Do we really want out?

[Leo]

or if we just sit on the sidelines (aka, twitter) and throw stones. same deal.

 

[IdleRich]

Out of what?

Samsara.

 

[version]

Trump was a lightning rod for this sort of thing. You could see a ton of people loved to hate him. The NYT etc loved churning out their "... in the age of Trump... " pieces and we loved getting angry at each new horrible development.

 

[Leo]

Trump was a lightning rod for this sort of thing. You could see a ton of people loved to hate him. The NYT etc loved churning out their "... in the age of Trump... " pieces and we loved getting angry at each new horrible development.

but the alternative is to overlook it, which leads to normalizing the behavior. better to shine a light and call it out than let it become the norm.

 

[version]

That article Corpse posted was about how people feel overloaded, how we're increasingly atomised, locked away. It was a decent read, but how many times have we heard that now? Why can't we stop repeating ourselves? What do we get out of it?

 

[IdleRich]

Yeah [Edit: agreeing with Leo]... I don't feel at all conflicted about Trump, it was right to point out his lies and, joking aside, I'm glad he's gone, no morbid attraction to his orange glamour in me. I wish Brexit was so easy to dislodge. I try to think about that less cos the damage is worse and more permanent. It truly makes me sad, and if it was reversed tomorrow I would celebrate like crazy and - once again - there would be no "what do I moan about now?" feeling whatsoever.

 

[version]

I'm not talking about a morbid attraction to him personally or arguing that they shouldn't have reported on him. I'm talking about people enjoying reading and writing about him, claiming to hate him whilst being unable to look away.

 

[boxedjoy]

some people treat politics as a game, a popularity contest and gossip mill based on old connections and networking, and don't have to live with the consequences. Some people treat it like real life because it has real impact on them.

I absolutely do want out, badly.

 

[Leo]

(in response to version) but I don't think that's necessarily love/hate. that very well just could be unrelenting opposition.

 

[luka]

I do really want out. That's my answer. It's the only thing I want.

 

[version]

Apparently talking about how you're going to do something sates the part of your brain associated with actually doing it, perhaps that's what's happening when people vote or read theory or sign petitions. You're tricking yourself into thinking you're doing something simply by reading Marx or whatever.

 

[luka]

I have had moments where its been anywhere on the scale from tolerable to quite fun though. Sometimes because of drugs and sometimes through being immersed in some funny project like pretending to make a film or writing something. There have been brief periods where it's really felt like, I've cracked it! This is how you're supposed to live!

 

[Leo]

I do really want out. That's my answer. It's the only thing I want.

and then what happens? a calculated risk that it'll be better, but still uncertain.

 

[version]

There's a cynic in me who definitely feels some of the theory lot wouldn't really want to get out because they enjoy what they're doing too much and wouldn't be able to talk about it anymore.

 

[Leo]

Apparently talking about how you're going to do something sates the part of your brain associated with actually doing it, perhaps that's what's happening when people vote or read theory or sign petitions. You're tricking yourself into thinking you're doing something simply by reading Marx or whatever.

that's the worst, and why I generallyl hate twitter. that's all it is, armchair pontificating that deludes people into thinking they've taken action. voting, I think, is different because it's an action that can have consequences. people in Georgia voted in the senatorial runoff and we have a potentially different country as a result.

 

[IdleRich]

I'm not talking about a morbid attraction to him personally or arguing that they shouldn't have reported on him. I'm talking about people enjoying reading and writing about him, claiming to hate him whilst being unable to look away.

That's exactly what I was meaning to refer to. I can honestly say that although i wrote about him more than most I will be happy to be able to forget about him.
nb this does not preclude me gloating over impeachment or any legal troubles that should arise

 

[luka]

The big thing is that as you change your habits your body and your mind change, what it feels like to alive changes, what it feels like to be in this vehicle etc.

But I have found you hit a bit of a brick wall at a certain point in that you can't really go past a certain point alone. If it's just a personal improvement project it tends to stall, because ultimately no one can really care that much about themselves. It doesn't matter enough.

You want to have a gang.

And you want to create actual ripples in the world around you.

 

[version]

I've known a few people irl who seemed to relish talking about and wallowing in their problems, so much so I got the impression they didn't really want to move beyond them. If they ever did manage to deal with an issue, they'd always seem to find another to repeat the process with.

 

[luka]

Yeah version we get it! Other people are a drag!

 

[version]

Yeah version we get it! Other people are a drag!

You're such a drag.