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Welcome to /c/AmA

Want a scheduled AMA announced ahead of time? Contact Awoo directly at the bottom of this sidebar.

Please stick to one of either three post types:

A standard Ask Me Anything post.

A request post -- (What is the format and why should I make a request post?)

A gauging interest post -- (What is this?)

What is an AmA?

AmA’s or “Ask Me Anything” began on the old internet, originally AOL chatrooms, later followed by Slashdot. They are crowdsourced interviews where the interviewee first makes a post describing who they are and what they do. Commenters then leave questions and can vote on other questions according to which they would like to see answered.

The interviewee can then go through and reply to the questions they find interesting, and easily see those questions the internet is dying to have the answer too. Questions will be a mixture of radical, serious and lighthearted resulting in the kind of interview you won’t get elsewhere.

What Topics Are Allowed?

Anyone can do an Ask Me Anything. The topic of the AmA must meet the rules below, and in some cases you must provide proof of the claims you are making. Ask Me Anything topics fall into two categories:

Something that plays a central role in your life. The prime example of this is a person's job; posts about someone's occupation are almost always allowed. A person's topic should be something that they know thoroughly and is important to them; this gives them more to discuss and a more thorough background in the field.

A truly interesting and unique event. An example would be "I organised a protest against x." It's an activity that doesn't play a central role in someone's life but is so uncommon that many users would not have experiences of their own to relate to it.

AmAs should NOT be about:

Mutual-Aid and Crowd Funding - AmA submitters that include any aid or funding campaign must be eligible for an AmA without the campaign for it to be allowed. Additionally, the focus of the AmA must not be the campaign -- those posts would be more appropriate in the mutual-aid community. Posts about suicide.

Other Restrictions:

Giveaways are not permitted on AmA. Contests and giveaways already running on a third party site prior to the AmA are acceptable

Proof

Proof in the case of public figures or orgs may be a social media post on an official account. For other topics it may be a proof image. This does not always have to be included in the post at the time of posting and it may be discussed with the moderators and provided privately. We will ALWAYS respect your complete privacy.

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Awoo@hexbear.net

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It’s me, BilduEnjoyer, long time lurker. I’m trans-masc and fled America for the Basque Country (Euskara) last month. I made it! AMA (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 weeks ago by BilduEnjoyer@hexbear.net to c/ama@hexbear.net

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Pictured: ACAB at a public, well maintained, outdoor gym.

I’m a long time Hexbear lurker. I came here as a lib from r/chapotraphouse and now I’m a lib who has read some theory. Thanks y’all!

I am Basque diaspora and trans masc. I had been planning to move to Euskadi (Basque Country) years ago, but with the rise of fascism in the states and the risk of being disappeared for being trans and openly anti-fascist I decided that I had to flee the country ASAP. I used all my savings, help from family, and a fundraiser to escape. I am extraordinarily lucky and beyond grateful to my found family and other loved ones. I hope to pay it forward.

I’m now living in a punk apartment in the middle of Bilbao, a historically anti-fascist region of Spain and a former victim of Franco’s reign of terror during the Spanish Civil War. The bones and memories of the Basque Partisans who fought and died for a better future are ever present.

A few facts about the Bilbao:

Bilbao has a massive community center called “Azkuna Zentroa”

https://www.azkunazentroa.eus/es/

The center contains:

A massive “climate refugee” space with heating in the winter and cooling in the summer for everyone to use, for free, as needed. Inside this space there is also clean bathrooms (nicest in the city imo) and an exhibition hall.
A library featuring DVD’s, media editing centers, reserve study sections, a floor dedicated to comics, and a residency hall for international comic artists. There are books in Basque, Spanish, various other languages.
A movie theater featuring independent films, locally made cinema, and more popular films for families. Tickets are about $5.50 on Tuesdays.
For an additional cost there is access to a really nice, low light, gym and a pool. People with disabilities are accommodated with their own specialized locker rooms. Gym classes are free with membership.

————

The old part of Bilbao is over 700 years old and is full of Basque punks. There is fierce support of Palestine with actions performed every week. The center of the old town is dominated by CNT: Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, more information can be found here (Sorry it’s Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederaci%C3%B3n_Nacional_del_Trabajo

CNT has been setting up “Free Sectors of Bilbao” and emancipating abandoned churches and buildings for use as housing for the homeless. I have seen these projects throughout the city, this org puts the work in and has been active for over 100 years.

I could go on but there is so much I want to blab about. Euskadi isn’t perfect, but it is an oasis in Western Europe.

AMA and I will try to answer what I can.

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[–] jack@hexbear.net 13 points 2 weeks ago

For me it was a breath taking moment when I first arrived as a teen, because I went from only knowing suburbia, big box stores, and alienation- so this place is very special to me because it showed me how things didn’t have to be that way.

Beautiful