Hell yeah!!

Yee!

aaaa thank you for the kind words and for reading!!

Thank you for listening to my chain rant. Take care of each other 💚

Right now we're seeing parts of our society realize that love and togetherness are sometimes not options given in the dichotomy. If we are to survive, we must refuse to legitimize the state's idea of freedom. We must refuse to cut the chain, because it's the only way to live truly free. (10/10)

The imagery of the freedom chains makes us grapple with the very nature of choice and power. They lay bare the false dichotomy often sold to us, where both options lead to suffering. If you see a false dichotomy where you can escape it and make your own choice that's better, you should do it. (9/10)

The chain is a reminder that we are only imprisoned by social constructs that we make. We can get rid of those, and make our own new social constructs that empower us and free us for joyful loving.

Under fascism, people will try even harder to confuse the meanings of freedom and slavery. (8/?)

I do not need to lie to myself and construct a scary outside world to fear in order to have faith. I have faith because I have faith. Because I'm strong enough to face the truth head-on, without denying it, and still do what's right. Now, the chain is a different kind of reminder. (7/?)

The camp's little thought exercise was so forced that it backfired on them. I saw the decision to keep the chain as empowering. I saw it as freedom.

I wear the chain to this day. I left evangelicalism but I still consider myself Christian (Methodist) and I take my faith very seriously. (6/?)

I recall not understanding this illustration. I liked the chain -- I thought it was fashionable, and I certainly didn't feel that the world imprisoned me. Quite the opposite, actually. The evangelical church loved enforcing arbitrary rules. So, at the end, I refused to have my chain cut off. (5/?)

We were to wear this chain during the two weeks of camp, during which it'd serve as a reminder of the scary, sinful world, and how we're all fundamentally bad people without the grace of God. At the end of the two weeks, they were to cut off the chain, symbolizing "freedom" in Christ. (4/?)

... the youth leaders had a thing where they crimped a length of swing chain around every kid's wrist. It was tight enough to not be removable without cutting it, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. This was supposed to symbolize imprisonment or slavery to sin and the world. (3/?)

I grew up in the evangelical church. There would be annual summer camps in which school-age kids went up to the mountains to whitewater raft and play paintball while getting preached at by creepy racist missionaries. One year when I was in early high school, at the start of the two weeks ...(2/?)

if you have a community, cherish it. may it become big and strong enough that you no longer feel it'll all collapse without you to be there to say that it is indeed a community, and that you do love it despite its imperfections and challenges

may you feel it'll carry on in the event you disappear

omg a tiny beautiful child 🥺