A node in the network of the online left.
Who’s doing this?
I’m Shingo (they/them), a Seattle-based tech worker, lapsed otaku, and geriatric millennial. This site is my attempt to develop an understanding of left thought and action, and do a little to help build our way to a better world as the old one collapses around us.
What’s the plan?
I believe that caring for each other, both personally and politically, is how we make it through this. A main goal of this project is to examine how a principle of care can be a powerful tool for finding solutions for our collective survival, flourishing, and liberation.
A secondary goal is to cultivate hope in the face of an increasingly bleak present. There are plenty of resources highlighting the collapse of existing structures; an equally vital role is in promoting visions of the possible future that we can make together, illustrating how it’s happening right now, and how we can get involved.
A tertiary goal (yeah, there’s three) is to help make leftist thought more accessible, cutting through some of the jargon and providing a perspective that may resonate with folks coming to the problem with a shared sense of purpose but without as much theoretical background (like me).
I’m planning content of the following types:
- A glossary of terms frequently encountered in leftist spaces
- Thematic groupings of external resources — videos, articles, essays, books, and other media — that I’ve found useful, summarized briefly to provide context
- Resources for local progressive action in the Seattle area
- Longer form reviews of work that I’ve found particularly compelling
- Original essays
- A podcast or YouTube channel, maybe?
What was here?
In its original incarnation in the 2000s, Heisei Democracy was a blog about Japanese otaku culture, my primary interest at the time. Aside from occupying the same real estate, this version of the site has nothing to do with the original HD.