Meet Maia Gadwall: My Alter Ego

I needed time and space to decide who I want to be on the record, and it’s been a wild ride. First, you won’t find me on Meta or X these days. I left the social media broligarchy behind in favor of Discord and Bluesky — ah, decentralized and de-Nazified socialization, like Myspace Tom used to make. Enter my nom de guerre: Maia Gadwall.

If you’re a linguist and it’s making your brain itch, that’s by design. The tangential connection you’re tracing is actually just a pun: Mother Goose. It’s the same avatar as my gygnomian character Greddere in Noyath, because I intend to return to these stories. From Noyath to Auqredis to the games I’m building with the Basement Squirrel, I have many more tales to tell.

But if there’s going to be an audience for these stories, a community to build, and a world to leave my child, there will have to be a revolution against the fascist coup taking place in the United States at minimum, and against capitalism as a whole if we want real change for those who suffer under its exploitation: the proletariat.

Yep. It’s about to get hella political, profane, and unapologetic in here.

Why Bother with a Pseudonym If You’re Not Keeping It a Secret?

I’m not naïve. I am aware that there are potential dangers to associating with independent news organizations like 1440 and so-called “radical leftist movements” like General Strike US. I accept those risks because I believe in freedom of information, in sociocracy, and in a better world for all of us (even the assholes, once they figure out which end is up).

My family didn’t make the same commitment, though. The alias gives them one more shield, but we already had targets on us under our state’s (Missouri) and this administration’s (Trump, Musk) discriminatory policies (Project 2025). We are afforded some passing privilege by appearing straight, monogamous, married, able-bodied, and white (I always glow in the dark, kiddo is pale and blond, hubs is pale-ish in winter and all his paperwork agrees).

However, I am not straight and don’t always pass for cis even though I am, we are not monogamous nor religious, and my husband is very visibly Native but too many generations removed from life on either reservation to register. All three of us are disabled at some level. Our faces were never safe, mask or no, and they won’t be until we stop the leopards.

What Can I Do to Help?

Join the General Strike US movement as a volunteer and/or sign a strike card. Spread the word to every corner of the internet in case our access becomes compromised. Protest at your state capitol on 2/5/25 (all of them, all day; 50 states, 50 protests). Support small businesses (like mine) that align with your values and walk the walk.

Get organized, get angry at the right people, and get information from unbiased sources so you can act accordingly.

Let’s. Fucking. Go.

Originally published Feb. 3 2025 on Medium

BONUS ARTICLE

Why I Took a Hard Left Turn Well Before Albuquerque

Sorry, Bugsy baby. I've got my heart set on a working class revolution right here in the heartland...

If you have known or followed me for any length of time, you’ll know I consider myself pretty moderate. The middle of the road is my comfort zone and I have never been one to rock the boat. What I lack in strong preferences I channel into strong opinions about justice, freedom, autonomy, and compassion. These opinions all stem from the belief that every living person deserves to live their life in their body in the way that suits them best, given that way doesn’t harm another person without their explicit consent.

I used to describe myself as a left-leaning moderate because I thought meeting in the middle could ratchet some centrist heads out of the sand. I’m not, though, and it won’t, so I won’t be pretending to be “moderate” anymore. Technically, in the United States, my views are considered “radical” — too far left for the center-right Democrats or their left-most offerings. So, instead of taking misdirection from a drag-donning rabbit in New Mexico, let’s talk about what a New World could look like.

The Radical Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness

As I mentioned before, I believe every living person deserves to live their life in their body in the way that suits them best, given that way doesn’t harm another person without their explicit consent. This, I feel, aligns with these core tenets of American culture culled from the words of the founders themselves. We also have a responsibility to care and provide for our communities, because that’s what civilization is.

I believe in a decentralized communist sociocracy. Stay with me, I know your civics teacher is screaming from your core memories, but it’s not what you think. I’m not a Marxist; I’m not into dictators or authoritarianism. I mean true communism: communities governing themselves, sharing and circulating wealth and resources among community members, and helping where help is needed.

That requires a flat hierarchy, or “true democracy” among community members for resource distribution decisions, intercommunal relationships, and minimal standards of conduct. To maintain consent of the governed, these social contracts must be periodically renewed via updated democratic vote.

A decentralized sociocracy applies this concept across the globe to all communities, with a flat hierarchy and democratic processes to determine the minimal standards of conduct among communities and enforcement protocols predicated not on conquest, but cooperation. Thus, the “mob rule” concern so often touted by critics of democracy is negated without the weaponization of the state.

We the People Means EVERYONE

We can do this. We can make this a reality. All we have to do is stop capitulating to psychopaths and despots because they’re rich. Want to help make the world a better place, one neighborhood at a time? Check out the welcome packet from GSUS for resources and resistance groups near you!

Originally published Mar. 12 2025 on Medium