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Matt Willis
Matt Willis

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Opensource Toolkit to Resist Hate

Creating a Resistance Toolkit

Are you feeling as overwhelmed and ready to shut down as I am in the wake of all of the hatred being unleashed by politicians? There is a seemingly endless barrage of horrible and hate-filled news swirling around out there (i.e. Roman Salute Gate, the banning of DEIA programs, spending freezes for vital agencies, closing the border, etc., etc.)

Feeling hopeless, I realized I needed a way to channel my frustration into meaningful action. I am developing the Resistance Toolkit in an attempt to turn outrage into progress. The mission is to create a process: pick a cause, take an action, recover, and repeat. This seemed more achievable to me than attempting to somehow tackle all of the issues at once.

The project is public on Github in hopes that it can help more than just me! When enough of people get organized and act, the world changes.

Toolkit logo - a wooden tool box with a hammer, saw, and other various tools sticking out of the top.

Note: The current implementation is primarily focused on U.S. politics and issues, but after some feedback I am working on an international version of this toolkit, because hate is obviously a global issue.

How does it work?

  1. Pick a cause from a provided list.
  2. Stay informed by following organizations.
  3. Pick from suggested actions you can take to support your cause.
  4. Take a break and recover. This is a marathon, not a sprint!
  5. Repeat

Screenshot of the Github read me file. It shows the first two steps of the toolkit process.

Plans, Goals, Input

Currently the plan is to keep this very MVP (minimal viable product), but if it gets some traction and people find it useful I would love to build it into a fully fledged application.

This is the first time I have created a non-code repository. If you're an open-source enthusiast or have experience organizing GitHub repositories, I'd love your input on how you might moderate and maintain a project like this. I have created labels and a CONTRIBUTION.md doc in anticipation of collaboration, but I would love to hear your thoughts!

Goodnight, and Good Luck

Thanks for reading this little write up. If nothing else, this project has given me something positive to focus on. But I know that together, we can transform feelings of hopelessness into a movement for change.

Let's build something that fights hate, one action at a time.

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