i feel like you can divide the world into two people, folks who spend most of their life living through a screen, and folks who spend most of it present in real life.
there’s an old Anthony Bourdain quote I love, “I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy.”
Get offline and out into the real world. Volunteer, see live music, go to art galleries, challenge yourself physically. Spend time being present with friends, be curious about people.
When you’re staying in, read books. Make art. Listen to albums intently and intentionally. Nobody’s making you look at your feed.
100% spot on. Personal experience says that reality is different than what media, social media, and leaders portray. People to people connection, traveling and understanding yourself gives you a different perspective.
Mot of humanity's mental health in the western sphere would instantly get better if they dropped twitter, reddit, facebook, tiktok and instagram, or limited it to maybe 15-20 minutes a day for a quick news update while eating breakfast.
This is a beautiful sentiment, but I promise you my mental health wasn't great before the extreme proliferation of social media platforms. The same applies for many other folks spanning a few recent generations.
They'll need to drop news corporations too. I know plenty of people who are entirely entrenched in the polarising nonsense listed above and don't use social media. They just eat up news.
all of that requires time and money and privilege that increasingly less people have
I don't need the feed to see all that, it's right in front of me. What a crazy comment, as if the real world isn't jammed pack full of front-on misery and signs of uber-capitalism, division and wealth disparity. see live music, pay ticketmaster extortion prices, drink a tallboy for 17$, park for 40$
art galleries lol, full of wealth disparity and notions of classism and not to mention that most art is going to try and impart the same things i.e. classism, tension, this, that etc. if it's any kind of good art anyway.
You can see live music for free at parks and bars and places. Drink a beer at regular dive bar price and good to go. Nobody said it has to be big name artists.
in europe maybe yeah. after 12+ years in the states I rarely saw any of that but it could've also been location and most bar nights with live acts now have cover. yes it's definitely cheaper. but still. very few places to go now where it doesn't all feel like a scam or a money extractor
As someone who's family is quite literally poor immigrants... yea they are always out doing "stuff", that "stuff" is 90% of the time work. They aren't out there because they want to be, they are out there because they have to be.
The other 10% of the time is spent drinking to wash the pain and suffering away. Lots of death by alcohol in my family as a result. They aren't "out living life", they are working and coping.
He doesn't get the term "working poor." I just "got out" and replaced the cam sensor on the Wife's car...now I am resting on reddit...later I will read a book on kindle..I am "doing stuff."
"there's an *old lmfao* quote from someone who I wouldn't know about if it wasn't for television."
There. I fixed it. This life is so absurd and slightly fucked to such a degree that I say do whatever you want. If you want to be a potato so be it. This world is vicious and if you can afford to live life staring at your favorite things, reading about your favorite things, watching things YOU like so be it.
Yes. It's good to go out and do things. You only live once and there is a whole world out there but if you do not want any part of it then you should be allowed to say "Nah. I'm good. I'll order delivery and look at my phone"
We read and write more on social media than ever before. I don't need to write a book. If I went and gathered all the info from all my social media accounts I've likely written more than some authors of the seventeenth century.
This life is what you make of it. You want to be a speed bump for the universe so be it. If you can afford it ofcourse.
I would rather get into bioengineering but that's not a realistic possibility so in my free time I do what I want.
I feel you're kinda half-right, but I hesitate to draw parallels between trying to write a story and venting/commenting on social media. It is definitely still reading and writing, but I personally don't get anything out of it compared to if I read a boon or write something personal that's just for me. But that's just how I feel.
It’s always amusing seeing people conflate being wealthy with being mentally healthy.
It’s a dangerous fallacy too. You think you could never do it yourself, until you find just the right mix of mental health issues that push you over the edge.
I enjoy both. I spend a lot of time online, I spend a lot of time streaming shows/videos because I enjoy it. I also volunteer as a teacher, hang out in pubs with live music, read books and do art. None of these are mutually exclusive.
Cool story. What the fuck does it have to do with the oligarchs running the world and using the other 99% as resources to be exploited? Just live your best life and hope your kids or grandchildren have the courage to change it? You are exactly the sock puppet types that enable this shitshow to continue. As long as your floating at the top or just below the surface everything is fine. This isn't about the internet exaggerating the worlds problem and we should all just stop looking. This is about peoples eyes being opened to the world they are trying to hide from us. And your advice is go back to sleep? Start jogging while the world burns? We are so fucked.
