I shared an idea by one of my favorite writers, Joan Chittister OSB, with a colleague and she immediately expanded into a very viable format (see below) The date of the event is Friday 2/28.
The 24 hour Economic Blackout. For one day we show them who really holds the power
WHEN:
Thursday February 27th from Midnight till Friday The 28th Midnight
(A full 24 hours of the 28th)
12:00 AM to 12:00 AM
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Do not make any purchases
Do not shop online, or in-store
No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy
Nowhere!
Do not spend money on:
Fast Food
Gas
Major Retailers
Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Only buy essentials of absolutely necessary
(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)
If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.
SPREAD THE MESSAGE
Talk about it, post about it, and document your actions that day!
WHY THIS MATTERS!
~ Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.
~ If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.
~ If they don't listen (they won't) we make the next blackout longer (We will)
Great show as always. For your series with Ruth would you consider live streaming them on YouTube? You’ll get a lot more reach with replays. I know you need to make a living, but maybe just this series with her could be free? It’s so so vital!
I live in an extremely blue area of Washington DC and have zero representation so what I do is make calls for every special election around the country. I use it to talk one on one with voters and let them know they are not alone. Even when I’m calling in Red area of Florida, I tell them “you’d be surprised how many people dislike what is going on“ or “your friends and neighbors are excited to vote for X candidate“. It’s my own little bit of social proof.
I think what Ruth Ben-Ghiat says between 28:18 and 31:29 is a critical message and needs to be widely shared in a more digestible social media length. Any chance we can get a short of that? The bit about staying progressive and not going centrist?
Hello, I was able to listen to the tail end of this conversation and look forward to listening in full, now. I live in a place a ratty cellphone service. The skunk at the garden party! I will admit that is a very good smell. The skunk prefers to live in safe places. Even if you smell its wrath it means that it felt fear. To have a skunk in one's garden is in fact a blessing. It means it is living in peace! My philosophy!
Fabulously Fighting Fascists!! where do I sign up? Thank you for this helpful/healing show. Yes, interesting to consider what's going on from a psychological basis. Thank you for making me smile during this dark time. It's helpful to hear what I'm thinking and wondering about and also how the other side thinks. So helpful - thank you.
Trauma isn’t just about the event itself—it’s about what gets stuck in the nervous system. When employees receive conflicting instructions, they’re left frozen, unsure of how to respond. This isn’t just stress; a job is a means of survival. The body releases survival energy, but with no clear path for action, that energy gets trapped, creating a lasting trauma response. As a trauma therapist, I see this all the time. It’s hard to ignore how deliberately some of these situations seem designed to create confusion and powerlessness. For administration that seems so haphazard, the deliberate nature of this feels deeply chilling.
I really appreciate the comments about Democratic fundraising. Yes, it’s whiny. Yes, it’s overdramatic. It’s fear- based. It masquerades as surveys. Which is particularly disappointing because of a lot of a lot of us think we have valuable insights to offer
It does not adjust to the fact that the recipient has been typing “Stop” to infinite unwanted fundraising texts for out of state candidates. It assumes that if someone gave a chunk of change at the beginning of a campaign that they have that same kind of money ongoing. On top of the DNC‘s scorn for progressive’s, despite the fact that progressives, trained in the candidacies of people who have been shoved out of the Democratic primary, are often called on when the DNC-chosen candidate is flailing. It just doesn’t add up as a healthy strategy and could explain why people stayed home on the couch in 2024. The fact that Harris was tethered to the Biden administration and could not respond to the pleas of Ceasefire voters is part of this whole stubborn transactional exclusion
We’re good for hitting up, but our ideas are not worth listening to, is the message
So, a rewind. I come from a long-standing activist background, in South Africa.
A few thoughts: Being the Skunk at the Garden Party is a wonderful metaphor/meme/story/frame etc Thank you so much.
All it takes is to fill the gap, imaginatively, with (disruptive) humour. 'Skunks with attitude' perhaps?
1. Late 1980's in SA. I attended a 'Kenton' conference outside Joburg. Lots of activists - political, underground, educational, etc. For my sins I kept banging on about 'academic discourse' and its limitations in solving the late 1980's crisis in SA (basically, the ANC in London insisted on controlling the narrative, remotely, from London, Angola, etc. The UDF (the people who stayed in the country) thought otherwise. The Skunks v. the ANC 'establishment' (the 'Gucci Communists') fight was on.
