209. We All Play a Role in the Resistance

Where do we go from here?

Where are the leaders?

Why does it feel like no one is doing anything?

In this solo episode of The Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, we work to dismantle one of the most persistent myths about resistance: that it only looks one way — loud, visible, risky, and centered on a single kind of leader.

Drawing on history, journalism, and movement research, this episode explores why successful resistance movements don’t rely on heroes or front lines alone. They rely on ecosystems. Networks of people taking on different roles at different times, based on capacity, skill, and sustainability.

Meg situates this conversation specifically within outdoor spaces and the outdoor industry, where leadership and power have historically been framed through a narrow, often white lens. By examining who has always been forced to resist, and who has often had the privilege not to, this episode challenges listeners to reconsider where leadership already exists, and what real allyship actually requires.

Meg unpacks why neutrality can be dangerous, how “malignant normality” takes hold, and why resistance must include collective care if it’s going to last.

Finally, this episode offers a framework for understanding the many roles that show up in movements that actually work, including:

- Frontlines

- Organizers

- Caregivers

- Storytellers

- Educators

- Builders

- Supporters

And invites listeners to identify where they can contribute honestly and sustainably.

Because resistance isn’t a sprint.

It’s not even a marathon.

It’s a relay, and everyone has a role.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/outdoor.minimalist.book/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Buy Me a Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/outdoorminimalist

⁠⁠⁠Listener Survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/jd8UCN2LL3AQst976

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Recommended Books on Resistance & Social Movements

- Erica Chenoweth & Maria J. Stephan — Why Civil Resistance Works (2011)

- Gene Sharp — The Politics of Nonviolent Action (1973)

- Sarah Jaffe — Necessary Trouble (2016)

- Judith Butler — Frames of War (2009)

- Peter Kropotkin — Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution (1902)

- Umberto Eco — How to Spot a Fascist (2020)

- Timothy Snyder — On Tyranny (2017)

- Saul D. Alinsky — Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971)

- bell hooks — Feminism Is for Everybody (2000)

- Audre Lorde — Sister Outsider (1984)

- If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance, edited by Angela Y. Davis (1971)

- Ellen Jones — Outrage (2025)

- Leah Thomas — Intersectional Environmentalist (2022)

- Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò — Elite Capture (2022)

- Rebecca Solnit — Hope in the Dark (2004)

- Rebecca Solnit — A Paradise Built in Hell (2009)

- Sara Ahmed — The Feminist Killjoy Handbook (2023)

- Omkari L. Williams — Micro Activism (2023)

- adrienne maree brown — Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (2019)

- Arlie Russell Hochschild — Strangers in Their Own Land (2016)

- Maria Ressa — How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future (2022)

- Guy B. Johnson & James A. Dombrowski — The Highlander Folk School

- Charles Tilly — Social Movements, 1768–2004

Free Online Resources

International Center on Nonviolent Conflict — Methods of Nonviolent Action

https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/

Stanford Mapping Militancy Project — Leadership & Movement Research

https://mappingmilitants.org/

Kimberlé Crenshaw — Intersectionality essays & TED Talk

https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality

If you’re new to this topic, Rebecca Solnit and Sarah Jaffe are great starting points.