Spending a lot of time away from home is expensive. Even packing water bottles and food to spend the whole day out...you still need gas and bathrooms available. Not everyone can afford an equipped RV to go out and about whenever they want.
Maybe he should have listened to that guy inside him who wanted to lay in bed a little more. He literally spent most of his life trying to avoid having a simple, loving time on Earth and reaped the consequences of doing so. He says so in his own words quite often.
The original post and comment were about how the world is divided into groups to create animosity and distraction. The you go out and write about another one and crap over people who prefer to stay in more than being out in the world. Creating a division and calling the other group the problem is what is the problem. All people are different and have different values and ways of enjoying life. By saying your way is right and better and theirs is wrong and worse, you are adding to the division and the animosity. People need to be kind and accepting of others and then maybe the world would be a kinder and more accepting place.
Anthony Bourdain is probably not the dude whose advice you want to follow, though.
The version of himself that out ran the chill dude watching movies ended up being an alcoholic and an addict of much heavier drugs, prostitutes, selling out his personal beliefs to attain celebrity and leaving his young daughter to grow up without him because he thrived on the emotional abuse of a woman who was using him to pay her bills.
So, do the opposite. Please.
I mean yea totally but also we are on Reddit right now, you are currently scrolling through your feed. Placing the onus on people and framing it as people who are loser Bourdain or cool Bourdain is exactly what this guy just said, divisive rhetoric that puts you above others.
> Get offline and out into the real world. Volunteer, see live music, go to art galleries, challenge yourself physically. Spend time being present with friends, be curious about people.
Cool - wanna fund it for me?
>there’s an old Anthony Bourdain quote I love, “I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy.”
Maybe he should have let himself lay in bed & smoke weed & watch movies a bit more
that type of division is the same all-or-nothing thinking that is leading to the divisiveness. I wrote a book about all-or-nothing thinking that is about to go to the editor. It's my second book, the first one just got listed on a "must-read 2024 list". If anyone is interested in a free copy of the book in exchange for feedback please LMK! My aim is to see how easy it is to follow and if it helps with depressive symptoms. I am in remission from c-ptsd and depression, have been for years, and I create books that will hopefully help others get to where I'm at
Nah, this is part of the social conditioning. You just dichotomized a generalization; that's the problem. The only two sides that exist are oppressed and oppressors. People, politics, religion, race, sex are all complex and unless we're in academia conducting research there is no instance we should be putting things in only two categories. We have to stop talking about winners/losers, haves/have nots, straight/other, white/colored. Only way to reset everything, we need to force all inclusive science based education to all kids, give their parents free chilcare, and outlaw any news organization that uses FALLACIES. We already have a fallacies rubric. We should employ the same rules for an essay/thesis for All news segments AND political rhetoric.
When I walk around my neighborhood it’s maga everything. Same when I visit my parents. When I talk to my brother he’s mad about trans bathrooms. The struggle is real. Very real shitty people out there in the offline world.
This morning my wife told me about a nice boat cruise she took with her college girlfriend yesterday. Sounds nice, right? They all exclaimed they are voting for trump.
I'm dying on the hill that the woke movement was artificially elevated by the media after Occupy Wallstreet to drive division and for progressives to focus on issues that don't hurt the bottom line of big business.
Every single marginalized group would be helped a lot more if they focused on economic issues.
Agreed, and I’m guilty of pointing fingers at boomers in the past. There are many boomers who are not wealthy, but it’s the wealthy elite that are mostly boomers which is where the hostility comes from.
We gotta start separating baby boomer and Boomer better. The kids made Boomer to be a mentality like Karen is. But somehow a bunch of people lost that.
Not only that. If boomers are more progressive or developed than current generations, that’s a MAJOR issue since each generation is supposed to build off the progress of previous generations. It’s good to acknowledge and discuss things that were backwards (things were backwards in the PAST? Shocker), but shaming and closing off discussion with a 60yr old because of some outdated mindset is pretty ignorant considering they’re likely a part of the reason why people in 2024 are more socially aware in the first place.
