Seven reasons why hosting a silly little potluck (or game night, or porch hang, or book club, or group hike) is essential to defeating fascism

2026-02-06 20:00 UTC

Nordic activists had to weather attacks both from internal enemies (big business and aristocrats) and also literal Nazis. I bring this point up deliberately, because one of the other cynical rejoinders to community-focused activism is that you can’t counter fascism with co-ops and neighborhood associations. To the contrary, if you compare the Danish citizen response to Nazi occupation to that of other countries with less robust care networks, the difference is striking. Not only was Danish resistance successful in keeping a significantly higher percentage of its country’s Jewish population safe, but neighborhood-based sabotage campaigns actively slowed down Nazi repression in meaningful ways, in spite of betrayal and cowardice on the part of Danish elites. The Danes, far more than many of their occupied counterparts, were a constant bee in the Third Reich’s bonnet. Not, it should be noted, because they hated fascism more than citizens of other countries, but because when the fascists rolled in, they didn’t have to build neighborly connections from scratch.

Replies (3)

@activistPnk@slrpnk.net 2026-02-07 10:12

IIRC, Minnesota was largely settled by Scandinavians.. hence the Minnesota accent.

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@StefanEJones@dice.camp 2026-02-07 13:12

[@LibertyLizard](https://slrpnk.net/u/LibertyLizard) There's a documentary on Netflix about this sort of thing. Joining clubs is essential to a healthy civil society and building social capital. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDVf8sOG9w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDVf8sOG9w)

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@gdsherif@c.im 2026-02-07 14:26

[@LibertyLizard](https://slrpnk.net/u/LibertyLizard) when in Philly (USA), stop by our monthly family-friendly drum circle, second Sundays at 4pm through June. ![Poster with drum and upcoming drum dates: Feb 8, Mar 8, Apr 12, May 10, Jun 14.](https://slrpnk.net/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.c.im%2Fmedia_attachments%2Ffiles%2F116%2F029%2F799%2F916%2F574%2F402%2Foriginal%2F723444c5b7e96ea0.png)

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