I did a live OHP (remember them?) mapping of the 'academic discourse' of a large and tense plenary session, and pretty soon it was obvious that the 'discussion' was going round and round in circles. My scribbling on the OHP was toooooo disruptive. (Didn't say a word). The (activist) plenary collapsed, and it took about three hours to put people's bruised egos back together.
2. Post 1990 in SA. My partner and I, and family, returned to SA from a year's sabbatical in the UK, and I was asked to do a closing presentation on the 'Kenton' conference, held that year on the other side of the country. 'Kenton' was famously about the off-colour jokes about the gathered activist elite (again). Next morning I gave the 'silent discourse' presentation. Just handed out pink A4 sheets with photocopies of the off-colour jokes that had been circulating over the last 4 days. The sh.. hit the fan, again. I stood up, announced my presentation as the 'silent discourse' and said nothing, except "now its up to you - there were a lot of people who were silenced here, intimidated by the new professoriate' "(of which I was one). 'It's their chance to speak.' Which, after 5 agonising minutes of silence, they did. They (the activist 'elite') have still never forgiven me for it.
So ... The specifics might be anthropologically interesting, but what's relevant to our times (2025) is simpler - both times I (and a few colleagues) did something 'completely left-field' - unexpected, and unpredictable. We were, on both occasions, the 'skunks at the garden party.' Job done.
Long live skunks!
There are no recipes for 'skunks' - but we all need to do something inappropriate. The times call for it. And I am looking forward to getting my first 'skunks at the garden party' T shirt merch. ordered.
thanks Carol, it'll be interesting! 2nd paragraph, "For now, he appears to be steeling himself. His most recent report on the federal judiciary — issued a few weeks before Mr. Trump’s inauguration — opens with a parable about King George III, who tried to bring colonial judges to heel, and brims with concern about “violence, intimidation and defiance directed at judges.” This has been interpreted, in part, as a swipe at Vice President JD Vance, who has been peddling the idea that judges have no business telling a president how to “control his own government.”
TESLA TAKEDOWN
Sell Your Teslas
Dump Your Stock
Stop Musk Now
Join Us
https://www.teslatakedown.com/
I shared an idea by one of my favorite writers, Joan Chittister OSB, with a colleague and she immediately expanded into a very viable format (see below) The date of the event is Friday 2/28.
The 24 hour Economic Blackout. For one day we show them who really holds the power
WHEN:
Thursday February 27th from Midnight till Friday The 28th Midnight
(A full 24 hours of the 28th)
12:00 AM to 12:00 AM
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Do not make any purchases
Do not shop online, or in-store
No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy
Nowhere!
Do not spend money on:
Fast Food
Gas
Major Retailers
Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Only buy essentials of absolutely necessary
(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)
If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.
SPREAD THE MESSAGE
Talk about it, post about it, and document your actions that day!
WHY THIS MATTERS!
~ Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.
~ If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.
~ If they don't listen (they won't) we make the next blackout longer (We will)
My husband & I are both participating in the economic blackout. 🖤
Great show as always. For your series with Ruth would you consider live streaming them on YouTube? You’ll get a lot more reach with replays. I know you need to make a living, but maybe just this series with her could be free? It’s so so vital!
I live in an extremely blue area of Washington DC and have zero representation so what I do is make calls for every special election around the country. I use it to talk one on one with voters and let them know they are not alone. Even when I’m calling in Red area of Florida, I tell them “you’d be surprised how many people dislike what is going on“ or “your friends and neighbors are excited to vote for X candidate“. It’s my own little bit of social proof.
I think what Ruth Ben-Ghiat says between 28:18 and 31:29 is a critical message and needs to be widely shared in a more digestible social media length. Any chance we can get a short of that? The bit about staying progressive and not going centrist?
I love the "live" ness of these chats
Hello, I was able to listen to the tail end of this conversation and look forward to listening in full, now. I live in a place a ratty cellphone service. The skunk at the garden party! I will admit that is a very good smell. The skunk prefers to live in safe places. Even if you smell its wrath it means that it felt fear. To have a skunk in one's garden is in fact a blessing. It means it is living in peace! My philosophy!
Fabulously Fighting Fascists!! where do I sign up? Thank you for this helpful/healing show. Yes, interesting to consider what's going on from a psychological basis. Thank you for making me smile during this dark time. It's helpful to hear what I'm thinking and wondering about and also how the other side thinks. So helpful - thank you.
Trauma isn’t just about the event itself—it’s about what gets stuck in the nervous system. When employees receive conflicting instructions, they’re left frozen, unsure of how to respond. This isn’t just stress; a job is a means of survival. The body releases survival energy, but with no clear path for action, that energy gets trapped, creating a lasting trauma response. As a trauma therapist, I see this all the time. It’s hard to ignore how deliberately some of these situations seem designed to create confusion and powerlessness. For administration that seems so haphazard, the deliberate nature of this feels deeply chilling.
