This is a great piece containing lots of hard-hitting truths. But I wonder, in order to achieve fully what it advocates for — i.e., stepping beyond the theoretical ‘talk’ of revolutionary sacrifice and into the real, material ‘walk’ of liberatory struggle — what pathways to meaningful action do you propose? How can we step from discussion into action?
I think one is to building capacity. The number one thing people say as an excuse is what can we do and if it is not much then you need to build capability and capacity partly by working on yourself and partly by building institutions and working with others. The other is to attack their source of power: media, wealth.
This is a great question and I share it as well. One book that made me move beyond the abstract world of Marxism/ Socialism and into a tangible blueprint for practice was Iraqi Marxist author Ibrahim Allawi’s “Reading in Al-Mushtarak: A System for Democratic Socialism”.
He sets out the tangible structure for a post-capitalist and non-Eurocentric society in a way many Marxist authors (including Marx himself) couldn’t. Let me know your thoughts if you get around reading it.
Action is as simple as planting your own vegetables. Planting enough to share with a neighbour or 2 if you're able. Helping farmers distribute supposed "waste" food. Buying things used, instead of new. The tools have already been made, we just have to use them.
I think it’s clear: let go of the comforts of capitalism so that you can truly rebel against the system. For example: I do not want my taxes to be used for killing innocent Palestinians or to fund ICE.
What do I want to do? Refuse to pay federal taxes.
Why don’t I do it? Because the government would take away my house, my savings, my possessions.
Thank you! I try to explain this to people within the movement but vast majority don't understand, because they haven't read and learned from Revolutionary leaders. I'm sharing this article everywhere ❤️🔥.
Until the conditions are present for Deep Peace, (Negative) Peace is just subtler violence. It is the maintenance of imposition of injustice or inequity. It is never more nor less. It is violence. This is why we cannot have "peace" (until total liberation).
Around the globe we unite with Palestine and rally around the victims of the Imperialists.But what we do is not enough. It is not enough to go to a rally; we must stand rain or snow or shine together through adversity. We must foster and nurture each other to grow our collective heart. We must act both together and apart in escalatory actions that apply pressure and pain to our adversaries.
We underestimate our strength, because our enemy has conditioned us to underestimate ourselves and overestimate their capacity to counter us.
We must share and develop common experiences, joyful and trying. We must be the crutch of a broken leg, while another is our crippled hand guiding our way. Through these kinds of bonds we become so terrific that our enemy begins
It seems the imperial core has cancelled the word, concept and active intention of ‘peace’ and co-opted it to actually mean complacent comfort and denial of reality. Can we transform into warriors for peace, against war and oppression and inequality, when we are enslaved by debt? Yes, but not without realising a new world will involve huge disruption. And we humans will need to learn about creating real supportive inclusive community because as we all have different circumstances it is important that we share the load according to capacity. We must start to learn how to deeply hold space and support each other generously. 🙏
When we lose everything, even our children are taken away from us...and we fear not death, and hunger and physical pain become solace... Well; then, we are a truly formidable weapon.
We can train, depriving us from everything that we are attached to, pushing our bodies and minds beyond the breaking point, sleep deprived hungry, thirsty, exhausted physically and mentally. If we are pushed hard enough then the act of armed resistance is easier than our training.
1. Conditions or conditioning. (To spark the fearless, comfortless soldier)
2. Ummah or shared heart, collective vision/love
3. Basic education in the struggle, the enemy, it's tactics
These are the the keys to a viable Resistance/guerrilla
Of course, if we all starve and disable ourselves, we'll just be dead and unable to resist anything. There is a difference between leaving comfort to resist, and harming ourselves to the point where we are no longer a threat to the ultra rich.
It's really hard to get outta that zone. Shedding things and mobility is easier for some than others. Not everyone can be an active soldier. But there is more than one way to serve a cause. I'm literally a homeless man in the High Arctic, if you can imagine that. The nearest road is 1500km south on the top of mainland North America. Slept outside a few nights this dark season already and it's unpleasant. I sleep in the porches of buildings, sometimes cabins, right now on a couch which is nice. Yea we all got parts to play and I'm where I should be for now. ✊🙏
A masterful read! Deeply grateful for this read. It has expanded my world view in many ways and challenged my own inner dialogue regarding resistance in the west.
There is a slow, peaceful way as well, and it is connecting meaningfully with your neighbors to reduce our collective reliance on the powers. When i stop by to check in and offer something i have extra of, or when i offer to trade, borrow, lend, or fix, a million threads of care and connection can begin to link and strengthen us. I find it useful to remember that zero-sum thinking is the enemy's ideology. An important component to their trap is convincing us that we can only help each other by giving something up, but we are endlessly resourceful and we make our own reality with our minds and actions. This is a place of abundance, and you don't need to be a martyr to make big changes.