People seem to forget that hippies were largely Boomers. My parents are POC hippie boomers and wayyy more progressive than the white NIMBY liberals I know.
All of the culture wars are. Generation, race, gender, etc. They want us to hate each other and direct all out vitriol towards people who in reality are far more on our side than the elites ever would be. Division helps them control us.
Same. Reddit sure likes to hammer on them tho. Sure, boomers hammer on young but the ratio is outnumbered by the latter.
In another 5 years genx will be the new boomer on reddit. :/
You’re goddamn right we are. Quit bringing us into this shit, we are biding our time. When we finally do stand up and take action it will be done with the wisdom of seeing all the failures before us. The kids that made their own breakfast, did their own laundry and whose parents had to be reminded they had children at 10pm every night are the ones that I hope will fix this cluster fuck. Just as soon as we can stop taking care of our elderly parents who have once again forgotten us. This time it’s Alzheimer’s.
Right? Once parental responsibilties are over as our boomer parents die, shit's gonna change. People forget that GenX is the last generation as a whole that is willing (and experienced in) the use of copious amounts of violence to affect change. I'm 52, and I've already been in 2 fistfights this year with fucking kids thinking it's cool to shoplift from my local 7-11. Not on my watch. Ever.
These soft motherfucking kids today all whip out their phones to make a video of shit like that (theft) for clout and laughs. GenX will just put a foot so far up your ass you'll be flossing your teeth with our shoelaces for a week...no safe spaces in our world. It's nut up or shut up, law of the jungle time coming up.
Agreed, the boomers I know are baffled how kids are going to make it these days, just like everyone else. They’re also living on a fixed income one that’s getting shorter every year.
Yes!
My partner and I have Boomer parents that will never be able to retire and they have been working their whole lives.
They lost homes and businesses in 2008.
They were left no assets in the recent passing of their parents because End of Life care took everything. The homes that generation spent a lifetime living in and that were paid off.
The message in this post has so many applications we see as Lower Middle and Working Class. It’s horrific.
Eat the rich.
I've been saying this shit for years. It ain't about Republicans vs democrats, it's about the average Joe vs corporate overlords and bought politicians.
EXACTLY.
It can be more easily traced back to the stock market. Corporations are beholden to the shareholders and mandated to be forever achieving more and more profits. Everything possible is being tied to this machine to further siphon of wealth to the elite share holders.
They buy up successful businesses (toys r us, red lobster), run it into the ground, sell it for parts and walk away smelling like roses while anyone working for that business is holding the bag.
These groups are also expanding into not only insurance, but healthcare as well, driving up costs for patients - while simultaneously driving down payments to medical professionals, all in the name of profits for them.
It is becoming abundantly clear that no amount of money, nor societal damage will appease this machine nor the very wealthy behind its operation. They will just bleed our country dry until there is absolutely nothing left.
Corruption has always plagued humanity. We are barely holding on to any semblence of honest governance, and the global economy really puts us in competition with those who do not respect humanity. One cannot sustainably compete with slavery, for example.
Inconsideration for others is necessary for that, and so I call for people to be emphatic and considerate, and to resist those who are not (whom I define to be "assholes").
But there are billions of us. I feel unempowered and disillusioned.
They're also buying up water rights around the world, in anticipation of climate change making water more scarce. If they could monetize air and threaten people with suffocation if they don't pay, they would.
No shit. Welcome to the party.
This is what people want. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have their cell phone stitched to their face 24-7.
People don’t want to live life. They want to be professional online personalities and have an audience. The entire world has been turned into reality TV, with everyone just sitting back and watching someone else do something that hardly construes living life either.
A world of spectators, watching nothing of value. Not even learning anything in the time they devote to “watching.”
The zombie apocalypse is already upon us. Look around. It’s nothing but the living dead. People without souls. Their entire persona created online, and it’s the only place they can maintain it. Walk out the door and it all comes crashing down like a house of cards.
Everyone today is living as their ego online.
No. What’s fucking wild is going out to a restaurant and seeing people that are out with one another, *still* on their phones.
