M.A.S.S. Revolution

A HUGE THANK YOU to MesquiteOJones on Tiktok for teaching about these two networks.

Building community relies on two networks working together in tandem. Community members can be crows or they can be pigeons, or they can be both. However, not everyone can do both.

So what is a crow network? A crow network is responsible for sharing little bits of information. Crows tell everyone what is beneficial, what doesn’t work, and any warnings they may have heard about. They don’t hold onto information, they share it. Think of it almost like a phone tree. One crow shares the info they know with a couple of other crows, who then share it with more crows and so on. It’s a quick way to get info out to those that need it. Of course, being a crow comes with responsibility. Crows need to make sure that the information is verified so as not to spread misinformation.

While crow networks share information, pigeon networks share goods. Pigeons will put useful items in places where they won’t be taken, but can be found by those that need them. Pigeons work with the crows to get the item and location information out. There’s quite a bit more coordination needed from pigeons including keeping track of where items are located, what needs replacing, etc. These goods can be anything, from food, medicine, cash, weapons. There is a certain level of responsibility within both of these networks to only use the goods when absolutely needed to to communicate to the pigeon network that replacement will need to occur.

Pigeon networks are extremely useful for people that don’t have a lot but there are a lot of people with a little to share. A small group of pigeons will hold onto a map of where the goods or resources are located and when they get pinged, they can direct the person in need to where they need to go. Each pigeon should narrow down the resources they specifically deal with. For example, if you have a way to get free food, then when people need food, they go to you. If someone needs emergency housing, they contact the pigeon that has an in with getting housing.

Crows help with finding and distributing the information and who to contact for resources. Crow networks can be joined freely and you can join as many as you want and share info between them. Pigeon networks require more coordination, responsibility, and requires trust from the community because the pigeons are responsible for all of the community’s resources.

These networks don’t need to be regional but the crows and pigeons must have integrity, consistency, and trustworthiness. And you cannot be a fair weather crow or pigeon, because in times of crisis you will not know what to do.

So which are you?