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“Think of grief, anger, worry as bricks or planks of wood. Stop staring at the materials, half believing they were delivered to you by mistake, half expecting a truck to haul them away. Accept that these are your materials right now. Start building.”
– Maggie Smith, from her book Keep Moving
I’ve been feeling a lot of grief, anger and worry since the morning of November 6th 2024, when the results of the US presidential election were announced. Never in a million years I would have expected a convicted felon, an openly xenophobic, racist, transphobic misogynist and insurrectionist to be voted by half the country and allowed to ascend – yet again – to the most powerful job in his country. All this aided and abetted by a group of tech billionaires.
Four years is a long time. But it can also go by fast: ask this to any parent of a small child. As they say: the days are long but the years are short.
Instead of wallowing in this grief and anger, I have resolved to make this time – these four years – matter. It makes me feel better and more empowered to set some high goals, so that by January 2029 I could look back and think to myself: I have grown and helped others during these tumultuous four years. I made good use of that time.
Thus, “my so-called sudo life”.
What does “my so-called sudo life” mean?
sudo (short for “superuser do”) is a command on Unix systems that grants “superpowers” to a user, allowing them to execute commands with elevated privileges, like an admin.
This cartoon by xkcd was the first Linux joke I ever got:
I found it apt to name a blog about my new journey of (mostly tech) resistance and empowerment after that command line.
4 Goals for the next 4 years
In the days following November 6th I sketched a plan – for my own self care: set 4 goals for the next 4 years – 2 internal (self-improvement) and two “external” (helping others).
Goal 1: learn Linux, a free, open source operating system to set myself free from Big Tech monopolies. Sub goal no. 1: become so proficient in Linux that I could create a Linux computer, a Linux tablet and a Linux phone for my child (when the time comes, she’s 3 now). Sub goal no.2: become so proficient I can host my own Fediverse instance.
Goal 2: learn a new foreign language. I’m already fully fluent in Italian (my mother tongue), English and French. I love how learning a new language feels energizing and allows you to better understand new cultures. Well, I haven’t officially picked a new language yet. It’s currently a toss-up between Spanish (which I already understand well, because it’s similar to Italian) and Japanese (my favorite country to visit and added bonus: I could interact with people on MissKey). For the challenge aspect I’m leaning towards Japanese… yet I acknowledge Spanish would be a more realistic goal.
Goal 3: start doing presentations in high schools and universities about the Fediverse and FOSS projects, in order to raise awareness about the toxic side of Big Tech and the free, open-source alternatives that already exist and are much better from an ethical / digital sovereignty point of view.
Goal 4: help make the Fediverse a more diverse place, safer and more welcoming for people of color.
The rebellion will be federated
In a previous blog post I wrote:
What do billionaires and kleptocrats want? Uninformed, impulsive citizens driven by emotions (fear, rage, anxiety) instead of critical thinking. This way, they are so much easier to manipulate – for the gains of kleptocrats.
And:
A healthy (in body and mind), active, frugal, sociable, mostly offline citizen who is highly educated and informed, in full control of their data, avoiding Big Tech’s platforms and algorithms, with a positive self-esteem and self-image, is probably persona non grata for [these] tech billionaires.
I found goals that will propel me forward for the next four years – with a sense of hope. And that feels awesome (amidst all this chaos and sorrow).
4 Years
I’m in the unique position of being able to measure time in comparison to a US presidential term: I was heavily pregnant during the January 6th 2021 U.S. Capitol attack; my child was born during the early days of the Biden presidency and will turn 4 after Trump is sworn in as president.
Over the course of 4 years I have seen my tiny human grow, get stronger and develop new intellectual and motor skills. So many skills! I remember when she could barely hold a spoon in her hand. Now she builds impossible structures with LEGOs. She went from being non-verbal and communicating through cries to… speaking two languages fluently. She actually loves correcting my French pronunciation from time to time (“rue” “en dessous”). We figured out she understands a bit of English, too, but keeps that knowledge secret from us.
You can grow and learn so much in four years.
Power
This is my so-called sudo life, where I am giving myself superuser privileges… and I look forward to seeing what kind of person I will be in four year’s time. More than anything, I hope I will be part of a community of like-minded people, working towards the same goals.
This blog – or journal – is for accountability… to keep me motivated on these goals. And to share lessons I learned, hoping to inspire others to take steps towards greater digital sovereignty.
It feels very Wizard of Oz like: “You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
We already have so much power. There has never been a better time to take on superuser privileges (with care).
I shared my goals. What will be yours?
Elena
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elenarossini.com/2024/12/intro…
#BigTech #digitalSovereignty #empowerment #floss #foreignLanguages #foss #freedom #Japanese #languages #linux #mySoCalledSudoLife #Spanish
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The rebellion will be federated
Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash"]Content warning: mention of the US Presidential election results
Following Wednesday’s US presidential results, one could say that the United States has become a kakistocracy (government run by the worst, less qualified people) AND a kleptocracy (a government by corrupt leaders who use their political power to accumulate wealth – at the detriment of their citizens) at once.
This nightmare was facilitated by a class of billionaire tech barons (Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk to name a few) who used their powerful platforms to conceal vital information, to sway emotions of the electorate or to disseminate disinformation.
It is flagrantly obvious that the Fediverse with its independence and lack of algorithmic feeds is possibly the only safe and ethical online social media space one could be in right now.
I haven’t heard people mention the role of Meta Inc. (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) in this but it’s no wonder that the U.S. electorate was for the most part misinformed about what was at stake in this election… when the most powerful social media platforms in the United States (Instagram, Facebook, Threads) intentionally limited, downranked or hid political posts for years,[url=https://about.fb.com/news/2021/02/reducing-political-content-in-news-feed/] starting in 2021.
