Understanding

Protects Activists

Prepare to be crushed!!

That’s the Beast. A quick way of referring to the entire destructive system of exploitation and oppression we live under.

But aren’t the people in charge of the Beast a tiny fraction of humanity? Aren’t we the 99 percent?

Indeed, which is why the Beast has to use so many weapons to control us. Invading our minds as well as our bodies, lands, histories, identities and wherever it can reach, mistreating us all differently to divide and rule us.

Yeah, and by invisibilizing and stereotyping activists, confusing people (people are so easy to confuse!) about who activists are, what they’re doing and why.

If you think understanding isn’t all that important, look at what happens when we don’t have it.

How’s that? Understanding doesn’t stop bullets! Novels don’t get people out of jail!

Manipulation, marginalization, murder! Mwah ha ha…

The more people under understand activism and the better we understand ourselves, the safer we can be from the cruel teeth, grasping claws, fiery breath, hypnotic eyes, lying tongue and every other threat from that Beast.

Topics we’re exploring…

Activist Culture

What is the culture, social organizations, customs and language that has developed around devoting one's energies to combating injustice? What does it mean to be a person living in the belly of the very Beast they're working to transform, in other words, an activist?

Life in the Liberated Zone

What is life like for people who carve out spaces in the midst of movements to begin living the new world now? What are the risks and what are the protections of life in such spaces?

Connection and Love

We speak of being connected in a beloved community, and of love, revolutionary love, as the unstoppable force holding us together and powering our movements. But what exactly are they? How can we cultivate and sustain them, and mobilize them to defend against the Beast's vicious attacks?

Activist Emotional Landscape

What are the emotional ups, downs, confusions and and struggles of being an activist, and how do they affect us as individuals, movements and community?

Everyday Activist Life

What are the delights, dilemmas and dangers of daily life for activists who live in the belly of the Beast we struggle to transform? In what ways is activist life especially challenging, fulfilling, frustrating, and perilous?

Battles in the Belly of the Beast

What does it mean for activists to be in constant battle with "the Beast" in whose belly we live?

We Make the Path as we Go

We at Protect Our Activists are participant-observers on a quest to broaden understanding of the activist experience by reflecting together with other activists. Our work is for and with our activist community, not to benefit other interests. We observe and share our personal experiences on the path we are making in pursuit of our goal to understand and protect activists—including ourselves!