Read on Twitter
we already live in a boring dystopia
(3rd pic is a vending machine in a Russian mall for buying Likes on Instagram or VK)
If you got this far, here are some of my past threads
https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/939810687991234560?s=21
https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/939810687991234560?s=21
I've seen hundreds of people retweet this with variants of "this is so depressing", "I don't know whether to laugh or cry", "what a terrible world"... but @jadedsynic's response arrested me. One person in thousands saying "let's fix this".
Followed.
https://twitter.com/JadedSynic/status/990786838636843008
Followed.
https://twitter.com/JadedSynic/status/990786838636843008
Make that two persons. Imagine a world where you have to be a grandmother to be a head-of-state https://twitter.com/Kaessa/status/990798083968544769
Imagine a world where you have to be a grandmother to be a head-of-state https://twitter.com/Kaessa/status/990798083968544769
A valid criticism – if I could edit the original tweet to include a link to /r/aboringdystopia, I would. (It's the source of all these pics.) I didn't think more than 10 people would care about another one of my of threads of pictures I've been posting https://twitter.com/DanielfromSport/status/990799440649834496
Also I think degrees matter – people reposting pics without credit are bad, capital exploiting labor is worse. There should be different levels of hell. I'm happy to burn for my sins, please just burn the "Sexual Harrassment Is Bad For Profitability" guys worse
I just remembered – I actually have a bunch of notes and links about dystopia-related stuff on my blog: http://www.visakanv.com/blog/dystopia/
I really appreciate the people who responded with some variation of “we need to do better”, “how can I help”, etc. I posted these mainly as a “note to self” for future reference (I have all sorts of threads like this) - and the point of that has always been to increase awareness
The point of increasing awareness, in turn, is ultimately to have people agree that it’s a problem- so that we can then meaningfully coordinate action about it. Everyone can contribute in different ways. Activism and advocacy, sure, but also personal, private, everyday decisions
There IS a cynical voice in my head that says “this is simply how people are, it will never be fixed, boot stamping on human face forever,” etc. But I don’t want to indulge that voice. I want to be part of the tribe that resists. That builds and provides refuge from this madness
All of this feels wrong because it’s dehumanizing. And so I imagine the antidote is to humanize. To treat people fairly, and kindly, with love. A part of me regrets that these tweets have made some people feel down, depressed, frustrated, helpless. I don’t want that.
The way to face down the faceless forces of greed and selfishness is to decide to act the opposite way in our personal lives. We probably have to do a lot more than that, of course - but even doing that would be a phenomenal start, I think. A foundation to nourish the resistance.
I think people are conditioned into apathy - “I can barely keep my own shit in order, how can I change the world?” This is pretty depressing.
I’d like to frame it in terms of tribal affiliation: “What sort of people do I want in my life + how do I nourish and support them?”
I’d like to frame it in terms of tribal affiliation: “What sort of people do I want in my life + how do I nourish and support them?”
I’m reminded of a quote from somebody’s professor: you want to save the world. It’s okay if you only save one person. And it’s okay if that person is you.
The world can be pretty shitty, yeah. But there can still be joy & happiness despite that. You don’t have to fix everything
The world can be pretty shitty, yeah. But there can still be joy & happiness despite that. You don’t have to fix everything
If all you ever do is take better care of yourself, you would have helped. If you carve out a space for yourself that’s separate from the consumer frenzy, you would have helped. If you treat others with kindness and compassion and refuse to evaluate them based on $$$, you helped
People throughout history have tried to live an virtuous life. Some maybe even succeeded. But what matters is - they tried. We can choose to try, too. And people who are trying are the best companions on this weird-ass journey we call life (that none of us signed up for, lmao)
