"Revolutionary Optimism" In Support of Climate Psychology Alliance
It’s been a while since our last post, and I'm excited to share a few updates of what's been happening in the extended NNH universe... As always, I'd love to hear what you've been up to as well. In an email or in the comments section; via text or carrier pigeon; all are welcome.
- The world out there is (definitely) still worth investing in.
I’ve been tinkering on projects in various states of completion - nurturing collaborations new and old, visiting museums, reading, and listening to as much live music as humanly possible. And all this livin’ in the real world has lead me to focus more attention on getting No New Heroes into spaces with actual people in them.
That’s right, NNH is coming to a town near you (especially if you live in the South Bay.)
To kick things off, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ll be participating in TRYST - the world’s largest international art fair dedicated exclusively to artist-run spaces, collectives, and independent organizations - hosted by the Torrance Art Museum. According to the curators "The fair positions itself as an alternative to the established commercial art scene and institutional frameworks, fostering risk-taking, experimentation, and supportive networks."
Right on, T.A.M.
It’s still very much a beautiful, fractured, and maddening world out there. Wild with inspiration bursting through the cracks in the sidewalks, and good fights to be fought around every corner. I’ll still be regularly publishing the newsletter, but I also wanna see you in person too. So let’s get to brainstorming… There isn’t an area on the map that hasn’t been effected by power hungry assholes and their endless wars on truth and beauty; so the opportunities are there. Hit me up. This shit isn’t gonna change by itself.
Alternately, we can all just hop in the van and follow Fugazi’s 1993 tour schedule.
- The internet is (maybe) still worth investing in.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about using one’s imagination to cultivate optimism, and the vital role this process plays in creating change. The idea was sparked by what my mom wrote her post to the creative folks who make a large portion of this newsletter’s readership:
Now, more than ever, we need beauty and a touch to the human soul. Artists. Empathizers. Designers. Storytellers. Musicians. We crave the thought that things can, again, be normal. Children and youth need to be stimulated to express their optimism.
So being the fool-hearted contrarian my mama raised me to be, I spent a late night in the studio looking for signs of positivity on the world wide web. After a few false starts and some LIVE LAUGH LOVE dead ends, I came across the the Marxist theory of “Revolutionary Optimism.” From the Jasmine Butler, writing for The Power Shift Network:
Giving up - accepting that the way things are is the only way they’ll ever be and that we can’t unsettle the stronghold that corporations and fascist governments have over our lives and planet - is exactly what those in power would like us to do. Choosing to instead reinvest in community, particularly through joining a revolutionary organization, participating in mutual aid and building power with your fellow community members, is a dangerously powerful decision. Now more than ever, we must choose hope and community.
Hell yes, Jasmine.
From there I took a quick derive to the philosophy of Ecstatic Resistance by Emily Roysdon (Every Ocean Hughes.)
Ecstatic Resistance postulates the necessity of a new imaginary.
The potential of this new imaginary is to move forward from a place that is unrestricted by patriarchal rationality and historical oppositions that serve only the man who is a man and looks like a man and wants to be a man.
Sign me up, Emily.
And wouldn’t you know it, after all that time spent searching the topic on the internet, the algorithm was kind enough to deliver me Dr. Adam Becker’s new podcast Dreaming Against the Machine whose mission it is to “Focus on envisioning realistic, equitable, and hopeful futures. It serves as a defiant, forward-looking response to the dystopian power fantasies often pushed by tech oligarchs and billionaires”
You know I smashed that subscribe button, Dr. Becker.
Everywhere I looked it turned out that optimism is an essential component of the revolutionary imagination.
Pretty cool… I thought to myself as I reached for my glass of red wine. And then, with one wrong click of a button, the darkness came flooding in. My glass was instantly half empty. I don’t need to share the gory details of the horrors that filled my eyes (you’ve no doubt had your own curated version of hell laid before you) but within a minute I was spiraling. I was caught in a feedback loop of destabilizing uncertainty; with the same apocalyptic narrative being force fed to me at an ever increasing pace.
It felt inescapable.
It felt inevitable.
It felt by design.
😵💫
Eventually, I got myself back using the only reliable problem solving tool I’ve ever known. The simple act of making something.
And then supporting those who are doing the same.
The way I get myself back... My work desk over the years: July 16, 2007; January 29, 2012; March 22, 2014; April 26, 2025; June 27, 2026
SO.
(Again) I invite you to join me in creating in those wild, uncontrollable moments that subvert the Doomsday narrative, and dare to imagine the future we deserve. To acknowledge there is nothing interesting or exciting about how “it’s all going to end.” Doesn't matter if it's tomorrow or 1000 years from now; if it’s The Bible or an Avengers movie- Apocalyptic fiction is no longer a viable form of make-believe.
Today’s supervillains are just too unimaginative to be worth our time. Or our peace of mind.
- Print media is (unquestionably) still worth investing in.
Another exciting bit of business is that I've been collaborating with The Ardent - a new, independent monthly newspaper covering food, film, art, and music. I was honored to have my article on the Monuments exhibit at The Geffen Contemporary included for their inaugural May issue.
I'll post the full article next week; in the meantime current issues are available at wonderful and life-affirming third spaces throughout Long Beach. (If you go by Fingerprints, get the new Boards of Canada record - its totally bonkers.)
The CPA is a diverse community of therapeutic practitioners, thinkers, researchers, artists and others who believe that attending to the psychology and emotions of the climate and ecological crisis is of central importance. They are especially concerned with the impact of climate change on young people. They do extensive research and provide support to teachers, parents and young people. Their resources include a monthly, free, online Youth Support Space, one to one therapeutic support and parent carer circles.
Prince of peace won't you hear our pleas,
And ring your bells of peace,
Let loving never cease.
A call to action, commonly known by the initialism CTA, is a strategic marketing tool designed to spur an immediate response from an audience, guiding them toward a specific action.
A call to action, commonly known by the initialism CTA, is a strategic marketing tool designed to spur an immediate response from an audience, guiding them toward a specific action.
NNH began with the (perhaps naive) hope that it could be of service to folks who needed it. I wasn't exactly sure who that meant- Was it the potential readership? The Mutual Aid groups that would be featured in each post? Or other creative types (equally fed up with the constant "me at the center" paradigm required by our Tech Overlords) looking for a place to get weird and do some good.
SO, if you're out there- whomever you may be- Let me know. Leave a comment. Click a link. Tell a friend. Pitch an idea. Do anything to feel less alone in the world.
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