Make Your Damn Bed

Latest Episodes:

1415 || troll tactics Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

Internet trolls have gotten out of hand, so today we're talking about the common trolling tactics and how to deal with them.

Samantha North on Internet Trolling Tactics https://samanthanorth.com/internet-trolling-tactics

Samantha North on Astroturfing: https://samanthanorth.com/astroturfing-on-social-media

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The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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1414 || learning when to disengage Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

As someone who gets flustered and frustrated during confrontations, I tend to use humor as my first line of defense, which can be a powerful tool to disarm without escalating. But when people double down, I get flustered, especially when dealing with bad-faith arguments or deeply entrenched beliefs. I am focused on learning when to escalate, confront, engage, or disengage, and it has completely changed my perspective on what makes a "successful conflict".

Not every battle needs fighting. Ask: Is this person open to dialogue, or just looking to provoke? Will bystanders benefit from your response, even if the bigot won’t? Is your energy better spent elsewhere?

If they’re just trolling, sometimes the best response is disengagement. Read the room and react accordingly.

Further Reading: https://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation

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1413 || collaborating with the enemy Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

"There is much unneeded suffering in the world and in our institutional life, much of it caused by our desire to have our own way or to adapt to what we don’t believe in. Collaboration with the enemy is one form of the politics we have been waiting for: a reachable way for power, love, and neighborliness to reshape our collective lives." - Peter Block

Adam Kahane's book: https://reospartners.com/resource-library/collaborating-with-the-enemy

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1412 || a well designed life is based on the context Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing. - John Stuart Mill

The resource from Henrik Karlsson: https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/unfolding

Part 2:“Becoming perceptive”

Part 3: “Rationality is an underrated way to be authentic”

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1411 || laziness does not exist Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

"If a person can’t get out of bed, something is making them exhausted. If a student isn’t writing papers, there’s some aspect of the assignment that they can’t do without help. If an employee misses deadlines constantly, something is making organization and deadline-meeting difficult. Even if a person is actively choosing to self-sabotage, there’s a reason for it — some fear they’re working through, some need not being met, a lack of self-esteem being expressed.

People do not choose to fail or disappoint. No one wants to feel incapable, apathetic, or ineffective. If you look at a person’s action (or inaction) and see only laziness, you are missing key details. There is always an explanation. There are always barriers. Just because you can’t see them, or don’t view them as legitimate, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Look harder." - Devon Price

Devon Price's Blog Post: https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

Buy the book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Laziness-Does-Not-Exist/Devon-Price/9781797120591

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1410 || radical hope letters of love + dissent in dangerous times Apr 05, 2025

Show notes

“It is love that pushes us to face the journey toward justice without flinching, love that impels us to keep going on the long, hard road, love that provides the moral compass and the map.” - Carolina De Robertis, Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times

The Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557986/radical-hope-by-carolina-de-robertis/

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1409 || protest alternatives Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

There are thousands of alternatives and accommodations for those of us who can't physically attend a protest or rally. Some are less glamorous than others, but some will feel like the right fit. It's a long haul. Don't give up on the fight, just keep moving forward. Add a little good where you can and reduce a little bad where you can, but don't be too critical on yourself (or your community) if you're unable to do it all at once, or you need to take breaks. We will need breaks. We will need self-care. We will need community care. We will need to be patient and kind to ourselves in the process.

Ways to Protest from Home by Chico Democracy: https://chicodemocracy.weebly.com/protest-from-home.html

@mochaeinstein27 thoughts on the Bake Sale: https://www.instagram.com/p/DF_TKjPP0NH/?locale=es_ES%2F

Reddit for filing a complaint with the Attorney General: https://www.reddit.com/r/50501/comments/1j5i2ag/we_the_people/

More Ethical Investing: https://www.ethic.com/

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1408 || tear gas protocol Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

Remember, if you stay prepared, you don't have to get prepared.

If you're tear gassed:

Get out of the cloud of tear gas and away from the general area as soon as you can. Seek high ground.

Walk, don’t run. Running may cause you to breath more heavily, filling your lungs with more tear gas. Try to keep breathing even.

If your eyes have been exposed and are burning or blurry, flush them with water immediately. Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Use water from your water bottle to flush. If you can find an open drinking fountain or sink in a public restroom, flush your eyes with water for 10 to 15 minutes.

There is no evidence that baking soda or milk is better than cool water alone. There is one small randomized controlled trial that found that baby shampoo is no better than water. Using baby wipes or makeup wipes if water is not immediately available may cause increased irritation.

If possible, and you are not affected yourself, help others by moving them to a clean and ventilated area.

Do not try to remove the tear gas canisters, as doing so may put you at an increased risk for further harm and injury.

Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety

Know Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/

Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/

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1407 || protest preparedness Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Before the Protest:

Burner Phone: Ditch smartphones (or remove batteries, use Faraday bags). Use encrypted apps (Signal, but assume it’s compromised).
Buddy System: Assign check-in times with someone not at the protest. Share arrest plans (e.g., lawyer’s contact).
Write Emergency Contacts on Skin: In Sharpie, under clothing. Cops tend to confiscate bags/phones.

During the Protest:

Masks & No Distinctive Clothing: Cover tattoos, wear generic attire.
Hands Visible, No Sudden Moves: Assume any interaction with police could escalate.
Locate Medics: Find them early. Know basic first aid for tear gas (cool, clean water works best).

If Arrested:

Say ONLY: “I want a lawyer.” Never talk to cops.
Expect Isolation: Authorities aren't the good guys, designate an external person to sound alarms if you're arrested.

Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety

Know Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/

Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/

DONATE:www.pcrf.net

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Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

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1406 || whimsy and humor as resistance Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

"There are no exact guidelines. There are probably no guidelines at all. The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. Awareness of all the most dangerous kinds of vanity, both in others and in ourselves. A good mind. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it." - Václav Havel

“Nothing can burst the balloon of pomposity and dictatorial rhetoric better than comedy. Comedy brings religious persecutors, dictators and tyrants to their knees faster than any other weapon.” - Mel Brooks

THE RESOURCES:

Mel Brooks Interview: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/podcast/comedy-writer-mel-brooks/

The Politics of Humor: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/whose-laughter-which-comedy

Theories of Humor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor

Manifesto: Mad Farmer Liberation Front: https://cales.arizona.edu/~steidl/Liberation.html

Václav Havel: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel

Whimsy in the Face of Fascism: https://pshares.org/blog/domestic-whimsy-in-the-face-of-fascism/

Humor against Hitler: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190829-how-britain-fought-hitler-with-humour

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