What do billionaires and kleptocrats want?
Uninformed, impulsive citizens driven by emotions (fear, rage, anxiety) instead of critical thinking. This way, they are so much easier to manipulate – for the gains of kleptocrats. This article by Tobias Rose from 2017 is an excellent primer about these issues: “This Is How Your Fear and Outrage Are Being Sold for Profit.”And more recently, the 5Rights Foundation shared internal report from TikTok regarding evidence executives know the app is harming children:
According to TikTok’s own research, it only takes 260 videos – the equivalent of 35 minutes on the app – to form a habit and it concludes that “compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety” as well as “interference[ing] with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”
Why add TikTok to this discussion? Because it is currently the most popular social media app in the world, especially for young people. It’s incredibly addictive and algorithm-based.Let’s repeat the negative effects of TikTok in bullet points, to get the gravity of the situation (arguably, you could say the same about Instagram and other algorithm-driven social media apps):
- Loss of analytical skills
- Loss of memory formation
- Loss of contextual thinking
- Loss of conversational depth
- Loss of empathy
- Increased anxiety
And:
- Interference with sleep
- Interference with work/school responsibilities
- Interference with connecting with loved ones
According to the 5Rights foundation the daily average screen time of 13 to 18 year olds is 8 HOURS and 39 MINUTES.
Since we are talking about minors, this is not screen time related to work. It’s entirely recreational.
What will be my driving force for the next four years?
I will be thinking: what do the Big Tech billionaires and kleptocrats wish I would do? And then I will do the OPPOSITE.Tech barons want extremely online citizens that are easily distractable and spend 4+ hours a day on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, X and the like? I will stay the hell away from these platforms (I already was, for the most part, except Threads – I just deactivated it).
Tech barons want people who would rather endlessly scroll feeds on social media apps instead of reading books. So I’m renewing membership at my favorite library in my city and I will make sure I spend at least an hour a day reading a wide variety of books (non-fiction, history, philosophy, FOSS manuals, etc.).
Tech barons want people to think that the only way one can socialize and nurture friendships is through screens – more precisely, through the billionaires’ digital platforms. So I will make sure to reach out to my friends via phone calls or privacy-focused independent messaging apps. I will completely bypass Big Tech’s toxic “social” platforms that are nothing but honeypots for gathering personal data… so they can serve us targeted ads. (I was already doing this, but now I will actively encourage my friends to join me on the other side – in the Fediverse).
Tech barons want women and girls to curate their online image following unattainable beauty standards, constantly comparing themselves to others and feeling inferior… so they would buy products and beauty services they don’t need in the hope of reaching that impossible ideal. Instagram is a toxic trap of unattainable life and beauty ideals. I will stay the hell away from it and encourage people (my friends in primis) to do the same.
Tech barons want you to think their platforms are vital to one’s work life and career. I will volunteer with FLOSS organizations and Fediverse platforms to spread awareness about their tools.
Become the tech barons’ nightmare
A healthy (in body and mind), active, frugal, sociable, mostly offline citizen who is highly educated and informed, in full control of their data, avoiding Big Tech’s platforms and algorithms, with a positive self-esteem and self-image, is probably persona non grata for these tech billionaires. But a small, insignificant nuisance, like a fly – they don’t care about ONE. But imagine having thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then millions of individuals that fit this description – banding together against Big Tech’s technopoly. That is an awe-inspiring, almighty force that would make them tremble.You think it can’t be done? Think again. The organic food movement comes to mind. How old were you when you started spotting organic fruits and vegetables at your supermarket? Did they progressively take up more shelf space? This is the Fediverse’s moment to start a sea change, a rebellion against the technopoly created by Big Tech.
I am more fired up than ever to promote it and help people escape from the grip of surveillance capitalism, towards greater freedom, independence, and digital sovereignty.
Step-by-step
Most revolutions start small. At home. The mission seems impossible, like climbing mount Everest, but it’s a good way to think of this work as step by step. Modest actions that compound over time.This is what I have been doing this week:
Wednesday November 6:
- I set up my Raspberry Pi for the first time and took my first steps towards learning Linux.
Thursday Nov 7:
- renewed membership at my favorite library in Paris
- checked out books on Linux, Raspberry Pi, tech history and theories
- started reading Raspberry Pi for Dummies, familiarizing myself with Linux commands
- ordered a Raspberry Pi 5 (because the 3, ordered in 2016 and never used till yesteday, was impossibly slow)
- started a first draft of this blog post, with the intention of also sharing it with friends once it’s published
- requested the Twitter / X archives of two old accounts I hadn’t been using since the M takeover, but that I want to nuke ASAP
- deactivated my Threads account
- blocked threads.net posts from my Mastodon account
Friday Nov 8:
- updated my personal website to remove links to Threads
- started researching laptops for Linux
- started sketching a presentation about the Fediverse for high schools and universities (I have done presentations there for my film projects)
- brainstormed ideas for presentations about the Fediverse for parent-teacher associations in Paris (of kids in elementary school and middle schools)
Of course I have moments when I am feeling dejected by the current geopolitical situation. But as soon as these negative thoughts arise, I immediately think that the human beings I despise the most would win: one more progressive activist being driven to inaction by pessimism. I want to become a nuisance to them. A quote by Anita Roddick (founder of the Body Shop) comes to mind: “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”
So what is it? What is the small action you are taking today that would annoy the tech barons?
Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash
A whale in the sky( Starling roost at Otmoor UK ) – Download this photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplashunsplash.com
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