Accelerating Collapse

The arrival of fascist paramilitaries in U.S. cities has advanced the timeline for collapse. In my case (David B.), I have been yanked out of a leisurely contemplation of how I might prepare for collapse in the future, into a frenzied attempt to fortify my neighborhood against invasion.

Here in Seattle we expect to be targeted, and the murders in Minneapolis have jump-started a city-wide effort to prepare. There are now hundreds of Signal groups assigned by neighborhood, as people try to figure out how to replicate the Minneapolis model of civil resistance. (Here's a report on how they're doing it there. Here's a toolkit from Charlotte, North Carolina, which was previously targeted.)

Even the Seattle Mayor has gotten into the act (thank goodness she's a progressive) by allocating City money to support immigrant-solidarity groups, forbidding ICE from using City property for staging, and directing the police to document ICE arrests and preserve evidence. (Whether the cops will actually do this is an open question; their union is full-MAGA.)

What does this have to do with collapse?

I am finding it very difficult to navigate the change from "preparedness" to "response." When disaster hits (whatever it may be), it requires a change of mindset that I don't quite understand or know how to do. Philosophical and doctrinal questions vanish like a puff of cloud before the wind, to be replaced by urgent questions of protection and survival. Prepping is in the past; the only thing that matters is now.

I am happy to report that the first thoughts that arise are about community. Who can I team up with? What can I contribute to a communal effort? Who needs protection? I think that is the lesson of Minneapolis: we can fight back, but only if we are together. The incredible cohesion (that is, "solidarity") binding the people of Minneapolis is a living example of what can happen in an emergency. And that mindset is spreading throughout the country and the world.

We have yet to see definitively if community cohesion can defeat well-funded, amoral fascism, but we definitely can be inspired by what we see.

How shall we talk about this?

When we get together, what questions should we address? There are a couple of candidates:

• How does the acceleration of collapse affect your thoughts and actions with regard to "solidarity prepping?"
• What are you prepping for? And is that changing as collapse accelerates?

I guess we can start the meeting by checking in, just to see how people feel and what you're thinking about. (This is always my favorite part of the meeting!) Then, we can discover if there are themes that emerge, and turn our attention there.

Matthew and David talked about this on the Collapse Club podcast

If you'd like to check it out, Matthew Painton (Collapse Club Convener) and I (David B.) talked about "Accelerating Collapse" on the latest episode of the Collapse Club podcast, which you can find at https://podcast.collapseclub.com.

See you soon!

❤️ David B.