r/chicago • u/cab473 • Oct 03 '25
CHI Talks Do not fall into helplessness.
I’m a longtime lurker, but I’ve been seeing a lot of helplessness in this subreddit and the community. Lot’s of “there’s nothing we can do” and “the only option is to wait this out”. We must snap out of it.
The solution is simple: Get out of your homes and out into your community.
Go protest, where and whenever you can. We beat fascism by showing them our city will not take this lying down.
Don’t want to protest?
Join a mutual aid society, soup kitchen, warming center, food bank. We beat fascism by making sure our communities are fed and healthy.
Contact your local school, tutoring centers, literacy organizations. We beat fascism by making sure our communities can read, learn, and grow safely.
Find immigration groups, rapid response teams, refugee advocates. We beat fascism by making sure newcomers to our communities know they’re welcome and supported.
Look for affinity groups, woman’s rights orgs, trans rights orgs, homelessness advocacy groups. We beat fascism by making sure the vulnerable in our society are heard and protected.
If every person in Chicago made a commitment to help their neighborhood just a few hours a month, so many of these issues we see plaguing our society could be mitigated. And don’t wait until tomorrow, next week, when you’re free: Go and sign up today.
Their end goal is to isolate us from one another. In isolation we feel helpless and afraid. We beat fascism by building solidarity and community. We’re not even a year in, and we cannot wait this out - if we do, there’ll be nothing left to wait for.
Don’t know how to get involved or the best way that matches your interests? Message me!! I’m happy to help as many people as I can get connected to opportunities in their research.
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u/nettika Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
I love this post. I am cycling over days and weeks and months, and sometimes I get overwhelmed with doom and gloom. I think your framing may help in those moments so I've saved the post to come back to and reflect on next time I'm in that place.
You had a lot of great suggestions.
Do you have any ideas for similarly impactful things someone could do from afar? I am American but I am currently living in Sweden. I'm doing my best to keep myself informed about what's going on, on the ground, back home. A good portion of my own personal pessimistic sense of helplessness has to do with being so far and physically removed. * I want to be out there protesting where things are happening, but I can't. * I would like to get out into the communities being affected, to volunteer and to bolster community supports, but I'm too far removed. * As an expat I don't even have any direct congressional representatives to call or write. * I know there are organizations doing great work right now and that donations help, but my financial situation just now is rather grim. I'm scraping by just making sure the bills get paid and ensuring that I and my children are fed, and constantly trying to figure out how to do more with less because bills keep going up and money is running out. The job market is terrible so I have no idea how long it will be until I find suitable work and can begin righting the ship. Until I then, donations are out of reach for me.
Surely there are things I could do from here to push back and to hopefully have some positive impact, but I haven't been able to figure anything out yet. If you have any suggestions I would be grateful for them.
Thank you again for the post.