A Philosophy of Knowledge

I kind of fundamentally disagree with the concept forbidden knowledge, that is the idea that knowledge is inherently dangerous in itself.  I think what's dangerous is a lack of critical thinking and questioning of both oneself and others.  I think understanding, even of ideas one is opposed to, sometimes especially ideas one is opposed to, is important to a person's political and philosophical development.  The important thing is not to fall into the trap of thinking we understand it all and have nothing to learn from others.

Activism and Protests

I think there's a kind of totalizing thinking where a lot of people, whether they are really into activism or think it's kind of pointless, end up drawing this false equivalency of activism = protests.

And while I believe protests are a necessary part of activism, they are far from the entirety of it, and in fact protests in the absence of the other necessary components of activism are not sufficient to bring about change.

Activism is made up of many components: conceptualizing what you want, understanding the obstacles to get there, raising awareness of the problem, gaining support for your cause, direct action to obtain the result you desire, helping to organize other people to work toward the solution, mutual aid, and more.  A person doesn't have to have the set of skills and abilities that makes someone good at protesting to help advance their cause.  Whatever a person's skills, they are something that can help that cause.  And if a person has no skills?  Well, that's okay, too.  You can't be faulted for what you can't do.

TVP Tacos

I made some textured soy protein (TSP) tacos last night with the homemade tortillas and guacamole spread I made earlier, and they were exactly what I was craving.

Here are the ingredients I used: 

* 1 cup textured soy protein, abbreviated as TSP ( also known as  textured vegetable protein, abbreviated  as TVP)

* 1.5 cups water

* 1 onion

* Half a vegetable bouillion cube

* garlic powder

* chili powder

* cumin

* cayenne pepper

* ground chipotle chili pepper

* smoked hot spanish paprika

* my homemade tortillas (made of masa flour, ground flax, and chia seed)

* my homemade avocado spread (mashed avocado, garlic powder, paprika, pumpkin seeds, and lemon juice) 

* chopped tomatoes

* chopped lettuce

I got the instructions to make the TVP from this recipe:

https://lettucevegout.com/recipes/tvp-taco-meat/

Though of course I changed the seasonings and didn't chop any fresh garlic to reduce preparation time.