seeking exhale vol. iii
“humor can be a quiet act of generosity”
-Jennifer Aaker and Naomi
Bagdonas
perhaps capitalism’s most sinister consequence is its hold on our imagination. we begin to believe that it is inevitable, the only way to manage resources, that our lives depend on it.
“...the joke is at its most powerful a collective thought-experiment. Jokes brush up against what’s thinkable. The capacity of a joke to surprise us must be understood as a political capacity.”
- Madeline Lane-McKinley
Comedy Against
Work
jokes break open our imaginations, tilt our perspectives, expand our political and economic horizons to include life beyond capitalism. we are caught off guard, surprised by the breeze/humor that seems to come from nowhere but with such authority. we are relieved to learn that we are not beholden to exploitation, extraction, misery.
“Laughter
shakes us out of our deadness.”
-Nuar Alsadir, Animal Joy
one september afternoon i was running up flatbush avenue by prospect park and i saw that someone had left some windows on the grass. i paused. i wondered. who left them there? where did they come from? were there empty holes in the walls where they used to be? would someone come back for them? i became transfixed.
could we build our own breath doors?
could we conjure, nurture, sustain thresholds to breathing easier?
could we protect what it is in our lives that affords breath as we also imagine alternatives to this abysmal status quo?
comedy + the solidarity economy are breath doors.
laughter helps us ease up on ourselves and each other. laughter refuses suffocation.
our sense of humor can guide us toward the political and spiritual transformation that is needed right now. the solidarity economy prioritizes wellbeing, shared decision making, and meeting everyone’s needs. it is ecologically attuned and balanced. it is regenerative as opposed to extractive, it is democratic as opposed to dominating, it is guided by care instead of greed.
is a grassroots membership-based organization that is dedicated to building worker cooperative futures in NYC. Representing 65+ worker cooperatives and over 4,000 BIPOC, immigrant, femme or queer, workers and worker-owners, NYC NoWC builds worker cooperative power through member-led advocacy, educational trainings, and resources for and by worker-owners.
What is a Worker Cooperative?
A worker cooperative is a business entity that is owned and controlled by the people who work in it. Worker cooperatives are values-driven businesses that put worker and community benefit at the core of their purpose.
Most businesses are owned by a few people and accountable to shareholders. They are profit-driven, and put the accumulation of capital first no matter the cost to workers, the environment, relationships, or communities.