CEOs are just walking around unarmed most of the times, technofeudal lords have minimal protections from their “workers” (serfs), meanwhile they sit at the apex of luxury harvesting our time and energy
none of these insights are new, we aren’t even afraid to speak them anymore
Update – The Past Few Days and the Beginning of the New Year
This is an update about the past few days we were absent and how the new year began for us.
The year started with a night of intense bombing and heavy gunfire. We live only about 200 meters from the yellow line, and the danger felt very close. The fear was overwhelming.
We hid as best as we could, holding our children tightly, trying to shield them with our own bodies. In those moments, our only thought was to keep them alive. We were terrified of losing one of them after everything we have already endured.
After hours of fear and exhaustion, we finally fell asleep— not because we felt safe, but because our bodies could no longer stay awake. My nerves were shattered, and my heart was heavy.
I woke up in the morning to heartbreaking news. A house had collapsed on my cousin, her husband, and their children. They were rushed to the hospital. Two of them were killed—a father and his child.
The pain of this news was unbearable.
Hala saw the child and realized he was gone. She began to cry deeply and asked me a question no mother should ever hear: “Mom… why do children die?”
I had no answer. I held her, trying to be strong, while my heart broke inside.
This is how our new year began— with fear, loss, and unanswered questions. Yet we are still here, trying to protect our children and move forward one day at a time.
Thank you for understanding our absence and for keeping us in your thoughts. Please do not forget us.
I want to add some context. Is a revolution on the cards in Pakistan? Yes. It’s not about if, only a question of when. But sacrifice is easier said than done. It depends on the stakes. Losing a job is fine. But when the stakes are going missing, ending up in one of the regime’s dungeons, and your female family members being sexually assaulted, fear does cripple you. People don’t fear consequences for themselves, but for our families? Yes, we do, of course we do. Is there really a way to build capacity against a state which has a monopoly on violence?
This is honestly one of the pieces I have enjoyed most reading lately. It is indeed very well-written and a powerful one. It has even made me wanna highlight and underline some quotes (Substack should allow to do that, anyone else with me on this?).
Every time I read such a piece, is not merely reading, but rather studying it, making mental notes, learning from it, questioning it, seeking ways to keep the conversation going, and wondering how these words, through me, can actually have a real actionable impact outside the page and ink.
I highly agree with what some fellow readers have already said about the paramount importance of going that step further towards taking action (but ACTUALLY TAKING ACTION!!). If, of course, we are not to become what a person once told me he was “a couch revolutionary” (aka: someone who talks for the sake of talking, criticizes, blames a lot and supposedly ‘knows how to safe the world’ yet takes no action whatsoever).
In my opinion, if we agree with such a piece (which I feel is not difficult at all), once it has been read, acknowledged and integrated (obviously by those of us who have the “privilege” to have the time, energy and resources to do so), we must be able to try and recognize in ourselves whether or not we are already embodying the revolution we seek in any way, shape or form in our daily life in the midst of the comfort on ‘Quiet Captivity’. And if yes, then pat yourself on your back if needed, then keep going, and find what is the next individual AND collective step that must be taken. And if not, try to understand: where you stand (and at least your people — though I encourage you to be an empathic being and realize others might have similar basic needs and want similar basic living standards); what your (and your/other people’s) reality is; what reality you (and yours/others) would like to live in… and if it doesn’t fit with the current reality (whether just a tiny bit or the entirety of it), for your/your people’s/other’s survival’s sake (before it is too late) acknowledge once and for all that something needs to change in order for a better life to begin.
Felt like sharing a few of the quotes that have most resonated with me:
“Comfort turns into a quiet form of captivity.”
“Revolution becomes something we consume, not something we build.”
“Survival and privilege, though seemingly opposite, are woven together into a structure that holds the whole society in place.”
“Comfort is not freedom. It is the quiet reward for obedience”
If those who “can” are not taking the necessary action (nor even willing to do so) and in service to the wider community, supporting and upholding those who are sinking towards the system’s depths, we will all sink together, and the empire will have won. Let’s do not sell ourselves to such an outcome, and instead: Disobey, Organize, Speak Up, and Take Action!
See you in the streets before it’s too f*cking late.
This is a great piece containing lots of hard-hitting truths. But I wonder, in order to achieve fully what it advocates for — i.e., stepping beyond the theoretical ‘talk’ of revolutionary sacrifice and into the real, material ‘walk’ of liberatory struggle — what pathways to meaningful action do you propose? How can we step from discussion into action?
