About Topics
Topics pages are concise articles on a single subject, usually related to my identity, experiences or beliefs; articles about other subjects I reference frequently may appear here as well.
Due to the brief nature of Topics pages, no landing page is provided: you can use the tags view to view all articles at once, or for an indexed list of links see the Everything page.
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Anarchism
I'm a leftist who avoided more specific categorization for a long time; I finally realized that "anarchist" is the only label that makes sense for me. That all humans have the right to self-determination and a life free from rulers and oppressive hierarchical systems is the fundamental principle by which a humane society must be organized. Nation states in their current form are systems that exist for the protection and advancement of global hegemonic capital. The United States is the beating heart of this system, and it above all other states must be abolished.
Anarchism does not imply an opposition to governance; systems of governance must exist to facilitate the survival of us all, especially the sick and disabled. A humane government might resemble something we call communism, or socialism, or democracy, but whatever name it's given, it will be something new, and we won't see it within our lifetimes.
I'm not an accelerationist. If the state were suddenly abolished with nothing to replace it, it would cause untold human suffering. This is my personal philosophy, and nothing here constitutes a political action plan. I have no formal education, power or inclination towards leadership; I'm just a humble raccoon trying to make sense of a world that wasn't made for me. I will try to do whatever little good I can with the hand I've been dealt, and keep dreaming of a better world.
Computer
My current computer is a Thinkpad x250 laptop, released in 2015. I bought it many years ago to use as a portable computer; when my desktop computer died, it became my main workstation. I keep it connected to a monitor, keyboard and mouse at all times. It ran Windows 7 until April 2025, when I decided to start using linux. After a false start with Fedora, I installed Debian 12 with XFCE on April 15, 2025, and it's been serving me well since. It's still quite functional for most of my use cases, and can even stream gameplay footage at 480p, but I do sometimes wish I had a computer that could run newer games. Click here to see a desktop screenshot with my system specs.
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Every Day Carry
For the original post which includes photos and descriptions, see the archived post Every Day Carry
Backpack
Wallet
Watch
Headphones
Phone
Speaker
What's actually in my bag
Aside from the speaker, I always have snacks, medicine, band aids, candy (andes mints are a favorite), cough drops, a bike lock, tape, a sharpie, my work badge and lanyard, deodorant, cleansing wipes, a wide-toothed comb and a detangling comb.
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Gender
The umbrella term for my gender identity is nonbinary, meaning I don't fit into the gender binary. The specific term for my experience is agender, meaning I don't identify strongly with any gender. There are traits from multiple genders with which I identify, but I don't lean strongly in any direction.
Privilege-wise, I don't experience dysphoria, and am perceived as a gender-nonconforming member of the sex I was assigned at birth. I experienced a fair amount of bullying for my gender as a child, especially by my dad, but I've been lucky not to have faced much violence or harassment as an adult. I don't identify as trans, but terms like "queer" and "genderqueer" are ones I'm beginning to be more comfortable with.
The pronouns that feel most accurate for me are they/them, but I have no issues with masculine or feminine pronouns when applied to me. I feel no differently about any of them.
Relatedly, I'm demisexual and grayromantic. Subjects of sex and gender don't hold much general interest for me, and I rarely discuss them except with people I'm close to. Obviously I support trans and queer liberation in all forms, but due to my differences I struggle to feel like I belong in trans- or queer-centered communities; My neurodivergence makes me struggle to feel like I belong anywhere, but that said, I feel more accepted in queer and trans spaces than any part of "mainstream" society.
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Housing
I live in public housing, an apartment in a block built as a public works project during the FDR administration. The plan was to start renting an apartment or house once I started making more money, but a month after I started making more money, we elected a president who's vowed to destroy the US economy. The apartment isn't that bad, except that we don't have control over the heat; it's on from October-May no matter what temperature it is outside, so we often have to run the air conditioning in winter on days when it's too warm to just have a fan in the window. Also, we're subject to humiliating and dehumanizing monthly inspections, and the knowledge that someone from the state could enter my home at any time makes me feel fundamentally unsafe. Also, it's not in easy walking distance of anything. I wish we lived somewhere that felt like a place.
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Kiki
Kiki is a tiny homepage construction kit by vga256 of Tomodashi Industrial. It's written in PHP and designed with a set of principles that aligns strongly with my own. You can get the shareware version on itch.io to try it out, and if you want the full version (including wiki functionality) it's currently $15CAD/$11USD. It's been well worth the cost, and I've had more fun building this site than any of my prior forays into web design.
Parents
I grew up with an abusive father and a neglectful mother. My dad is dead, which is good. My mom lives on the other side of the country, which is neutral. I'm glad for my independence, but if things go south in the country/in my life, I don't have parents I can move back in with, I'll just become homeless. It's not likely, but the possibility hanging over my head is one of many factors that contributes to my poor mental wellbeing.
My mother-in-law cares about me and my spouse very much, and does everything she can for us in spite of her struggles, which are many.
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