I used to go to a lot of protests. I moved to a bigger city, partially to do so. I don’t feel any of the protests moved the needle at all, unfortunately. I got a call from a former friend of mine (who had already gone off the deep end into conspiracy theories) because he saw me on Alex Jones who was rolling C-SPAN footage of a protest. It was under 10 degrees F that night. My partner at the time almost got frostbite.
But you go on ahead and be entirely unempathetic and assuming you know people’s lives based on jack shit.
This is why we can’t have nice things. People with similar political goals cannot even be slightly nice to each other. You clearly were just waiting to jump down my throat.
Oh I used to, and still do, go to a lot of protests. I make the choice to do so, and continue doing so. I agree they haven’t moved the needle one bit, which is why I keep telling everyone at these protests “We should be doing this in gated communities outside the houses of millionaires and billionaires, not outside buildings they never go to block traffic for other workers.” Would you go back to protesting if say an Occupy or BLM movement happened in gated communities, outside the homes of the rich?
Yeah, I would if anything about the protest seemed like it could make it more effective. You could stand to treat people better, and so could I. I’m in a bad fucking spot and I just really don’t need to be chided like this shit is even .0000000000001% my fault. It’s fucking not. I didn’t ask for this shit world/country.
Can’t change the past, but we can make the future together comrade. Because doing nothing is doing something. Sorry you’re having a hard time, I am too, recent Graves disease diagnoses basically has me out of work and stuck inside for the next year less I have a heart attack. Seeing that Nazi salute and everyone downplaying that has fueled a fire in me, which doesn’t help my heart. I refuse to back down though and be complacent, especially if it means dying. Feels good to believe in something you’re willing to die for though, beats being lost and used.
I wish you luck with your health. The mental anguish getting inflicted right now… I don’t know how we can move forward. I hope I can find a way to feel at all useful. Not seeing it, yet.
I recently read the book ‘Dawn of Everything’ which is a somewhat expose on some of the data about humans, human nature, and inequality discovered by anthropologists and archaeologists in the last 20 or so years thanks to modern technology, and while I’m weary of any “grand narratives” on human evolution like say ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’, ‘Sapiens’, ‘The Next/Last 100 Years’ I find that the actual scientific evidence paints a much more optimistic view of humans and our politics without being shy about our wickedness. In short our so-called “development” isn’t linear at all, and the limits to our societies is simply our imaginations. Human beings are destined for freedom and communion, the more our technology breaks social barriers the closer we move towards a global village. The difference is I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to that, and that excites me. Consider this my thanks :)
The acting part is important. They’re all action and no theory, we’re all theory and no action. I mean they stormed the capitol for god’s sake. I want to start reading more on Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, Gil Scott Heron, back when the left still existed before being squashed by the police and FBI. Their torch needs to be carried now more than ever.
It’s reeeeaaaaally wordy, I recommend audiobook or read along with audiobook. It’s not complicated language or anything it’s just reeeeaaaally dense, i’d take breaks between pages to digest what I’ve read.
Yeah, I went audiobook. I’m out of practice with reading books in print and I get very sleepy when I try. If I do audiobooks I can be doing other mindless tasks and also absorbing the material. And I don’t mind rewinding if I miss something.
I used to go to a lot of protests. I moved to a bigger city, partially to do so. I don’t feel any of the protests moved the needle at all, unfortunately. I got a call from a former friend of mine (who had already gone off the deep end into conspiracy theories) because he saw me on Alex Jones who was rolling C-SPAN footage of a protest. It was under 10 degrees F that night. My partner at the time almost got frostbite.
But you go on ahead and be entirely unempathetic and assuming you know people’s lives based on jack shit.
This is why we can’t have nice things. People with similar political goals cannot even be slightly nice to each other. You clearly were just waiting to jump down my throat.
Oh I used to, and still do, go to a lot of protests. I make the choice to do so, and continue doing so. I agree they haven’t moved the needle one bit, which is why I keep telling everyone at these protests “We should be doing this in gated communities outside the houses of millionaires and billionaires, not outside buildings they never go to block traffic for other workers.” Would you go back to protesting if say an Occupy or BLM movement happened in gated communities, outside the homes of the rich?
Yeah, I would if anything about the protest seemed like it could make it more effective. You could stand to treat people better, and so could I. I’m in a bad fucking spot and I just really don’t need to be chided like this shit is even .0000000000001% my fault. It’s fucking not. I didn’t ask for this shit world/country.
Can’t change the past, but we can make the future together comrade. Because doing nothing is doing something. Sorry you’re having a hard time, I am too, recent Graves disease diagnoses basically has me out of work and stuck inside for the next year less I have a heart attack. Seeing that Nazi salute and everyone downplaying that has fueled a fire in me, which doesn’t help my heart. I refuse to back down though and be complacent, especially if it means dying. Feels good to believe in something you’re willing to die for though, beats being lost and used.
EDIT - I want to smile like this guy one day:
I wish you luck with your health. The mental anguish getting inflicted right now… I don’t know how we can move forward. I hope I can find a way to feel at all useful. Not seeing it, yet.
I recently read the book ‘Dawn of Everything’ which is a somewhat expose on some of the data about humans, human nature, and inequality discovered by anthropologists and archaeologists in the last 20 or so years thanks to modern technology, and while I’m weary of any “grand narratives” on human evolution like say ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’, ‘Sapiens’, ‘The Next/Last 100 Years’ I find that the actual scientific evidence paints a much more optimistic view of humans and our politics without being shy about our wickedness. In short our so-called “development” isn’t linear at all, and the limits to our societies is simply our imaginations. Human beings are destined for freedom and communion, the more our technology breaks social barriers the closer we move towards a global village. The difference is I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to that, and that excites me. Consider this my thanks :)
Just to add, I think this is and always has been true. It was always what I found comforting. I used to be way more hopeful.
…It’s just a question of whose imaginations get acted upon.
The acting part is important. They’re all action and no theory, we’re all theory and no action. I mean they stormed the capitol for god’s sake. I want to start reading more on Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, Gil Scott Heron, back when the left still existed before being squashed by the police and FBI. Their torch needs to be carried now more than ever.
Thanks for that recc. I just found it on Libby. I hope it hits me like it did you.
It’s reeeeaaaaally wordy, I recommend audiobook or read along with audiobook. It’s not complicated language or anything it’s just reeeeaaaally dense, i’d take breaks between pages to digest what I’ve read.
Yeah, I went audiobook. I’m out of practice with reading books in print and I get very sleepy when I try. If I do audiobooks I can be doing other mindless tasks and also absorbing the material. And I don’t mind rewinding if I miss something.