by Kaithleen Hernandez
Mutual aid has had a resurgence in recent years despite it being a practice as old as life on Earth. Civilizations have leaned on mutual aid even in times before money existed as we know it today. It is nothing new but has been conflated to equate to direct service aid when it is much more than that.
There are plenty of examples of how mutual aid has shown up across time globally, and I will let you research that on your own so you can be inspired by the communal ways of the past.
I would like to encourage you to think of the framework of mutual aid in the present day and what it can mean for us to adopt this culturally. Mutual aid is not just about providing a service to someone or helping someone pay their bills. After all, the neighbor you tend to lend sugar to is not just some stranger. There is reciprocity rooted at it, and it can start as small as a simple exchange or a daily acknowledgment. We give to those who participate, and that is not to say we should exclude those who are disabled or unable to reciprocate. All beings are deserving of care regardless of what they can give.
Yet, mutual aid has become a term that subsidizes when in reality this term is rooted in a rich history of cooperation and collaboration. Egalitarian societies did not just come to be, they worked towards collective progress and viewed themselves as equals. When somebody in community grieved loss, there was more willingness to support because of that history of collaboration amongst each other.
We must bring back the social element to mutual aid. We must create environments where people will want to participate in, to have a share in the process of a project or program. Our society has extracted so much of what it means to be human, we have allowed linear transfers of exchange and forgotten that reciprocation is what used to bind us together.
Mutual aid is more than just donating cans of food; it’s volunteering at the food bank and having relationships that encourage those who receive care to volunteer there. We must remind people that they are part of something, that we want them around no matter what their circumstances. We want to be there for them in times of need, and hope that they will be there for us in times of need.
So, if you leave with anything, please remember to be the neighbor who gives sugar and also the neighbor who asks for sugar.