Resist: 75 Tiny Ways to Survive the Broligarchy, Fight Back, and Keep Your Sanity Somewhat Intact

The list, the zine, and how to stitch a binding with leftover embroidery floss

A few weeks ago I shared the cover of my first zine ‘Resist: 75 Tiny Ways to Survive the Broligarchy, Fight Back, and Keep Your Sanity Somewhat Intact’ on here and was completely blown away by the response.

I got so many likes, messages, comments, and restacks that I quickly created a printable version for everyone asking to distribute it locally. That version has now been downloaded 36 times and is being handed out all around the country.

Again, fully blown away.

I also had a lot of people ask if they could buy a physical copy. At the time I was waiting for my paper order to come in from Red River. When it did, I immediately started printing finished copies of Resist. (The original pic I posted was of a test print).

After troubleshooting a few printer and paper issues, I was finally able to put together a very small run of physical copies. I’ve listed some of those in my shop and have several set aside for local markets. I’m hoping to put another run together next month, so if you’re interested in grabbing the zine and aren’t able to this time, send me a message and let me know so I can let you know when the second run is available.

This post is a way for me to answer some of the questions I’ve gotten on how to assemble the printable, and also to let you know where to find the physical copy. At the end, I’ll also share the list the zine is created around because the message is what matters, not the medium.

If you want to download and share the printable, I welcome you to grab it here. Print it and distribute it locally (assembly instructions at the end of this post). Stick it in little free libraries and food pantry boxes. Leave it on tables at cafes. Share it with strangers if you’re feeling brave.

If you’d like a physical copy on some lovely, thick paper with a hand-stitched binding, you can grab that here. The physical copy also has a couple of extra pages including a Gandalf quote and some inspiring words on using the list.

A quick backstory of how this zine came to be.

I’m an avid learner, and some of my obsessions interests for several years have been the rise of authoritarianism around the globe, historical patterns, how we got here, and just generally a desperate search to understand wtf was happening, what would happen next, and how I could prepare myself and my family for that. I’ve listened to endless podcasts and read books and articles from people smarter than myself on the issue.

So, needless to say, I was super frustrated. I needed another way to voice my frustration, but I was tired of just shouting into the void. Also, I left the Meta platforms at the end of last year, so I didn’t really have a void to shout into anymore.

I decided I wanted to make something that felt useful and actionable, something that could inspire and potentially connect people to their communities and to the idea of being the change they want to see. It started as a compilation of steps and ideas I felt were important right now, and as it grew I decided the zine format was the perfect way to share it.

I started a new Procreate project and began hand-writing the list and adding doodles where it felt right. My idea evolved and changed over time, and honestly, there was no plan in the beginning, but I’m very proud of where it ended up.

Here’s the list I ended up with. As I wrote it out I realized there are only 74 items, but if I were to add one more I’d say tend your own garden. Literally and metaphorically. Invest in your family, your neighbors, and your community first.

I plan to expand more on each of these ideas over the next several weeks.

75 Tiny Ways to Survive the Broligarchy, Fight Back, and Keep Your Sanity Somewhat Intact

1. Stay aware. Don’t check out.

2. Rest. Don’t quit.

3. Support independent journalism.

4. If you can, make a monthly donation to public broadcasting and/or radio.

5. Pick 1 issue or injustice to focus on.

6. Add your senator and congress person to your phone’s contacts

7. Download 5 Calls for helpful scripts and info for calling your representatives.

8. Find a way to use your voice and make it a habit. Write postcards every Monday or call your senators over coffee every morning. Make it a routine.

9. Participate in an organized strike.

10. Volunteer with organizations that share your values.

11. Go to school board meetings.

12. Attend city council/county commission meetings.

13. Run for local office.

14. Shop your local farmers market as much as possible.

15. Get to know the farmers!

16. Join a CSA or food co-op.

17. Grow food and herbs you use a lot.

18. Learn to make tinctures and salves.

19. Tighten your supply chain. Bring purchases as close to home as possible.

20. Establish trade and barter relationships where you can.

21. Learn to cook foods you enjoy from scratch.

22. Save your seeds.

23. Start a little free seed library, or find one nearby.

24. Find out what beneficial plants grow natively around you and learn how to use them.

25. Keep some cash on hand if possible.

26. Move your money to a local bank or credit union.

27. Switch to an encrypted messaging app like Signal.

28. Quit shopping on Amazon.

29. Choose locally owned over chain restaurants.

30. Drop Facebook and Instagram.

31. Switch from Goodreads to The StoryGraph (or a notebook!).

32. Follow Alt National Park Service on Bluesky.

33. Subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson’s daily news summaries, by email if possible.

34. Only share accurate, verified information.

35. Download a non-Google browser like Brave.

36. Set up a VPN (it’s easier than it sounds. I recommend Proton.)

37. Keep a physical list of your important contacts.

38. Check on your friends. Especially those in marginalized groups.

39. Improve your media literacy.

40. Read ‘On Tyranny’ by Timothy Snyder.

41. Read ‘The Twilight of Democracy’ by Anne Applebaum.

42. Learn about tactics commonly used by authoritarian regimes.

43. Organize a small group of people and educate yourselves on authoritarian tactics.

44. Read about historical patterns.

45. Join or start a civic group.

46. Expose yourself to diverse viewpoints.

47. Engage in open, civil conversations.

48. Speak up against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and hate speech. Don’t tolerate hateful rhetoric in everyday conversations.