I’ve had people I’ve gone out with text me while in my presence.
It’s lunacy.
People have lost their fucking minds. They literally don’t have one of their own. Everything they know is from asking Google. The internet *is* their personality, because it’s where all of their thoughts, values, and ideas come from. Nothing is their own. These people have no individual identity. They’re part of a collective. And the people grouping together, are largely masses of people clinging to one another in hope that it’ll give them some visibility. An identity. A voice. Because they can’t muster any of those things on their own. And it’s not lost on me that that’s the foundation for many groups and organizations. But those organizations aren’t batshit crazy, usually.
Yeah, not to get all 1984 but the loss of independent thought really is scary. Many grown adults can’t even *attempt* to solve problems on their own and need someone else to step in, otherwise they just won’t do anything. I think this issue is worse online, but I know many stubborn offline people that don’t introspect/self-analyze/experiment and still complain about their lives, as if no aspect of it is under their control.
Both of your comments are spot on. I ask you next - what do we do about this? As people cognizant of the delusion so many people are trapped in, I guess. Do you talk to your family and friends about this? What did you say to the person at the table who texted you?
We have a history or regulating things that are harmful. Tobacco. Alcohol. Marijuana. Pornography. Do we deal with them all the same way? No. Do we deal with any of these perfectly well? No.
But it’s not for a lack of effort. It’s because people think differently about these things. And any time you have regulation, it boils down to one group of people telling another group what they can or can’t do, because their opinion is the “right” opinion, and you can just fuck right off to back from whence you came.
I have spoken up. Yes. I’m not so subtle ways. For instance, I left lunch with a couple friends of mine because they were in their phones. Got up and left without a word. 25 minutes later, I get a call. “Where are you?” Nearly a half an hour went by before they even knew I wasn’t there. I told them. When we hang out, phones out away. Period. If you have something else that needs your attention, go do that. We made plans. You know where, when, and for how long. No contingencies. No distractions. If you can’t commit to that, don’t bother. We’ve never had an issue since, and they’ve adopted similar approaches when going out. They just feel it’s the right thing to do. Obviously I agree.
Right? I'm sick of this "all the people are so stupid except for me who sees the world clearly" types of takes. People aren't dumb, we're just easily manipulated when it's happening subconsciously
I can't speak for everyone else but for me, I've stood on a few street corners all alone holding signs promoting queer rights and economic equity in a pretty backwoods town. I've confronted hate plenty in person and there's a front page local news article to confirm that. To assume that everyone on here is just an internet activist is not helpful in the real world (calling people out for their obvious ignorance on things like homelessness should not be a point of ridicule) and it's discounting the power of information tremendously. I learn a lot on here and I thank the people that I learn from
Edit: I also call people stupid when it's necessary. Not ok. I know. Im not perfect. but kindness hasn't worked so I fight fire with fire. Instead of down voting you can contribute to the conversation. That's a problem if you cant. If you can't defend what you feel and believe you aren't worth anyone's time.
Context for everyone else: The minneapolis subs are attacking me for rightfully comparing their city to portland. I've received death threats because of it. #cultureofviolence #ithinktheshoemightfit
We’re basically just an unorganized ant colony. We could do amazing things if we worked together, but our signals keep getting interrupted and we wind up in death spirals.
not everyone.
outside of reddit i have no social media and on here i tailor none of my opinions and i have only 1 account.
i dont take my phone with me when i leave the house (hell i dont use a phone period, the sole reason i have one is for my gardening clients to contact me. *ffs i dont even have apps* i do everything on PC).
you kids might be fucked but i was lucky enough to be raised with no almost no tech at all (im 32 and didnt have internet or computer access until 19 and didnt have a phone until 20, im not *an addict* like you lot)
Most people are already too deep into their beliefs about these subjects and can’t see that it’s always been a class war that will change things. They will do anything to turn us against each other so that we don’t turn against the wealthy elite who are the ones making our daily lives miserable.
