Post B1sv0Ndknpc3066rDM by jnl@hcommons.social
 (DIR) More posts by jnl@hcommons.social
 (DIR) Post #B1sv0Ndknpc3066rDM by jnl@hcommons.social
       2026-01-01T20:03:25Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I have felt annoyed and aggrieved by the 'let's be honest: we had no idea how bad this was gonna be- it's SHOCKING' year in review posts. Motherfuckers, this is because you live in willful denial. Many of us told you and we aren't fucking Nostradamus- we knew because we simply **listened to what they said they planned to do** **knew and cared about people and communities who had been horrifically impacted last time** and **maintained a basic awareness of the last 100 years of Western history and noticed the places it rhymed**This is not rocket science and I'm fucking pissed that amnesia and stupidity get to meme 'reality.'I have been holding that in for weeks; whew.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1sv0TbqbpeXVvGQ4m by jnl@hcommons.social
       2026-01-01T20:11:20Z
       
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       That said, there is another truth here- I *have* been surprised by something, and it's not the audacious overreach of the regime or the brittleness of institutions iteratively weakened.I have been surprised by how **immediately** and **effectively** possible it has been to slow the progress of the shitshow where popular resistance has combined with legal filings.That combo- pushback in the streets plus lawsuits- won again and again and again in the second half of the year, and it has preserved pieces and functions of public life and private peace that I thought were gone for good.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1sv0ZtRFLHz0DXYKO by jnl@hcommons.social
       2026-01-01T20:18:30Z
       
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       And because of the effectiveness of this pushback, I have hope I did not expect to have. Our family has choices this year that I did not expect would abide. I wonder about possibilities and slower spaciousness where I expected only a tidal wave of iron repression.I am still deeply scared for all of us, and I mean it globally. The need to change is so dire and the urgency to block change so militarized that we are collectively in such a grim spot.But I have learned something here about fast and slow, and what I didn't get and will be learning about this year is the magic part of 'slow.' When we can slow the energy of the repressive wave, the organic (and orchestrated) change waiting in the wings can sometimes happen. I will be watching for this in the coming seasons.