Unironically leftist parties / coops / associations / etc should be looking at every charity currently being controlled by a religious authority of some kind and creating a direct replacement to those services which does not require the individual to submit to any particular ideology or authority to receive services.
Where I’m from clothing drives were huge because people couldn’t afford to get clothes for their kids. Do you have any idea how powerful it is for conservative organizations to fulfill that type of welfare? That sort of thing is precisely why rural people in the USA genuinely believe that conservatives are “Fighting for their rights” or whatever.
This is something we definitely need more of!
Food Not Bombs is one organization worth getting involved in. I know my local one does three hot meal shares a week, has a weekly “free market” for clothing and toiletry items, and distributes groceries, pet items, and menstrual products. Every group is independently organized, though, so your local one may vary - and you may have the opportunity to add something based on the needs of your community.
If you know about any leftist organizations doing things like this, add them to this post!
To add on, look into your local interfaith orgs! While non religious mutual aid is super important, religion/religious community IS vital to some religious people. Interfaith orgs especially are committed to compassion and understanding between different religions, and are usually way less insistent you agree with them than like an evangelical church.
Additionally, religious orgs have more experience in filling needs that non religious groups may overlook such as:
Do you know any kosher or halal recipes for your soup kitchen? Off the top of your head, can you tell me what makes a meal kosher or halal?
If a homeless Muslim woman needs a new hijab, do you have any to give her? What about a kippah for a Jewish man? Do you have any headscarves for orthodox christian women or Mennonite women? Do you list any of these items on your clothing drive donation lists?
Does your free little library have copies of religious affiliated texts that will resonate with religious people? (Many religious ppl believe leftists want to eradicate religion esp after stalin infamously banned Christian orthodox practices in the Soviet union-something MANY older russian orthodox Christians remember)
Does your homeless shelter have any prayer mats or shabbat candles? Do you know where to get them? Do you know how to select the correct ones?
Not all of these are essential to surviving but it does demonstrate compassion for people and recognizes their nonphysical needs. It also cuts into the power of conservative religious groups by demonstrating that others care. And just like idk how else to say it but….religious people deserve to be treated respectfully and have their spiritual needs considered. You don’t have to agree with them and if they’re bigots you certainly don’t have to cater to that but religious people overall do deserve at least some small considerations.
As a final note, I’ve focused on abrahamic religions for this bc that’s what I know but different places have different prominent religions! Also if you’re delivering mutal aid to Native American communities, ask about their religious needs and what you can do to accommodate them.
Religious people deserve to be treated respectfully and have their spiritual needs considered.
This is an excellent point! I tend to emphasize local groups anyway, but definitely look for local interfaith orgs since the religious makeup and needs of your community will be unique.
go read what happens next! it’s one of my favorite webcomics and has captured what it’s like to be an online person, especially on tumblr, incredibly accurately. it’s also just in general really good, a short read at the moment, and full of scarily realistic characters
hey!! sorry to hijack this post, but there are a bunch of ways you can make videogames without knowing shit about computers!!
for starters, there’s Twine, which is fucking great for making all kinds of interactive experiences (it’s what Crystal Warrior Ke$ha was made in so you KNOW it’s good) at all skill levels (i picked it up and made a game in two minutes a few nights ago)
if you want a bit more involved experience there’s Inform 7 which is a simple language for text-based adventure games that reads like slightly-weird English and also relatively easy to learn
you can do some pretty fucking cool stuff with Unity (my personal engine of choice) but you may need to dig a bit farther to get at the good stuff. there’s lots of really good presets though (i made an entire game just mixing and matching pre-existing templates and adding in my own art, won an award at a game jam for that one) and if you want help the community’s pretty dang friendly from what i’ve seen!
this is just a taste of what’s out there from what i’ve seen, but there’s so many cool resources out there. if anyone wants help getting started, i’m around to give you a leg up on making something in the coolest, most unexplored art medium around!
I’m addin’ to this post because lowering the barrier to entry for making games is super important to me!!!! If y’all have any questions about making games, you’re welcome to come and ask! I made this list a while back with some friends, so it has some of the programs John already mentioned.
2D Editors:
GameMaker : Potential for pure drag-and-drop “programming”. It is recommended to read-up on the program’s functions to make good use of it. Good for prototyping. Uses its own language called Game Maker Language (GML) that is similar to a C language (e.g. C++ or C#). For both Mac and PC; free version available.
Construct2 : Drag and drop level editor that uses an “If-Then” event sheet structure for programming. Good for prototyping and for beginners. For PC; free version available.
GameSalad : Drag and drop with no code requirement. Good for programming. For both Mac and PC; free version available.
Solpeo : HTML5 based game engine for 2D and isometric game development. Some programming knowledge needed. Platforms supported: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 9+. Free version available.
Stencyl : Drag and Drop “programming,” templates you can edit the variables/values for.
Scratch : Lego-block-style coding platform by MIT; totally free and a great intro to thinking in code. Very kid-friendly and comes with a community site. Browser version available.
3D Editors:
Unity : 3D editor that creates 3D games. Can build games for browser, as an app, or for mobile devices (iOS and Android). For both Mac and PC; free version available.
UDK (Unreal Development Kit) : Full-fledged, highly advanced editor. Features a complete set of tools that go from level design to visual scripting to cut-scene creation. Uses it’s own programming language called Unreal Script that can be arranged with Kismet, a visual code editor. For Mac and PC; free.
2D Art/Animation Software:
GIMP : Free photo editing and digital painting software.
Easy Paint Tool SAI : Free digital painting software with a UI similar to Photoshop.
Mischief : Free digital painting software with an endless canvas.
3D Art/Animation Software:
Sculptris : From the company that created Zbrush, this free software is ideal for beginning 3D sculptors.
Maya : Animation, VFX, lighting, and rendering software.
Magical Voxel : Voxel Art (3D Pixel Art). Very intuitive and quick to pick up.
SketchUp : Architectural modeling software, great for creating 3D environments and buildings. Free version available.
Text-Based Games:
Twine : Create interactive text stories using Twine’s visual map system that links your game together. Easy to learn and use. End result is browser-based. For Mac and PC; free.
Quest : Interactive text stories that you can build in-browser.
Ren’Py : Create visual novels using a modified version of Python that reads like a combination of stage directions and a CYOA novel. For PC, Mac, and Linux; free.
Audio Resources/Editors:
Indie Game Music : This site offers free indie music with no need to worry about royalties or licenses.
Audacity : A free, open-source, cross-platform sound editor that allows you to record and arrange sound.
Super Flash Bros. : This site allows you to record theremin-like (8bit) sounds and export them as .wav files for your games.
[ID: A painting of two crows flying across a dark sky lit by whirling fire and golden sunlight. The sun’s stylized rays reach to the edges of the painting, and the sun itself forms a halo for one of the crows. The birds’ blue-black feathers contrast with the reds and golds of the sky. End ID.]
AMERICAN “LOG CABIN - BARN RAISING” PIECED CRIB QUILT / COVER, hand-stitched, 48 pattern blocks in print and solid fabrics having brown centers, made of more than 800 pieces, uncertain if there is minimum quilting or none, later applied binding covering original edges, unknown backing. Mounted to fabric on a wooden stretcher for hanging. Probably Pennsylvania or Ohio. Circa 1880
I hope y’all understand the racism apparent here and how black women are being expected to conform to the standards of white womanhood in order to be actually classified as women
