Scustin Bieburr
Baby baybee baybee UUUGH
Condensed post:
The media(this includes your favorite influencers) is less focused on telling you what you can do immediately, and more focused on describing what's happening.
Politicians do not live under the same material conditions you do. The stakes for their failures are low, and their decisions are out of your control until they are up for re election. Vote, but don't pin your hopes on any specific politicians.
Unless the economy is owned by the people, things won't change. Supporting people in your community will make you feel more effective and add value to your life.
Long version:
I say this shyt as one of the most consistent contributer to news threads. I'm trying to limit my screen time too. I'm not saying don't watch the news, but what I am saying is don't fall into the rabbit holes.
Streamers, youtubers, and Podcasters basically all just have the same things:
A. This thing is awful and you'll feel sad(basically anything coming out about gaza)
B. This thing is terrible and you'll feel furious(basically any new legislation the current federal government is pushing/anything related to epstein)
C. Nostalgia(these things were better)
Now let's get over some hard to accept realities:
A.Nobody in power will actually hold their counterparts accountable for the crimes that they commit. You've witnessed this for yourself since you became politically aware. Billionaires don't suffer real consequences, politicians never see jail time.
B. There are things this government will do and they will get away with it. Protests are a waste of time, and they're actively taking over the courts. They will just start throwing football numbers at protesters eventually. The opposition sees this as little more than a game they're currently losing. They will double down on their losing strategies because the stakes are not the same as yours.
C. Media at this point is about keeping you watching. Regardless of their ideological tint, they still ultimately will focus on talking about the same topics. They aren't instructive, they're simply telling you what's happened and how they expect you to feel, but not what to *do*
D. Currently our political system is companies trying to secure monopolies and tax subsidies. When you vote, you're essentially just playing with an unplugged controller. The policy decisions will be made with or without your input anything that helps you is a benefit, but not the priority.
I'm not saying do not vote, but I AM saying vote like it's a tradition, a ritual in which you hope that things will change but recognize that you have a role to play in whether things do.
This brings me to 3 things:
1. If you don't currently work in a unionized environment, get a group chat going with your closest coworkers. You can use signal to keep your shyt encrypted. Approach the topic and if it starts to catch on, look at the law around unionization.
aflcio.org
2. Review your budget if you're not already doing so. If you know what you can get online for free, do that shyt. Renew that library card and rent yourself some games, movies, etc. And donate what you've got. There are apps you can use to track your expenses and systematically cancel subscriptions you don't need.
www.rocketmoney.com
3. Find a local mutual aid network in your community and help people accept help. At the end of the day we are all that we have. Mutual aid is how many of our ancestors were able to survive. It goes back very far to the point that at least one of your ancestors(if youre FBA) would have been involved.
en.wikipedia.org
www.mutualaidhub.org
If you have fire arms, you can act as security as well. You can do more than vote every couple years. In the words of our favorite grand dad.
The media(this includes your favorite influencers) is less focused on telling you what you can do immediately, and more focused on describing what's happening.
Politicians do not live under the same material conditions you do. The stakes for their failures are low, and their decisions are out of your control until they are up for re election. Vote, but don't pin your hopes on any specific politicians.
Unless the economy is owned by the people, things won't change. Supporting people in your community will make you feel more effective and add value to your life.
Long version:
I say this shyt as one of the most consistent contributer to news threads. I'm trying to limit my screen time too. I'm not saying don't watch the news, but what I am saying is don't fall into the rabbit holes.
Streamers, youtubers, and Podcasters basically all just have the same things:
A. This thing is awful and you'll feel sad(basically anything coming out about gaza)
B. This thing is terrible and you'll feel furious(basically any new legislation the current federal government is pushing/anything related to epstein)
C. Nostalgia(these things were better)
Now let's get over some hard to accept realities:
A.Nobody in power will actually hold their counterparts accountable for the crimes that they commit. You've witnessed this for yourself since you became politically aware. Billionaires don't suffer real consequences, politicians never see jail time.
B. There are things this government will do and they will get away with it. Protests are a waste of time, and they're actively taking over the courts. They will just start throwing football numbers at protesters eventually. The opposition sees this as little more than a game they're currently losing. They will double down on their losing strategies because the stakes are not the same as yours.
C. Media at this point is about keeping you watching. Regardless of their ideological tint, they still ultimately will focus on talking about the same topics. They aren't instructive, they're simply telling you what's happened and how they expect you to feel, but not what to *do*
D. Currently our political system is companies trying to secure monopolies and tax subsidies. When you vote, you're essentially just playing with an unplugged controller. The policy decisions will be made with or without your input anything that helps you is a benefit, but not the priority.
I'm not saying do not vote, but I AM saying vote like it's a tradition, a ritual in which you hope that things will change but recognize that you have a role to play in whether things do.
This brings me to 3 things:
1. If you don't currently work in a unionized environment, get a group chat going with your closest coworkers. You can use signal to keep your shyt encrypted. Approach the topic and if it starts to catch on, look at the law around unionization.
What Unions Do | AFL-CIO
Rocket Money - Take control of your money
Rocket Money is the easiest way to find subscriptions, manage bills, and even cancel recurring charges with a single click.
www.rocketmoney.com
3. Find a local mutual aid network in your community and help people accept help. At the end of the day we are all that we have. Mutual aid is how many of our ancestors were able to survive. It goes back very far to the point that at least one of your ancestors(if youre FBA) would have been involved.
Free African Society - Wikipedia
Mutual Aid Hub
Find Mutual Aid Networks and other community self-support projects near you. Join these important efforts, offer resources, or submit needs requests.
not even 1 year in
