Interdependence in the anthropocene
In the past month, I’ve watch several communities be destroyed by climate disruption. I’ve watched media completely fail to associate these disasters with climate disruption and watched governments do nothing in the face of the communities they are supposed to be governing be literally wiped off the map.
Our governments, at all levels, have proven that they are unwilling to take climate catastrophe seriously and would rather throw billions of people into life-threatening weather situations rather than curtail the expansion of fossil fuels and capitalist consumerism. And, they have shown a complete disregard for any sort of meaningful preparation for the population to deal with the oncoming threats of climate disruption.
We really only have each other to rely on.
So how do we work collectively to mitigate the worst of climate disaster in the face of government inaction? How do we survive climate catastrophe together? How do we create resilient communities and mutual aid networks that will support each other when, inevitably, climate catastrophe shows up at our doorstep?
We need to learn how to do this, and practice this, because it is happening right now. And instead of being caught off guard, as many already have been, we can prepare ahead of time.
While I think that mitigation is absolutely necessary, I also think that, in order to survive the coming storms (both literally and figuratively), we really need to start organizing our communities to prepare.
There are lots of people who are working to reclaim "prepping" as something that is about community care and resilience, rather than individualistic hoarding of resources and protecting them with a gun.
"Prepping", in this context, is really just creating greater and greater interdependence. And yes, it looks like having water and food available, or being ready to evacuate in an instant if need be, but it also must look like building networks of support that identify what people in the neighbourhood need, who are our neighbours and how can we build relationships of mutual aid before the shit hits the fan. It also must look like dealing with our mental wellbeing now, so that in a disaster new traumas aren’t triggering old traumas and making us incapable of working together. It looks like building conflict skills and finding ways to get along with people who don’t necessarily think like us, or share the same values, because our direct neighbours are going to be the ones we’ll be relying on the most, in most cases. It looks like confronting the ways that we express oppressions in the world so that we are not recreating oppressive dynamics in a disaster context and ensuring all people, regardless of their identities, are provided for.
These networks of resilience are incredibly important. They ensure that, if the worst happens, people are still able to eat, get clean water, go to the bathroom, have a place to sleep and have the support to start rebuilding. These networks mean that people are able to show up with care, kindness and empathy, with a spirit of generosity, when we need it most.
The reality is -- nowhere is safe from the climate crisis. Everywhere on Earth is affected and, as such, we have to start where we are. There is no "away" to run to. There is only this one planet, that is violently shifting to accommodate the unrelenting consumption of a small percentage of people in the world.
We are the ones that we have to depend on now. We are the ones who need to organize ourselves to face the climate crisis. Which is daunting, but also, when we accept the reality that we are the responsible for each other, and protecting each other, we find strength in ourselves, each other and community.
And it starts now. It starts before the disaster. (or, if you are one of the many for which disaster is already here, then it starts wherever you are at now).
How will we show up to build a strong safety net for all? How will we prepare to take care of each other? How will we act when we know the government doesn’t care and refuses to take responsibility? What does being responsible to each other, in a climate crisis, look like?
We need to be exploring these questions and living them in our everyday lives. We need to be showing up for each other, and accepting, and acting on, our interdependence.
We cannot get through the current, and coming crises, without each other. Interdependence is the only thing that will allow us to survive the anthropocene.
If you liked today’s post, please considering subscribing
Or share it with your friends!
With care and solidarity
Amelia