I like that idea, although I think we need some simpler guides as to what exactly one might he getting into if they’re setting up an instance that’s not just a domain name. (Costs, potential usage blowing up, legal issues with content, etc…)

Also, I really think there needs to be a smoother way to navigate between instances. I guess, so you’re still aware of “jumping nodes”, but also don’t feel locked in there. (Although maybe I’m just a newb still haha)

Truuue!

I probably engage here a little much too, but I’m glad there’s not a ton of “You also might like based on where your mouse hovered 0.4 seconds longer” panels on every single page!

Just wanna say, I’ve seen you on a lot of posts and I really appreciate your fervor in trying to reach out with hope and education after this dark turn of events. It’s important work and I’m really glad to feel we aren’t alone.

I don’t know if we agree 100% on a lot of things, but if we win a world where we can keep peaceably debating the merits of various pro-human policies, then we’ve won, and that’s worth fighting for.

Please make sure you’re taking good care of yourself and getting fresh air once in a while too, amigo. All this doomsaying by people can weary the soul. But thanks for putting so much effort into your outreach posts. :)

–Sincerely, A Christian-Anarchist (USA)

Bough it

Twish it!

Pull it!

(Yeah I know this joke is a stretch lmao)

massive recession. What smart thing do you think were going to do about it?

I remember 2008 like yesterday. “Nobody hiring. Mass layoffs. No jobs.”, and then it seems like that same cycle has just been on regular repeat the rest of our lives up to this point. (Meanwhile, record profits because of course!)

This is what I really worry about. I’m still trying but still on the same treadmill. I’m not a super genius or a heartless grifter, so I don’t really know if I can be clever enough for us to get through this… And that scares the crap out of me.

Had us in the first half, not gonna lie. LOL

You’re not wrong about how they operate.

But there’s absolutely far reaching consequences to major decisions by leaders in power. Don’t fool yourself thinking “It hasn’t burned down yet” just because it’s not a Hollywood societal-collapse movie before your eyes.

Work sucks more than ever for us now. Know why? Long-dead Reagan absolutely destroyed workers’ rights and established precedents that put bosses much higher on society’s totem pole. Recessions happened. People get desperate and forget that they even HAD rights as workers. Clawing this back is the battle of our time at home.

Before that? FDR’s New Deal actually secured quite a bit of prosperity for people amidst a complete disaster. People still benefit from Social Security to this day, even if only a little.

Teddy Roosevelt established the National Park system. Now we’re happy we don’t have luxury apartments in the middle of Yosemite or Yellowstone, or fast food chains all along the Grand Canyon. (Or it hasn’t been used as a landfill or something because the hole was already dug so it saves costs!)

Citizen’s United is why we have trillions of dollars in shadow-money funding “both sides” of a broken system. (Although that wasn’t put up to vote, the people in charge were sworn in by people that were elected.)

TL;DR: I get it. It’s all stupid, we’re all constantly lied to. That’s super lame. We know and we hate it.

BUT:

Votes. Have. Consequences.

Oo! Or had the supreme court declare it’s okay to commit any crime you want as long as you’re president. That’s new!

I’m also sick of the hyperbole from campaigners too but you’re right. A LOT has changed that can undermine a lot of fundamental freedoms we take for granted.

Everyone knows capital-first politicians don’t actually care about us. We get it.

I’m all 'bout that fancy praxis and mutual aid and all those lofty but pure concepts we definitely need to be working on. But we live in a society here.

Not voting right now is giving an out-and-out fascist a ridiculous amount of power to start crushing and punishing anybody with a different opinion.

We’re doing what we can with what we have to soften the blow, so we can actually have the chance to work on the higher concepts like “changing the people involved in it.”

I’d much rather be on the ground convincing people to form unions to safely backtalk their bosses, rather than rallying up guerilla units amidst a “boogaloo” because a bunch of hateful and uneducated people put a screeching orange baby on a throne who refused to leave and became “holy immortal emperor.”

Lmao hyperbole aside. Seriously. Standing on the sidelines and going “hmph” is basically a vote for things that are likely Very Bad For You™.

“More now than EVER”

– Every political ad til the end of time.

“Walked back at the threat of trump”, can you explain what you mean by this a little more? Sorry I’m just not sure what it means.

A gentle reminder that the Socialist Rifle Association is a thing! No personal experience with them, but I like that they’re an underdog foil to your typical “American gun culture” stereotypes.

I should really be more active about this. I don’t have the money to dump a ton of brass on the regular but I enjoy the freedom to do it while keeping my ideals!

Ha!

— Former Okie, now Nevadan, proud 50-somethingth in education for many years running

(Are we not aware of how many states there are or are we counting outlying U.S territories? Anybody’s guess! 😉)

That’s so much “fun” with all those tiny local offices. “Okay who is this person?”

Zero public web presence about them at all.

It’d be nice if there was something like Ballotpedia but public owned. “You want to run for an office? You need to fill out this profile.”

I imagine lots of people are just like “Eh, this name sounds pretty.” Lol

I thought RK bowed out, but he’s still on the ballot? Odd.

Yeah, my father was a policeman, and I’m a Jesus-follower to boot, added to the top of all these other similar patterns in this thread. I was taught to be aware at all times, to take care of people in need. To keep people out of bad situations. To give and give as long as there’s anything left of me to…

I dubbed it a “hero complex”. It’s not about my glory or anything, just the opposite, I look out for my “squad” whomever they may be, friends or work people, whatever. I don’t leave people behind and I’m a sucker for a sob story…

No, no it’s not that exciting. I just happen to know a little about a lot and I hate seeing people hurting. I hate seeing things go wrong. I can’t stand when things are broken and thrown away when they just need a simple fix.

Like others here, I’m cursed with a combination of intense empathy, keen observation, and the compulsive need to give guidance and share knowledge, solicited or not! Lol

But anyway, I got a job helping the public with computers. I’m pretty good at them and I’m good at explaining things. Perfect right?

That job ruined me. I got so taken advantage of, and walked over, and stalked, and used…I’m still dealing with the fallout.

I get pulled into situations all the time where people’s problems become my problem, I’m running to the rescue, I’m staying late, I’m bending the rules just this once, I’m taking care of the details, I’m fixing things, I’m listening, I’m teaching.

And I end up becoming a captive savior because I’m the one who shows up. I’m the one trying to hold things together.

So many of my therapy visits were about “Setting healthy boundaries” and “You don’t need to be solving everyone’s problems all the time so they’ll like you.”

…But this world is bad enough and selfish as it is, I just want to help…

Yeah, I call this a “dope-crash”.

I can tell it’s happening, I’m low on brain-reward BECAUSE I’m not working on things that are meaningful or solving interesting problems or whatever… And like timidly taking on a half-pipe, I don’t have enough “juice” to make it to the other side and just settle in the middle… Well, crap, now what?

Too exhausted and sad to work on things that will make me feel less exhausted and sad > doubting self > loathing self > deep funk > hopefully wears off in a day or two…

I hate this cycle…

Freaking love yo-yos. They’re so satisfying!! Now I gotta go dig out my Yomega Fireball…

A little LESS chaotically, you can use emojis to name objects in Blender now… Which, I dunno, could be kinda fun in the right doses.

This picture had me progressively laughing harder as it progressed though LOL.

I hear it’s prone to Rust.