Evidence and Evil

Find your political voice. Then use it.

Find your political voice. Then use it.

Discourse isn't evil, and tough political conversations aren't about "reaching across the aisle"

Standing in the way of control

Standing in the way of control

Or, the trap of visibility and the conundrum of putting your body on the line Listen to the essay0:00/801.0968131× In my neighborhood and adjacent neighborhoods in Chicago, there is a clear coordinated volunteer effort to provide visible symbols of community support and safety from ICE. Most obvious

Different styles of price tags hanging on a white background

Putting your Politics into Practice: A Sliding Scale Pricing Case Study

Practicing your politics is challenging: it demands that you explored your values and commitments, connected the dots between those principles and appropriate actions, and then charted a course for diligent implementation, all while contending with the million other demands on your time and energy that exist in your day-to-day life,

BTS

That new platform feel...

Welcome to all the newcomers and welcome back to the folks who were previously reading along directly on the website or just over email! This space is a fresh coat of paint and a bundle of newness, but hopefully it also continue to have the familiar Necessary Evil outlook.

How to have tough conversations

How to have tough conversations

Reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death show how unprepared we are for challenging political conversations. Here’s how to start. If you were left wondering "how can people really feel this way" or feeling despair over others' reactions — in real life or online — to the assassination of

Revolution is NOT a Metaphor

Revolution is NOT a Metaphor

If you've spent any time on god's green internet lately, you have probably been inundated with posts trying to "reclaim" or “expand” or “soften” the idea of revolution. Rest is revolution. Joy is revolution. Community is revolution. Friendship is revolution. You are the revolution.

Your ideas of "injury" and "recovery" are a trap

Your ideas of "injury" and "recovery" are a trap

Why the narratives you have in your mind about injury, recovery, and training through pain are steeped in white supremacist, eugenicist, and ableist ideals. It turns out even injury and rehab are political.

The Banality of Evil & You

The Banality of Evil & You

What you can do about ICE, the banality of evil, and political information I recently posted a 4-part series of videos on the Necessary Evil instagram account talking about recent developments in ICE enforcement and what you, as an engaged person who wants to do the hard work of creating

Failure Isn’t the Opposite of Success

Failure Isn’t the Opposite of Success

If I were to make a list of the "necessary evils" of learning and growing, failing would certainly be on it. But even using the word "failure" triggers negative emotional responses for many—fear, shame, sadness—because that label carries significant normative weight. We assume that

Sirus holding Becky Miller in a neck-supported counterbalance.

Movements Start with Movement

Your Physical Movements are the Key to Unlocking Political Movement Physical training and physical movement are inherently politicized because bodies are political, but they are themselves the foundation for building a political practice. Political transformation requires hard work, discipline, and commitment. Who knows those patterns better than people who practice

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Mentorship Matters

Mentorship Matters

What is mentorship and why does it matter? Mentorship is fundamentally a relationship of trust—that someone else has experience, insights, or answers to the questions you want to ask for your own life, and that through a relationship, you can apply these lessons to the benefit of your individual

Tools for Conflict + Accountability: Colorado Acro Fest Report-Back

Tools for Conflict + Accountability: Colorado Acro Fest Report-Back

Last weekend was the 5th (!!) Colorado Acro Fest, and even though each year has different offerings and a few different faces, the range of skills and levels of offerings, the array of communities represented, and the emphasis on connection remain the same. I've had the opportunity to facilitate

What’s Love Got To Do With It

What’s Love Got To Do With It

Who, what, and how do you love? Where do you show love in your life, and how do you need to receive it? Are the actions you take aligned with the love you want, for yourself or for others? Dean Spade's new book, Love in a F*cked-Up

3 things you can do right now as a movement guide

3 things you can do right now as a movement guide

If you've been on the internet at all since Donald Trump's inauguration for his new presidential term, you've doubtless noticed a lot of varying reactions -- panic, avoidance, memes, hot takes -- and calls to action that range from concrete, immediate steps to take

Sirus doing a half-kneeling single arm landmine press

Why Your Physical Practice Is Political

The physical practices you engage in — strength training, stretching and mobility, calisthenics, acrobatics, handstands, yoga, dance — are political practices. I am not the first or only person to have this insight, but I want to express it definitively because it's at the center of the work I do,

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