I think one is to building capacity. The number one thing people say as an excuse is what can we do and if it is not much then you need to build capability and capacity partly by working on yourself and partly by building institutions and working with others. The other is to attack their source of power: media, wealth.
This is a great question and I share it as well. One book that made me move beyond the abstract world of Marxism/ Socialism and into a tangible blueprint for practice was Iraqi Marxist author Ibrahim Allawi’s “Reading in Al-Mushtarak: A System for Democratic Socialism”.
He sets out the tangible structure for a post-capitalist and non-Eurocentric society in a way many Marxist authors (including Marx himself) couldn’t. Let me know your thoughts if you get around reading it.
I have just downloaded it and will read sometime soon. I will let you know my thoughts once I have some, haha. Thank you!
Action is as simple as planting your own vegetables. Planting enough to share with a neighbour or 2 if you're able. Helping farmers distribute supposed "waste" food. Buying things used, instead of new. The tools have already been made, we just have to use them.
I think supporting mutual aid networks and guerrilla food distribution programs is a great first step!
Go on any of the freelance sites and contract black hats to DdoS targets
What does this mean😭
I think it’s clear: let go of the comforts of capitalism so that you can truly rebel against the system. For example: I do not want my taxes to be used for killing innocent Palestinians or to fund ICE.
What do I want to do? Refuse to pay federal taxes.
Why don’t I do it? Because the government would take away my house, my savings, my possessions.
I think this Big Beautiful Bad Budget Bill should move into the uncomfortable column.
Thank you! I try to explain this to people within the movement but vast majority don't understand, because they haven't read and learned from Revolutionary leaders. I'm sharing this article everywhere ❤️🔥.
Thank you for this.
No Peace until Deep Peace!
Until the conditions are present for Deep Peace, (Negative) Peace is just subtler violence. It is the maintenance of imposition of injustice or inequity. It is never more nor less. It is violence. This is why we cannot have "peace" (until total liberation).
Around the globe we unite with Palestine and rally around the victims of the Imperialists.But what we do is not enough. It is not enough to go to a rally; we must stand rain or snow or shine together through adversity. We must foster and nurture each other to grow our collective heart. We must act both together and apart in escalatory actions that apply pressure and pain to our adversaries.
We underestimate our strength, because our enemy has conditioned us to underestimate ourselves and overestimate their capacity to counter us.
We must share and develop common experiences, joyful and trying. We must be the crutch of a broken leg, while another is our crippled hand guiding our way. Through these kinds of bonds we become so terrific that our enemy begins
No Peace until Deep Peace. ☝️
Up!
It seems the imperial core has cancelled the word, concept and active intention of ‘peace’ and co-opted it to actually mean complacent comfort and denial of reality. Can we transform into warriors for peace, against war and oppression and inequality, when we are enslaved by debt? Yes, but not without realising a new world will involve huge disruption. And we humans will need to learn about creating real supportive inclusive community because as we all have different circumstances it is important that we share the load according to capacity. We must start to learn how to deeply hold space and support each other generously. 🙏
When we lose everything, even our children are taken away from us...and we fear not death, and hunger and physical pain become solace... Well; then, we are a truly formidable weapon.
We can train, depriving us from everything that we are attached to, pushing our bodies and minds beyond the breaking point, sleep deprived hungry, thirsty, exhausted physically and mentally. If we are pushed hard enough then the act of armed resistance is easier than our training.
1. Conditions or conditioning. (To spark the fearless, comfortless soldier)
2. Ummah or shared heart, collective vision/love
3. Basic education in the struggle, the enemy, it's tactics
These are the the keys to a viable Resistance/guerrilla
Of course, if we all starve and disable ourselves, we'll just be dead and unable to resist anything. There is a difference between leaving comfort to resist, and harming ourselves to the point where we are no longer a threat to the ultra rich.
That's the trap.
It's really hard to get outta that zone. Shedding things and mobility is easier for some than others. Not everyone can be an active soldier. But there is more than one way to serve a cause. I'm literally a homeless man in the High Arctic, if you can imagine that. The nearest road is 1500km south on the top of mainland North America. Slept outside a few nights this dark season already and it's unpleasant. I sleep in the porches of buildings, sometimes cabins, right now on a couch which is nice. Yea we all got parts to play and I'm where I should be for now. ✊🙏
Empowering message!
A masterful read! Deeply grateful for this read. It has expanded my world view in many ways and challenged my own inner dialogue regarding resistance in the west.
Much needed words.
👏👏👏✌️
There is a slow, peaceful way as well, and it is connecting meaningfully with your neighbors to reduce our collective reliance on the powers. When i stop by to check in and offer something i have extra of, or when i offer to trade, borrow, lend, or fix, a million threads of care and connection can begin to link and strengthen us. I find it useful to remember that zero-sum thinking is the enemy's ideology. An important component to their trap is convincing us that we can only help each other by giving something up, but we are endlessly resourceful and we make our own reality with our minds and actions. This is a place of abundance, and you don't need to be a martyr to make big changes.
