIOS IS SO CUTE I LOVE HIM... hes so smart... one of the most likeable male anime protags ive seen in a while... 1 of the most likeable protags period tbh anyway hes good🥺
so wait, since i was just reminded of the recorder thing donna talked about in the giggle, i now have a question for uk ppl: do yall learn the recorder in school? like in a music class? and like how much do yall have music class over there?
Honestly I think it would do us all well to go back to kinda cringy feminism again for a little bit idk cause I think maybe for some people the discourse somehow circled back around to supporting sexism just rebranded or whatever so its more aesthetic
"Oh no, someone's attracted to the aesthetics of my -punk movement but doesn't know the praxis and history behind it like I do--"
OK. Tell them. Make it a teaching moment. Everyone who's in your movement learned the background from somewhere at some point, maybe this is that point for that person. Give them a jumping off point that they can dive into later.
"Oh but I shouldn't be responsible for teaching baby -punks about the history and the how-tos and--"
OK. Then don't tell them. You don't have to be responsible for teaching people with a budding interest in your group the ins and outs and how-tos. That's fair and valid! It can be a lot of work. Someone else will handle it
"But I'm annoyed that they would try to claim to be part of/be interested in my community without knowing all the details that I know after being in it for months/years/decades, they're dumb, they're posers, they're--"
OK. Then don't engage with them, if it's that bad. Maybe someone else will come around and tell them the history, maybe they'll pick it up on their own, maybe they'll just enjoy the fashion elements for awhile.
"But they shouldn't claim to be part of the -punk community if they don't know the--"
I feel like we have a few options here. People can either talk to them, share the history, share the values, share the praxis. Or they can just chase off anyone who even thinks about dipping a toe in their community, and then wonder why it's dying off later down the line.
I dunno, maybe I'm too naive and patient or whatever. But if people are entering your -punk spaces without knowing The Rundown of what you feel they need to know, maybe being nice about it and informing people instead of immediately assuming stupidity and malicious intent could help you make a new friend. Even the loudest voices in a space had to learn from somewhere, and not everyone has the luxury of being in the space as the History was Happening--whether it's an age thing or a not being aware of the space thing. Or maybe I just don't see what the big deal is behind people hating people who like the aesthetic of something and don't know the behind the scenes history about it yet.
Because I believe in the word 'yet.' No one comes into this world knowing everything about everything, and we're all constantly learning new things. I'm not gonna degrade someone and call them a poser for not knowing what I know. Because if it were me, interested in a scene but getting chased out and called a poser? I wouldn't hit the books and study up, I'd go 'that fuckin sucks, those people sucked' and then avoid anyone and anything having to do with it.
So chase people off and call them posers if you want. But if your community starts dwindling, don't be fucking shocked.
✨️ I've found a captivating piece of artwork with an interesting story behind! So, of course, I've decided to "re-create" it with "Gabriel" and me :]
Referenced picture:
"Romantic Encounter" by: Mihály von Zichy - Lucifer and Princess Tamara (a mortal with whom he falls in love). An illustration for Mikhail Lermontov’s poem ‘The Demon’.
The replies on that boycott post have been completely derailed but also, given recent events, have steered toward talking about BDS, and it's just reminding me of how the biggest problem of how people talk about BDS in particular online is that you never know what someone actually means by it. Are they talking about boycotting every large company based in Israel? Are they talking about boycotting every single person in Israel, regardless of their personal political leanings and what they do about them? Are we just talking about the 8 companies listed by the official BDS movement that all have some very direct and specific role in supporting the oppression of Palestinians (such as by operating in the illegal settlements, or creating and running surveillance software that the Israeli government uses to restrict Palestinian movement)?
Even more specific boycotts can get into this, like the academic or cultural boycotts. By "academic boycott" do you mean that you won't do talks at or take money from institutions like Israeli universities, or are you talking about "boycotting" any and all individual Israeli academics and students who may or may not actually agree with the Netanyahu regime (and may even be involved in campaigns/activism against oppression of Palestinians within Israel)? Is it deciding you won't hold your conference in Israel, or is it that no Israeli academics can present at or even attend that conference? Do you understand why these distinctions are important?
I've seen people talk past each other on this in both directions: where genuine and important criticisms of "BDS" efforts that might be motivated by bigotry, or are at least ineffective or counterproductive, get dismissed as pro-Israeli-government propaganda that just wants to discourage helping Palestinians.... but also where people shout stuff like "don't support a hate movement!" at someone who really is just talking about those specific 8 companies.
And you should stop buying Sabra hummus anyway because it tastes like shit.