Tootfinder

The #IWW #GDC as an antifascist organization was always kind of a hack. It was a beautiful hack and it worked well for what it did.
In 2016, as Trump was rising, I found info from the Twin Cities GDC. They were super organized, building an amazing community defense organization. When we (Seattle) went to set up our chapter, following their lead, they were extremely supportive. When I got shot, Twin Cities folks were at my house keeping my partner safe. They literally flew people out to support us. They very much remain in my mind when I think about what mutual aid looks like.
Unionism is an important strategy of a larger fight. But it's important to realize that it's not the other way around. The GDC was built to defend the union, because there wasn't something larger to do that work. It filled a gap.
When we organized against Trump, we tried to make the GDC the greater thing. We tried to make the GDC into the vehicle for social revolution against the fascist threat... And it sort of worked. We were able to do a lot.
But that was never what it was built to do. It was always built as an appendage of the IWW. This contains its own problem. If Unionism is the revolutionary movement, then it becomes impossible to build a truly revolutionary society. Unionism centers "workers" which implicitly decenters those who can't work in the traditional sense (the young, the elderly, those physically or mentally able to work). It also decenters care labor that hasn't yet been widely commodified. Sure, there are all types of hacks to patch the holes, but the fundamental construction starts from the wrong assumptions.
It felt, for a while, like things could go another way. Like that our ability to bring members in could shift things a bit, maybe set the GDC on more equal footing with the core focus of the IWW. But that was always an illusion, far less important to think about than the crushing terror of the regime we were fighting.
Now, I will absolutely trash talk the IWW on occasion but in the end I do think they're doing good and important work. Any criticism I have should be taken with a grain of salt... And I know I do have a lot of salt. Again, Unionism is an important strategy. It's useful both in improving immediate material conditions and as part of the most powerful weapon we have against the capitalist system: the general strike. It's important, I can't say that enough. But it's not sufficient.
I've been thinking about this a bit recently, and I wonder if there are any other GDC organizers or former organizers who might be feeling the same. Feel free to DM me. I'd like to get some more perspectives and see if my understanding from several years ago deviates significantly from what other folks are feeling right now.
I'd also like to bounce some ideas around that come from my own organizing experience.

Sources: Pinduoduo and Temu owner PDD fires dozens following a fistfight between employees and Chinese officials probing fraudulent deliveries on its platform (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-17/pd…

PDD Fires Dozens of Workers After Fistfight With China Officials
PDD Holdings Inc. fired a government relations team in Shanghai following a fistfight between employees and Chinese regulators who were performing checks at the e-commerce company, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s obvious that this tool was made by people who care about data and care about humans. It’s not even that it’s •perfect•; it’s just that it’s •thoughtful•.
That kind of human-to-human feeling of “we did our best because we care about the strangers who use this tool” just seems almost like an act of radical defiance in this Era of Enshittification. I appreciate it so much.

I haven’t tuned into CBS since its morning news promoted that interview (and Weiss) last week. This latest announcement validates my decision.
“CBS News launches town hall series featuring JD Vance following Bari Weiss’ ratings flop”
https://www.indep…

CBS News launches town hall series featuring JD Vance following Bari Weiss’ ratings flop
Following the Bari Weiss-moderated sitdown with Erika Kirk that was a massive ratings flop, CBS News has doubled down on the format and is launching a new town hall series in partnership with Weiss’ “anti-woke” digital media outlet that the network’s parent company recently purchased.

Fox found its culprit for high grocery prices following Democratic election victories -- Joe Biden (Craig Harrington/Media Matters for America)
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-found-its-culprit-high-grocery-prices-following-democratic-election-victories-joe
http://www.memeorandum.com/251217/p95#a251217p95

#caturday https://www.boredpanda.com/cute-funny-cats-pics/?cexp_id=137699&cexp_var=18&_f=homepage_featured

80 Hilarious And Weird Cats To Bless Your Day
They’ve clawed their way into our screens, hearts and possibly even our furniture. Cats the unofficial rulers of the digital world. And we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re secretly plotting to take over the real world too. These feisty felines have been serving looks, chaos and unexpected comedy for centuries. You don’t have to be […]

A UK family and a US family sue Meta for the alleged wrongful deaths of their teenage sons, who died by suicide after falling victim to sextortion on Instagram (Libby Brooks/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/d

How Apple is helping filmmakers and developers create immersive media for the Vision Pro and share best practices (Harry McCracken/Fast Company)
https://www.fastcompany.com/91461534/apple-vision-pro-immersive-video

With Apple’s help, storytellers are figuring out Vision Pro
The headset opens up immersive new opportunities for dramas, documentaries, music videos, and beyond. Some filmmakers and developers are diving right in.

European automakers warn of substantial disruption to production after China cut off Nexperia's outbound shipments following the Dutch seizure of Nexperia (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/91304da5-6537-4f80-955a-6cb1df05cbc8