This was first posted on O Collective.
It had been 0.42 Jovian years since they abolished representational politics. Jadesola was nearly 100 Mercurial years at the time and was concerned about what it meant for their future, for everyone's future. It had been the prevailing organizing tool for hundreds of years and was largely unchecked, never questioned by the media and seemed like the natural order of organizing.
Until it wasn't. Following the mass looting and disabling event that was the COVID-19 pandemic the "zoom babies" began reimagining a world where that wasn't allowed to happen ever again. Decisions were made under a Scorpio sky. Following a consultation with The Historian where the system was asked to reimagine societies where a pandemic wouldn't be weaponised by the resource hoarders against assetless people, every simulation resulted in the abolishment of representational politics and redirected the power back the people.
Next week a restorative justice notion was going to manifest in their life and it still didn't feel real. As a former student of a religious school, Jadesola was due a lump sum of 1000 rest and restore points. They had decided to choose the annual lump sum so they could plan and budget for the year. A lump sum just made sense to their style of living.
"Jadeeeee"
"Olá Ajudi, whats love gotta do with it?"
"Well I'm so excited for you getting your re-titi next week. Getting a lummpy bummpy was so radical. I can't wait to rejuvenate with you in the spiritual love workshop."
"Re-titi? That is the best nickname for this re-tithing notion? You really know how to add playfulness and joy to my day with these very simple tings you know."
"Não há de que (no problem), your smile makes it worthwhile, also may I please be gifted half an rahrah credit I'm struggling to budget"
"Of course and I'll do you one better, I'll gift you 30 rahrahs seeing my lumpsum is germinating next week"
"Thank you! My friend first in gifting, community lover and radical someone. Mek you no flood the place with all that LOVEEEEEEE"
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to connect with you and be generous. Okay lets arrange which session we are going to attend, I have to go my first workshop on neo-plantation corporatism of the early 21st Century is about start!!"
"Love and community wellness my connector"
"Uni-love and togetherness my supporter"
Jade left Ajudante and headed to the mini bicycle library. It was cloudy so they were concerned about the solar powered bikes having enough juice take them to the education library were the workshop was held. They had chosen peer to peer learning with an emphasis on visual aids for this workshop, it was part research for their period drama part morbid curiosity. They still shuddered at some of the ways people were enslaved in the past. The conditions and conditioning wasn't unfamiliar unfortunately but at the same time deeply alien. In a workshop about age based discrimination Jadesola learned that some educational institutions would segregate children by their genitalia, primarily religious educational institutions. The religious school Jadesola attended had done so in the school's history, though they said it wasn't based on children's sex, it such sounded very much like it to Jade. Its no wonder 89% of older community members voted on the 're-titi' notion Jade thought. Some of them or their parents had experienced neo-theocracy under representational democracy.