The USA is literally just a culture of comfort and fear. Sometimes both simultaneously.
CEOs are just walking around unarmed most of the times, technofeudal lords have minimal protections from their “workers” (serfs), meanwhile they sit at the apex of luxury harvesting our time and energy
none of these insights are new, we aren’t even afraid to speak them anymore
Update – The Past Few Days and the Beginning of the New Year
This is an update about the past few days we were absent and how the new year began for us.
The year started with a night of intense bombing and heavy gunfire. We live only about 200 meters from the yellow line, and the danger felt very close. The fear was overwhelming.
We hid as best as we could, holding our children tightly, trying to shield them with our own bodies. In those moments, our only thought was to keep them alive. We were terrified of losing one of them after everything we have already endured.
After hours of fear and exhaustion, we finally fell asleep— not because we felt safe, but because our bodies could no longer stay awake. My nerves were shattered, and my heart was heavy.
I woke up in the morning to heartbreaking news. A house had collapsed on my cousin, her husband, and their children. They were rushed to the hospital. Two of them were killed—a father and his child.
The pain of this news was unbearable.
Hala saw the child and realized he was gone. She began to cry deeply and asked me a question no mother should ever hear: “Mom… why do children die?”
I had no answer. I held her, trying to be strong, while my heart broke inside.
This is how our new year began— with fear, loss, and unanswered questions. Yet we are still here, trying to protect our children and move forward one day at a time.
Thank you for understanding our absence and for keeping us in your thoughts. Please do not forget us.
From my friends living with constant fear
https://gofund.me/568f0123d
I want to add some context. Is a revolution on the cards in Pakistan? Yes. It’s not about if, only a question of when. But sacrifice is easier said than done. It depends on the stakes. Losing a job is fine. But when the stakes are going missing, ending up in one of the regime’s dungeons, and your female family members being sexually assaulted, fear does cripple you. People don’t fear consequences for themselves, but for our families? Yes, we do, of course we do. Is there really a way to build capacity against a state which has a monopoly on violence?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, thank you for putting it into words.
This is honestly one of the pieces I have enjoyed most reading lately. It is indeed very well-written and a powerful one. It has even made me wanna highlight and underline some quotes (Substack should allow to do that, anyone else with me on this?).
Every time I read such a piece, is not merely reading, but rather studying it, making mental notes, learning from it, questioning it, seeking ways to keep the conversation going, and wondering how these words, through me, can actually have a real actionable impact outside the page and ink.
I highly agree with what some fellow readers have already said about the paramount importance of going that step further towards taking action (but ACTUALLY TAKING ACTION!!). If, of course, we are not to become what a person once told me he was “a couch revolutionary” (aka: someone who talks for the sake of talking, criticizes, blames a lot and supposedly ‘knows how to safe the world’ yet takes no action whatsoever).
In my opinion, if we agree with such a piece (which I feel is not difficult at all), once it has been read, acknowledged and integrated (obviously by those of us who have the “privilege” to have the time, energy and resources to do so), we must be able to try and recognize in ourselves whether or not we are already embodying the revolution we seek in any way, shape or form in our daily life in the midst of the comfort on ‘Quiet Captivity’. And if yes, then pat yourself on your back if needed, then keep going, and find what is the next individual AND collective step that must be taken. And if not, try to understand: where you stand (and at least your people — though I encourage you to be an empathic being and realize others might have similar basic needs and want similar basic living standards); what your (and your/other people’s) reality is; what reality you (and yours/others) would like to live in… and if it doesn’t fit with the current reality (whether just a tiny bit or the entirety of it), for your/your people’s/other’s survival’s sake (before it is too late) acknowledge once and for all that something needs to change in order for a better life to begin.
Felt like sharing a few of the quotes that have most resonated with me:
“Comfort turns into a quiet form of captivity.”
“Revolution becomes something we consume, not something we build.”
“Survival and privilege, though seemingly opposite, are woven together into a structure that holds the whole society in place.”
“Comfort is not freedom. It is the quiet reward for obedience”
If those who “can” are not taking the necessary action (nor even willing to do so) and in service to the wider community, supporting and upholding those who are sinking towards the system’s depths, we will all sink together, and the empire will have won. Let’s do not sell ourselves to such an outcome, and instead: Disobey, Organize, Speak Up, and Take Action!
See you in the streets before it’s too f*cking late.
I love this! I was writing today about how action takes risk, and most people are not willing to risk. Thank you for putting it so well.