The Untethered Dilemma.
An exploration into why we’re so disconnected and where we go from here.
Connecting Care, Crisis, Community, Collectives and Capitalism.
We live in a world of stories about “the way the world is”. Some of them helpful, some harmful, some it’s too soon to tell. Some are splashed across billboards; others are just as powerful but less visible. Unless we examine these stories and where we come from, it’ll be difficult to tell where they are taking us and if this is the world we want to build.
Social researchers tell us that collectives and community connections are in rapid decline. On the whole, we are lonelier than ever and have fewer people with whom we feel comfortable asking for help. Yet many of us also have more self-efficacy and the ability to escape coercive relationships than previous generations. Is it possible to forge a way of being together that allows us to have a voice and escape harm while still remaining connected and truly caring for one another?
Oversimplifying the challenges won’t help us; and neither will trying to shame ourselves out of it. My hope is that by diving into the complexity with courage and kindness, we can find a better way to live together.
Oh, and I genuinely believe capitalism has both liberated us and is absolutely killing us. If you stay with me, I’m going to try and build a case for why I believe this.
My hope is that Untethered can become something more than just a source of ideas but a kind and vital conversation about how to navigate a version of the world we’re still coming to terms with. I would love your voice to be a part of this.
About me.
I’m Shane Meyer-Holt (he/him).
I haven’t entirely worked out what to tell you yet as I contain at least one (1) multitude. (.5 at the very least.)
I’m deeply interested in community formation, care, meaning-making, identity formation and a bunch of other things. I also work for a queer-affirming progressive church community and, wherever possible, support people who have experienced religious trauma.
I’m ADHD, so have many hobbies (very slow furniture-making is my current go-to), but these mostly work their way around the complexity of parenting two kids (one with a nervous system disability) with my wife, who in turn manages the complexity of living with a person who can never find their keys (me).
I’m a cis-het Pākehā* man who is well aware I write from a limited perspective but also believes that men need to speak up about the importance of care, community and vulnerability. I’m deeply shaped by liberation theologies and thinkers (particularly Latin American, Queer, Feminist, Maori and Afro-American).
I live on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation in (Naarm/Melbourne). Sovereignty was never ceded here - so I live on stolen ground.
*Pākehā is the Te Reo Māori name for non-Māori in Aotearoa.
How I engage.
I’ll write more fully about when I get a chance, but in the meantime please know that this is a labour of love that I fit around everything else. It’s a joy to write and discuss this stuff, but it will always need to work around my in-person life. My friends, family, and work really matter to me, so I won’t always be able to reply to messages or be available in this space.
My hope is that a kind community of wise and impish souls can gather that will be able to offer more than I ever could on my own.
Why subscribe?
There’ll be more to come, but I’m committed to making as much of this content as possible available for free.
I have a bunch of ideas for the future, but in the meantime, any paid subscriptions will fuel me with a little coffee (daytime) or beer (mostly nighttime) as I write.
If people want to chip in, and paid subscriptions allow, I’ll be able to allocate a bunch more time to developing this. I have about 3 years worth of stuff to get through already, so there’s plenty more to come!
If anyone is facing financial difficulties, I will happily provide a comped subscription to unlock anything they cannot access - money should never, ever, ever be a barrier to this work. No shame, no questions asked. I’ll just admire you for asking.
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