A Wildling's Manifesto for the Planet

[cobaltdrgn]

I call upon all wildlings—where by wildlings I mean the therianthropes and theriomythics, the phytanthropes and their mineral kin, those with the blood or souls of the Fair Folk and the Tuatha Dé Danann, of the elves and goblins and pixies and gnomes, the treelings and seafolk and skylings; as well as the animal-hearted, the plant- and the mineral-hearted, and those kin to rivers and ponds and clouds and stars, and anyone who supports them or feels bound to honour such a pledge—to witness the below manifesto.


I hereby acknowledge:

1. That Planet Earth is in the throes of the Sixth Great Extinction, a disaster created by the human-bodied, and which only the human-bodied can avert or mitigate;
   
2. That the abuse of this planet, and the subsequent loss of species, habitats, air and water quality, and other components of a healthy, functioning biosphere, causes physical, mental and spiritual harm to every being on Earth, the full extent of which may never be discovered;
   
3. That the power of the average person to mitigate this disaster is small, and that while our individual actions are not meaningless, we must seek change from world leaders and governing bodies if we are to change the course of this disaster;
   
4. That our world leaders and governing bodies are not acting in the best interests of Earth, in large part due to greed and self-interest;
   
5. That capitalism, fascism, false "populism", and conspiracy theories drive this self-interest;
   
6. That furthermore, the colonialist, white-supremacist worldview that dominates thinking and culture around the world, even if it should wish to undo the harms it has done, is underequipped to do so; for it has sought to extinguish and ridicule Indigenous knowledge at every turn, including knowledge of agriculture and land management, and seeks to replace these time-tested ways with its own technological creations.

Thus I pledge:

1. (If the signer is not Indigenous) To step back from the work being done by Indigenous people to restore the land, allowing Indigenous voices to come first; but also—
   
2. To defend the Earth from threats to its being, when and where I am capable, by participating in Indigenous land-reclamation movements and ecological defense actions: whether by protesting, by donating, or by learning about their goals and spreading wider awareness of the movements, or by other means;
   
3. To denounce fascism even in its smallest and most innocent-seeming forms such as memes and jokes, to allow it no foothold in the communities I supervise, to deny it validity and power by refusing to engage with fascist dialogue;
   
4. To vote, if I am permitted and able; to inform myself before voting; but also to remember that voting alone will not liberate the Earth;
   
5. (If the signer is white) To conduct direct anti-fascist action if I am physically, mentally and spiritually comfortable doing so, having informed myself and so knowing well the purpose of my actions, while deferring to the leadership of Black and Indigenous people;
   
6. To work on dismantling any human-centric prejudice I may have, and to learn to see all life as its own end, deserving of health and whatever is needed for its species to be happy;
   
7. To be mindful of my own capitalist consumption, but without fixating on it or doing harm to myself through guilt-induced self-deprivation, remembering that I also have a right to life, health and happiness;
   
8. To keep in mind always that I am part of the Earth's ecosystem, that the all is in the one and the one is in the all, that a sparrow cannot fall by my hand without the ecosystem knowing it; and thus I have a responsibility to all beings I encounter.

If you wish to sign this pledge, simply comment below and type 'Signed' in the subject line, or as the first word of your message.

If this pledge doesn't suit you, feel free to make your own. And if you like, let me know so I can link to it!

Comments

Signed:

[cobaltdrgn]

Cobalt, the dragon.

✔️

[gemischt]

Worth signing on for, any time.