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Title: Words Mean Things Author: Anathema Date: January 21, 2021 Language: en Topics: mutual aid, pandemic, COVID-19, coronavirus, Anathema Source: https://anathema.noblogs.org/files/2021/01/JAN21.pdf Notes: Vol. VII Issue I, January 2021
Ever since the start of the pandemic I've seen a lot of projects pop up
that claim to be mutual aid projects. They do all kinds of nice things
like give out food, provide masks and gloves, or give away warm clothes.
These are really helpful, especially since corona has messed a bunch of
people up financially. Most of them aren't mutual aid though.
When I think of mutual aid I try to keep it real simple; I think "is it
mutual?" and "is it aid?". Giving useful stuff away during a crisis is
definitely aid but most of the stuff calling itself mutual aid isn't
mutual. The people giving stuff away don't get stuff back; who is the
giver and receiver doesn't change. The project just gives and the people
it provides to just take. It's nice but it's not mutual.
I feel like we've taken the term mutual aid and made it into something
it's not. It seems like it's been blown up into this word that means
some high visibility showing up to give things away. Not everything
needs to be mutual aid. There are lots of reasons to just give stuff
away -- for propaganda, to start conversations, to lessen suffering,
because stuff should be free, the list goes on. An anarchist project
that gives things away can achieve a lot, and just because something
isn't mutual aid doesn't mean it's not worth doing.
So what does doing mutual aid mean then? I think a good start is to
think of mutual aid less as a thing you do and more as a way you have
relationships. Imagine helping and sharing with someone and them also
sharing with and helping you. How does it look to have that kind of
relationship with someone? Can you imagine scaling it up to a group?
There's no set formula for a mutual aid relationship, it will look
different with each person you relate to because the aid we can give and
receive from each person is different.
For me mutual aid is helping each other. It's more about living in a way
where I help people and they also help me. It doesn't need to be flashy.
I help a friend with their event and they give me a ride a week later;
we aid each other, mutually. I'm not keeping track of how many favors
I'm owed or anything but if things are one-sided then I want to be real
and it's not mutual aid.
As anarchists, a goal is to get away from hierarchies. Relying on our
horizontal relationships toco-create the lives we need and want, instead
of the powers that be, is a way to move away from those hierarchies.