I really appreciate the comments about Democratic fundraising. Yes, it’s whiny. Yes, it’s overdramatic. It’s fear- based. It masquerades as surveys. Which is particularly disappointing because of a lot of a lot of us think we have valuable insights to offer
It does not adjust to the fact that the recipient has been typing “Stop” to infinite unwanted fundraising texts for out of state candidates. It assumes that if someone gave a chunk of change at the beginning of a campaign that they have that same kind of money ongoing. On top of the DNC‘s scorn for progressive’s, despite the fact that progressives, trained in the candidacies of people who have been shoved out of the Democratic primary, are often called on when the DNC-chosen candidate is flailing. It just doesn’t add up as a healthy strategy and could explain why people stayed home on the couch in 2024. The fact that Harris was tethered to the Biden administration and could not respond to the pleas of Ceasefire voters is part of this whole stubborn transactional exclusion
We’re good for hitting up, but our ideas are not worth listening to, is the message
Seattle big protest on 2/28.
Seattle
Ready for ACTION
Skunks R Us
Wowee! Let's party!
So, a rewind. I come from a long-standing activist background, in South Africa.
A few thoughts: Being the Skunk at the Garden Party is a wonderful metaphor/meme/story/frame etc Thank you so much.
All it takes is to fill the gap, imaginatively, with (disruptive) humour. 'Skunks with attitude' perhaps?
1. Late 1980's in SA. I attended a 'Kenton' conference outside Joburg. Lots of activists - political, underground, educational, etc. For my sins I kept banging on about 'academic discourse' and its limitations in solving the late 1980's crisis in SA (basically, the ANC in London insisted on controlling the narrative, remotely, from London, Angola, etc. The UDF (the people who stayed in the country) thought otherwise. The Skunks v. the ANC 'establishment' (the 'Gucci Communists') fight was on.
I did a live OHP (remember them?) mapping of the 'academic discourse' of a large and tense plenary session, and pretty soon it was obvious that the 'discussion' was going round and round in circles. My scribbling on the OHP was toooooo disruptive. (Didn't say a word). The (activist) plenary collapsed, and it took about three hours to put people's bruised egos back together.
2. Post 1990 in SA. My partner and I, and family, returned to SA from a year's sabbatical in the UK, and I was asked to do a closing presentation on the 'Kenton' conference, held that year on the other side of the country. 'Kenton' was famously about the off-colour jokes about the gathered activist elite (again). Next morning I gave the 'silent discourse' presentation. Just handed out pink A4 sheets with photocopies of the off-colour jokes that had been circulating over the last 4 days. The sh.. hit the fan, again. I stood up, announced my presentation as the 'silent discourse' and said nothing, except "now its up to you - there were a lot of people who were silenced here, intimidated by the new professoriate' "(of which I was one). 'It's their chance to speak.' Which, after 5 agonising minutes of silence, they did. They (the activist 'elite') have still never forgiven me for it.
So ... The specifics might be anthropologically interesting, but what's relevant to our times (2025) is simpler - both times I (and a few colleagues) did something 'completely left-field' - unexpected, and unpredictable. We were, on both occasions, the 'skunks at the garden party.' Job done.
Long live skunks!
There are no recipes for 'skunks' - but we all need to do something inappropriate. The times call for it. And I am looking forward to getting my first 'skunks at the garden party' T shirt merch. ordered.
This was fantastic live!!!!
Richmond, VA, feeling shaky, then angry, then lightheaded and loving that you are here live once again. Did you see the NYT opinion on John Roberts?
thanks Carol, it'll be interesting! 2nd paragraph, "For now, he appears to be steeling himself. His most recent report on the federal judiciary — issued a few weeks before Mr. Trump’s inauguration — opens with a parable about King George III, who tried to bring colonial judges to heel, and brims with concern about “violence, intimidation and defiance directed at judges.” This has been interpreted, in part, as a swipe at Vice President JD Vance, who has been peddling the idea that judges have no business telling a president how to “control his own government.”
"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/opinion/john-roberts-trump-supreme-court.html
I actually think it may also have been a reference to Judge Merchan, NY 34 felony case.
Please get the merch out!
I want my Fabulously Fighting Fascist T shirt.
Pass it on, please
Wonderful interview. You are a vital link to the truth! Thank you 🙏