I write folky music on folky instruments, and make more experimental electronic, repetitive, and droney music on my computer. Currently trying to marry the two.

Maybe. I feel welcome here and will probably stay, but I'm also not opposed to sharing space with some libs.

Same. I'm sticking around to try to help address that chicken and egg problem.

Because I don't have much time to type this all out, I'll say that I think the answer needs to be multi-pronged. At the root level, I'd like to see the conditions created where we have few of these sorts of people in the first place, through robust education, supportive communities right from birth, material and mental wellbeing, etc.

Past that, I personally think restorative justice can fill a bigger role than it does currently. I think we often forget that "bad guys go to prison" is right at the base of everyone's understanding of justice in this society. Under different conditions, would some people be more open to the concept of restorative justice than they are now? Perhaps if they knew the perpetrator would hold no power over them, that opens some doors. I'm not going to go further down this road, because for people who have been traumatized by atrocious people doing atrocious things, I'm really do not want to tell them how they might or might not feel in a different kind of society.

One step closer to the ground, in the actually existing anarchist-like societies of various kinds throughout history, the most common methods are either social shunning or religious forms of retribution (curses and such). Some of these have their place as well.

In the end, "full anarchy", whatever that means, is always going to be an ideal. We strive to get there not because a world with absolutely zero violence and zero hierarchy is possible (not a question I'm interested in), but because we want to get as close as possible to that. Some kind of area to keep people who hurt people away from the rest of us will exist for a while. But we can take massive steps in the right direction from where we are now. Most people in prisons and jails need not be there, and most prisons and jails could be far more gentle and far more rehabilitative.

I find projects like this are always worth trying out for as long as you stay interested enough to put the effort in. Even if you never reach any kind of concrete goal, it builds your skills (maybe the next project will take off) and helps make life just that little bit more fulfilling.

Damn I kinda need this.

This doesn't surprise me all that much, but it's really really cool.

Tbh I wasn't talking much about Bookchinites, because I don't see that many around (at least in my spaces). I see the term brandied about though so I was describing the way I see it used.

The way I see it used nowadays, for the most part, is as a negative term to describe changing elements of one's individual behaviour instead of some kind of action in the (broadly-defined) political sphere. E.g. changing your consumer choices, dumpster diving, or even dropping out of society to form a commune, instead of unionizing your workplace, burning down a police precinct, or forming a local food security network.

Jesus christ I never realized how fucked he was.

I think I agree with Everett there, but man that's terribly written. The vast majority of it is useless recounting of drama in the linguistic community, and criticisms of the cult of personality around Chomsky, and it could be stripped down to the important points about language.

One thing that might help is to start with the ones that you can add into your day - exercise is a big one, but also diet (since adjusting your diet often requires putting in a bit more time cooking or whatever). Stuff like internet usage and maybe drinking, depending on your situation, is easier to cut if you have other more fulfilling things that start eating up your day. Sleep schedule, I find, comes with having a good routine that suits you, something to wake up to in the morning, and enough exercise to help you get to sleep easily in the evening.

Definitely start with small, achievable goals and build from there. That'd be my most general advice. Maybe pick just one thing on the list. Diet is good because it can also be a bit of an artistic outlet once you get into being a bit more creative with what you're eating.

What habits? I think the answer depends a little. I'm not trying to pry; don't answer if you don't feel comfortable.

Is there anything us newbies can do to help? Other than not being little shits of course.

Sorry to hear about your potatoes. I had a random potato sprouting so I threw it in the garden (shoulda sliced it up first, smh) and it seems to be doing pretty well. I dunno much about growing them but I piled up dirt as the leaves/shoots came up.

What specifically have you been reading?

it's not about what to think but what to do

This is the real shit right here.

Nice! I moved into a new place in March with three grape vines and two cherry trees. Very lucky tbh.

I loved checking in with gardeners in the old megathreads. Anyone growing any food? How's it going?

Modern left and right mean a lot more than that. If someone says they're a leftist or describes a space as leftist, I have a general sense of what they mean (assuming they aren't lying). If someone describes a space as right-wing, I also have a general sense of what they mean. Most of us here should and would pick the former over the latter.

We can learn from each other too. I really don't want to jump into this space and dominate it; I want to hear the perspective of the people who are here and add mine.