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“We say it’s no longer a question of violence or non-violence. We say it’s a question resistance to facism or non-existence within facism.” - Fred Hampton
The idea of “apolitical”, current, past, and future is a myth and byproduct of a hyper capitalistic nation. Our existence is inherently political, so how does it make sense activities on lands with the history they do aren’t political? I consistently hear more often about avoiding politics at the dinner table, the work place, social functions. This feels more purposeful than just good manners. Ideas like our voices not having power re-enforce bystander effect in the oligarchical nation I live in. With current events it becomes all the more clear there are two sets of rules people live by in the world, the haves and have nots. Lack of political engagement or solidarity fortifies the choke hold a ruling class holds. This is not new here. Three letter government agencies have been pursuing a predatory systemically unequal force on the populous since the founding of this nation. During this all I am left with the question of when is enough? The same neo-liberal shills that push “peaceful protest” rhetoric are the ones bankrolled by palntir, boeing, blackrock, (etc) lobbyists who are quick to say when people take to the streets we must remain peaceful yet sign off on bills to fund the bombing of the middle east, coupes of South American nations, and militarization of police departments. Where is the peace in that?
Migration Is Natural.
The outdoors are strife with issues and just because it’s a hobby or past time does not mean that the political issues do not bleed through here too. As the foundation of what we consider the golden age of Yosemite took off, the indigenous people of the valley faced forced hysterectomies, occupation, and displacement through residential schools. Does climbing a big wall while our fellow humans face this reality not entail a stance in the nature of “not picking sides”? How can people feel a sense of freedom in the wild places traveled when those same lands will inevitably have protections lifted and be auctioned, pennies on the dollar? Vast swaths of land are closed off to natural cycles of hunting so that a white washed form of outdoor rec is allowed in its “purest” form. Yet it’s bad for “business” to take a hard line. There's no denying to some extent we are collectively forced to participate in this system to survive. This is where social currency comes into play. The idea of social currency is how much influence of positional power people/companies have through their actions. It is more than apparent that guiding companies and outdoor education orgs have currency to spend. It’s true tourism as a whole is down but it is also down because who wants to travel to a nation where we watch children ripped from familial arms, put in cages, or used as bait for raids since they’re considered “aliens”? Or you get denied entry because of a meme? Whole swaths of the outdoor industry are propped up by the labor of J-1 visas, yet many orgs stay silent or lightly take public stance against what's going on. What worth does a stance have if there is no measurable action behind it? A recent email from a non-profit I used to work for outlined how they understood the added stress of coming to the police state that the USA is on a J-1, yet no added support, an empty acknowledgment of “ hey, shits kinda fucked up here, business as usual tho :)”. Not taking a hard line stance and saying it with your chest while actively trying to raise all the boats around you is a stance. It’s status quo, it lacks empathy, it lacks respect for life, it lacks respect for the natural world. The hardcore stances of LNT trigger happy outdoor educator is nauseating when we lack such respect for human life based on the arbitrary morality of law or borders. ICE, this administration, the companies pillaging OUR lands will not stop until they have an ethnostate and there is nothing left. Our inaction now will only continue to make things worse. It requires relentlessly facing things head on and continuing to push back. If you’re attacked in your home or on the street self defense is the obvious answer, yet you give them a badge or mask and all of a sudden you're unruly or extreme in views. The issues of the guiding world and specifically alpinism reflect the exact same ones in our front country life. Patriarchal structure of companies and groups excludes many from career growth or a minimum makes their voice unheard among the clients and staff. Often these issues are chalked up to growing pains, or that the process is slow. “Changing from within” Radical change does not happen in a structure or slowly. Change of any sort requires discomfort. Sans discomfort there is no room for growth, only for pushing the status quo. The status quo is why we have had kids in cages since Obama and long before that administration. “Tough on crime” dems helped pave the way for institutions like ICE and the NSA with three strikes laws, and using the 24 hour news cycle to make the idea of the “super predator” seem scientific when it pushed the same old racist rhetoric into law in the 90’s. If anything is obvious from the America experiment it is that Systems do not change. They must be torn down to create space for the new ones. The status quo is why it’s seen as acceptable to go after a populus due to the fact they stepped over a line in the sand. The status quo is why you mainly run into white males in the alpine, or operating the companies behind them.
The misinformation and rage bait is serving its purpose.
While we take to social media to cry outrage over the chaotic nature of these events the nefarious actions of the ruling class are happening behind closed doors. Silent bills scuttled across floors without our say and pushed through. Purposeful headline making quotes and actions are thrown out each day in a fire hydrant effect so the focus is not turned to how they operate an inherently predatory system to erode rights. The citizen first act introduced in late November ‘25 is a prime example of this. It started quietly; most have not heard of it. And it’s getting pushed hard. It would grant homeland security the powers to strip citizenship, even if born here, of dual citizens forcing people to choose. Note how vague the language is. This is purposeful, similar to how the grey area weaponized by the patriot act eroded any concept of privacy in this nation, if there ever really was one that wasn’t rose tinted glasses.
“To terminate Federal benefits for noncitizens, to authorize the denaturalization of naturalized citizens who undermine domestic tranquility, to expand expedited removal authority, to require mandatory revetting of nationals of Afghanistan, and to provide for automatic termination of temporary protected status, and for other purposes.”
SEC. 3. DENATURALIZATION FOR ACTS UNDERMINING DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY.
Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1451) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(i) Any naturalized citizen who, after naturalization, is convicted of, or credibly found by the Secretary of Homeland Security to have participated in, any riot, unlawful protest involving violence or property destruction, or any act intended to overthrow or disrupt the constitutional order of the United States may be denaturalized and removed pursuant to expedited proceedings under section 238, regardless of the period of time elapsed since the date on which the citizen was naturalized.”.
When discomfort is brought up or worries are voiced over things like this, it is often met with “oh it’ll get tied up in the courts” or that it doesn't stand a chance being “legally’ enforced. If it isn't clear yet it should be now that legality does not apply to a ruling class. Without collective action the only outcome is furthering the police state. Don’t confuse it, it’s never divisive for us to fight for human rights. It’s not dividing the nation standing up for the right to exist.
While this all goes on, joy itself becomes a voice of resistance. We often hope the outdoors will bridge the gap to the front country and to fellow people. As an educator I hoped quiet moments in wild places, as golden alpine glow illuminated our faces would leave lasting effects on people to be better to one another. To cherish this planet, to cherish the connection to people who were strangers merely days before but now close as kin. Hope is not enough. It must be demanded from clients, from companies, from our neighbors. The idealized ideas of alpinism and climbing began to fall shorter and shorter as the world continues to burn more and more. I so desperately want these moments or feelings I continue to chase of past trips and climbs. The early cool hours of my desolation seven attempt were met with white out navigation. I shot my bearings and picked my way up to my first ridge. I felt small, exposed, questioned if my forecast had been solid. As I crested the ridge and felt the end of cornice on my probe the faintest golden rays began to evaporate the ping pong ball that had engulfed me all morning. At this moment I felt free. This sense of freedom in the outdoors is a privilege. The water must raise all boats to have these sense of freedom moments whether in the outdoors or whatever one's passion is. This is only achieved by solidarity and community in these times.
Community is the only backbone that stands a chance. If we are to enjoy natural places but not actively lift up those around us or fight in solidarity of very basic human rights you aren't “apolitical” or centrists. You’re actively supporting state violence in your inaction.
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