SORRY, YOUR BOOTSTRAPS WON'T SAVE YOU: A GUIDE TO MUTUAL AID IN THE AGE OF BULLSHIT

The system isn't failing us - it's fucking us over exactly as planned. But we're building something better, and we need your help to grow it.

WHILE BILLIONAIRES play space race with dick-measuring rockets and politicians debate which humans deserve to live, we peasants need to quietly build power.

And unlike the ruling class’ power — built on exploitation and maintained through violence — ours grows through the radical act of *checks notes* giving a fuck about each other. Shocking, I know.

Every meal shared.
Every rent payment covered.
Every kid watched so a parent can work.
Every insulin dose divided.
Every safe house opened.
Every skill taught.
Every resource redistributed.

That’s our power.

Strength with every connection. Resilience with every exchange.

So while they’re busy crafting the perfect tweet about their latest tax-deductible donation, we need to be building something they can’t control, can’t co-opt, and can’t stop.

Welcome to your collective guide to finding or building mutual aid networks in your community — and a living document where people can share their resources. Because we’re stronger together, and, well, the only thing currently trickling down from the top is pure, unfiltered fuckery.

Remember 2020 when COVID hit and suddenly everyone discovered that hey, maybe we should check on our neighbors and their cat, Lord Bootstraps? The system didn’t just fail during COVID — it showed its whole ass (and kept showing it, and showing it, and showing it). And guess who kept people alive? Certainly not the billionaires in their bunkers.

Well folks, this concept wasn’t new. Marginalized communities have been doing this forever because they had to. Because when the system fails — and oh boy, how spectacularly they’re failing — communities either step up or people die.

And right now? With healthcare costs sending people to GoFundMe, ICE terrorizing communities, executive orders targeting trans kids, Black folks, and immigrant families, and half our neighbors one missed paycheck away from eviction? The system isn’t just failing — it’s excelling at the very violent fuckery for which it was originally designed.

Mutual aid isn’t about charity. Fuck charity. Charity is rich people deciding who deserves to eat. Charity is tax write-offs and galas and *awareness campaigns* while people ration insulin.

Mutual aid is different. It’s horizontal, not hierarchical. It’s the old “I’ve got you today, you’ve got me tomorrow.” It’s understanding that we’re all one medical bill away from disaster, and building networks of support before we need them.

Think Underground Railroad, not United Way. Think Black Panthers feeding kids while the FBI lost their minds. Think ACT UP creating healthcare networks while Reagan twiddled his thumbs. Think communities protecting each other while ICE plays their violent games.

Every community has its quiet heroes. The grandma who always has extra food. The teacher who *forgets* to check documentation. The nurse who knows which clinics don’t ask questions.

Find them. Support them. Consistently.

• Search “[your area] mutual aid” (obvious but effective)

• Hit up local food banks/shelters (they know where help happens)

• Check activist spaces and community centers

• Ask marginalized communities (they’ve been running these networks forever)

• Search community fridges near you

• Follow local advocacy groups on social.

(Red flags: Anyone who wants your SSN, groups more interested in social media than actual work, savior complexes in designer shoes 🚩)

Remember: With mutual aid every dollar goes straight to need. No CEO bonuses, no overhead, no bullshit fundraising galas where rich idiots pretend to care about poverty over $1000 plates. Just fed kids, paid bills, supported communities.

And puh-lease check any savior complexes at the door. This isn’t your chance to be the main character in someone else’s story. This isn’t about you.

A man named Francisco Ramirez hands out free food from a fridge in Brooklyn

So you’ve looked and can’t find mutual aid in your area? Cool, cool . . . guess we’ll just let capitalism win.

KIDDING.

Get your ass back here. If you can’t find it, you’re about to start it! And before you say “but I don’t know how — and did they really call the cat Lord Bootstraps?” — neither did anyone else at first. The beauty of mutual aid is that it starts with one person giving enough of a fuck to try.

So consider this your invitation to the mutual aid party. Here’s your “DIY Revolution Starter Pack” so you can give a fuck and start causing good trouble in your neighborhood . . .

Game plan:

1. Map your neighborhood

• Who needs what?

• Who’s got skills? (Everyone’s got something)

• Who’s got resources? (Time counts as much as money)

• What gaps need filling?

2. Start small, think big

• Maybe it’s just a group chat for childcare

• Could be a food-sharing network (community fridges, etc)

• Skill exchanges (you fix computers, she does taxes)

• Resource pooling (tools, cars, spare rooms)

3. Build trust

• Show up consistently

• Do what you say you’ll do

• Share resources, not judgment

• Listen more than you talk

4. Keep it simple

• Document everything (but protect privacy)

• Make it easy to join, easy to leave

• Good systems outlast charismatic members

• Build redundancy (because burnout is real)

If you’ve got privilege — hint: if you’re reading this while deciding between oat milk or almond milk in your latte, then yeah, you do — use it like a bulletproof vest for others. That cop’s less likely to hassle the food distribution if you’re standing there in your wine-mom athleisure or golf-dad quarter-zip. That landlord might think twice about evicting someone if you’re the one making noise about it.

Your comfort zone? Yeah, that’s now your shield for others. Here’s how to use it (without accidentally becoming Gentrification Gary or Surveillance Sally):

Communication channels:

• Signal groups (encrypted, easy delete)

• Local Discord servers

• Neighborhood pods

• Physical bulletin boards (old school works)

Resource distribution:

• Central collection points

• No-questions-asked pickup spots

• Delivery networks for mobility issues

• Clear systems for requests

Money handling:

• Cash is king

• Crowdfund platforms take cuts

• Consider local credit unions

• Track everything, share reports

Security basics:

• The best mutual aid networks are like fight club — the first rule is we don’t talk about who needs what

• No centralized databases

• Share protocols, not personal info

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Time to show your cards, friends.

Got a mutual aid network?
Know someone who does?
Working on starting one?

Drop your info below. But remember — this isn’t LinkedIn, and we’re not here to build your personal brand. Share only what people need to know to find help or give it:

• Who you are (keep it simple)

• What you offer

• Area served

• How to connect

• Verification links (because internet)

Share what you’ve got. Find what you need. Build what’s missing.

And remember: While they’re busy measuring their knob-rockets they’re counting on us staying isolated, desperate, and scared.

But we’ve got something better than rockets or galas or empty tweets. We’ve got each other. And that’s the one thing those fuckers can’t buy.

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