49. Do not self censor.

50. Do not comply in advance.

51. Shop secondhand, from locally owned thrift shops or individuals, if possible.

52. Mend your clothes instead of replacing.

53. Host a clothing swap.

54. Organize a community yard sale.

55. Set up a share box or little free library in your neighborhood.

56. Plan a block party with your neighbors.

57. Talk to your neighbors—ask how they are.

58. Check on vulnerable people around you. Find out what they need.

59. Take dinner to a neighbor who needs it.

60. Start a community garden.

61. Collect banned books.

62. Share them freely.

63. Get a library card. Use it regularly.

64. Read paper books.

65. Make art for the sake of making art.

66. Buy art from artists.

67. Rest when you need to rest.

68. Find some lighthearted podcasts or books to enjoy.

69. Embrace boredom.

70. Get ok with being uncomfortable.

71. Keep a journal.

72. Record what’s changing around you.

73. Don’t dwell in the news. Set media boundaries.

74. Get outside as much as possible.

How to cut, assemble, and bind the printable

I’ve had a few questions on how to put together the printable version of the zine, and I probably need to do a video on that, but for now, here’s a little series of diagrams I drew with my daughters’ colored pencils while we were playing this morning.

Here are the steps I took to put it together:

Step 0: Download and print the PDF. It’s meant to be printed on the front and back of one 8.5x11 sheet. Your printer might have a setting to do this automatically. If not, print one side first, then reinsert the sheets (after testing to make sure it’s going to print in the right direction) and print the other side.

Step 1: Cut the sheet in half across the shorter side. Stack the two halves of the sheet on top of each other and fold them in half to create a little 4-page booklet. The cover should be on the outside, and the inside should have the protest crowd silhouette across the bottom.

Step 2: Bind the pages together. You have a few options here.

The quickest is probably to staple it. Because the finished zine is 1/4 of an 8.5x11 sheet, or 4.25”x5.5”, it’s a little too wide for most staplers to reach the center fold from the outside of the page. If you have a long-arm stapler, this isn’t an issue. You could also staple down the fold of the zine while it’s closed, you would just want to stay close to the edge to make sure the inside pages can open far enough.

The method I decided to use was to stitch the binding with a bit of embroidery thread and a darning needle. It does take a little more time than stapling, but not as much as I expected. If you’re only doing a handful and want to add a nice touch, the extra time is totally worth it, but also, it’s completely unnecessary. Use what you have, friends.

I have a vintage sewing box I bought at an estate sale years ago that I keep all my bits and bobs and odds and ends in, and I happened to have a sizable wad of thick yellow thread left over from a previous project. I’ve seen it called embroidery floss or cross stitch thread, but it’s the thick thread you would find wrapped in a little paper sleeve in the craft section, not on a spool. You could also use a thin ribbon, yarn, a bit of leftover string or twine. Again, use what you have.

I grabbed a darning needle and a push pin, because that’s what was nearby. The push pin ended up being pretty perfect for poking three holes along the center fold. You want one of the holes to be in the center, and the other two closer to the top and bottom edge but in a little. See my very professional diagram for an example.

I threaded the darning needle with the embroidery floss, pulling a couple of inches through the eye but not doubling the thread. Then I pushed the needle through the center hole, starting from the outside of the zine. I left a small tail of an inch or two sticking out and made sure to hold that with my finger so it didn’t pull through the hole.

This next part feels complicated to explain but is super easy to do, so I hope I can simplify it enough.

I pushed the needle back through the top hole to the outside of the zine, then down and back into the bottom hole, creating a solid line of thread running from the top hole to the bottom along the outer fold.

Finally, I went back through the center hole, alongside the original thread. I made sure to come up on the opposite side of the long thread running on the outside fold, so that when I tied off the thread using the original tail and the needle end it trapped the long thread underneath. Lastly, I trimmed the excess thread and left just enough so it doesn’t unravel.

That’s it! It really does sound harder than it is. Once I understood what I was doing it only took a few minutes per zine to accomplish. But again, this is just a nice extra touch that you can absolutely skip. The message matters more than the binding.

I’ll try to take a video when I have a moment, but hopefully, these instructions will suffice for now. If you have questions let me know in the comments and I’ll try to answer them!

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The Resistance Garden is a free publication focused on all the small ways we, as individual citizens, can resist the rise of authoritarianism and build a more just society together. If you’ve found anything I’ve written helpful and want to show your support, I appreciate every like, share, and subscription. You can also buy me a coffee below, or browse zines and other products in my online shop. Thanks for reading!