I keep notes here. Most of these are related to travel, work, or books.
Weekly Saludarity Meetup
activismBanana Madison #
Banana Madison is a weekly action group building people-powered resistance to authoritarianism.
The meetup #
Our group meets once a week to plan, learn, and take action together. We’re creating a space to turn our anger, fear, and frustration into focused work that makes a real difference. We:
- Share stories of what we have done so far
- Brainstorm next possible actions to do, based on news of the week. We have to stay sustainable, so the actions can be small and frequent or large and infrequent.
We draw on the tools and methods from Pramila Jayapal’s Resistance Lab and the energy of Indivisible.org’s No Kings Movement. We are using a proven playbook from other successful national movements to stand up against authoritarianism.
Democracies can fall in a matter of months, which makes this an immediate and urgent moment—so we’re coming together now to strengthen our capacity to resist.
Day #
Wednesdays
Proof of concept #
December 3
First open to public #
December 10
Cadence #
weekly
Location #
We meet at Garth's Brew Bar near the Monroe St Trader Joe’s.
Ways we say no #
- picket
- dance-party flash mobs
- sign-hold
- chalking
- hash-tag
- art show
- prank
- zine
- how to have conversations across party lines
- how to talk to family members
- watch parties and movie nights
Further details: Yes/No guidelines (clear format) #
| Yes | No | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| picketing Tesla | picketing a data center | Elon Musk is directly involved in the collapsing of public institutions, a main goal of anti-democracy groups. The environmental harm and AI-controversy of a data center is only tangentially connected to the collapse of democracy. |
| Call party to get friends to call Tammy Baldwin to thank her or encourage her to do something we want | Canvassing or supporting a candidate | (plenty of us can join existing canvassing groups) |
Theory of action #
Surface area #
An authoritarian has a small primary surface area but a large, soft secondary surface area. They historically have thrived only when key groups—like media, churches, businesses, universities, and government workers—continued to support them. Organized actions such as picketing, chalking messages, street theater, public dance parties, hashtag campaigns, funny memes, and holding home meetings all weaken those pillars.
Conversations #
We work to gently move people one step at a time away from helping the authoritarian, whether they’re MAGA voters, conservatives, non-voters, liberals, or active resisters. Thoughtful, respectful conversation is a realistic way that can move someone one step along that continuum.
Sources #
Pramila Jayapal Resistance Lab. monthly virtual classes
Indivisible's 2016 white paper has been revised for Trump 2.0
Book: Rules for Resistance: Advice from Around the Globe for the Age of Trump
Book: Beautiful Trouble
Weekly call: Indivisible's What's the Plan
National umbrella org for the 2000+ local Indivisibles
How to join #
Show up, bring your ideas.
Time #
We don't have a time yet: https://crab.fit/saluditorians-675899
- Previous: Messaging Around No Kings Protests