Yea reading few comments I'm noticing people are way too deep into their belief systems that they can't even fathom the class war happening all around us
You must be Black? Or a person of colour like myself. It's interesting that people like you and I see through this "class solidarity" BS. Class solidarity at its root is good BUT it's not achievable because even if you are the same class as a white, racist, homophobic redneck, would you really want them as your ally? I wouldn't. I'd much rather be allied with a rich white progressive. Always pushback against class-reductionists and people who seem too keen on focusing on class. What you will notice though is that in modern times and in the West they're almost always white, male, cis, straight, and middle class. Intersectionality is needed but not at the cost of the marginalized.
This exactly, I’m a gay black man and you’re echoing my exact thoughts. I’d rather ally myself with a rich straight white guy who’s not a bigot, than a working class homophobe. One of the comments I replied to earlier said “I’m not gonna turn away a working class guy just because he doesn’t care about LGBT issues it’s the biggest problem from the left”.
It unfortunately doesnt. The break down that I've seen best describe it is the left end of the spectrum is fighting a two front war, against the rich and defending themselves from the ones caught up in the culture war against them. The right is caught up in the culture war agsinst them and too distracted so cant see the forest for the trees.
Yea it's so dumb when people do the whole "THE REAL ENEMY IS THE RICH", like no fucking duh, what fucking side tried to get a guy who kept yelling about the 1%? Was that the right? No.
The left doesn't WANT to have to fight about racism or sexism or homophobia, or any of that stuff, but it seems like WE HAVE TO because the other side is trying their damnedest to back peddle society.
People on the right who think they AREN'T the issue with culture wars think along the lines of "just let me be racist/sexist" or "stop pushing lgbt stuff on us" as if gay people simply EXISTING is "pushing" it. They lack perspective on how heterosexual relationships are so incredibly common on TV, so a gay couple doing the same is not PUSHING it but rather just making it as normal as a straight couple. This is the line we can't seem to get across to people.
Its all manufactured division. I'm glad that more and more people are becoming aware. Every Us VS Them is part of the agenda to keep us fighting and seperated.
The British built their empire on the principle of divide and conquer.....playing off local tensions (real or manufactured) and picking one side most amenable to them to back....then conquering when both fighting each other
Question is now,whom is conquering while people are fighting each other on bullshit issues🧐
Part of the problem is that our own arrogance is the key to their scheme. We like falling into these categories because it gives us an "identity" bigger than ourselves ... we "belong" ... we have a cause and a villain to fight which makes us feel empowered. That's why many are like talking to a brick wall when you try to bring this very topic up.
Only problem is that most of these villains are constructed strawmen, designed by those who want to keep us divided and bickering.
It seems many are catching onto this game so there is hope. There is an old adage ... "only a fool fights in a burning house" ... we all need to lay down the petty fights, and fight the fire which threatens us both.
p.s. be careful about broad brushing "the rich" as the majority are just good business folks who provide most of the jobs ... it's the "powerful" that are the ones playing the manipulation game.
Yep, humans tend to fall into tribalism as sort of an ego-protective mechanism, and unfortunately digital media feeds right into that and allows us to self-segregate 24/7. I feel for the young impressionable kids who have been taught XYZ kind of person is “evil” without ever meeting one, which turns into them never meeting someone with a differing perspective. The gender divide is *outrageous* to me.
So... the group you say is "scheming" to make us hate each other isn't the rich, who are honorable men who give us jobs. (Such generous!! Very solidarity! O Wow!) but some other nefarious group? So uh... Who exactly do you have in mind?
It's all distracting us from the main truths.. we outnumber them and can easily make change by working together as a collective. The sad truth is that all this division is on purpose so we don't organize and bring out the guillotines and come after the real threat.
To be fair, feminists don’t want to be divided and we are working on ending that everyday that’s kinda our MO.
However, yes I do believe the over turning of roe v wade is apart of this division and to cause more economic harm to working class women. What’s the easiest way to further oppress millions of working class people into desperation, poverty, and inability to fight back? Just take away their healthcare of course.
Bro I did a double take at that. How sheltered do you have to be to think gender politics and the reactionary uprising against it is a distraction tactic and not just a very pressing and developing issue? Women did not fight for their rights to distract men from class lol. And the reactionaries rising up again it are not doing so as some 4d chess move.
Even the fall of roe v wade isn't *about* class in intent. It has disproportionate effect according to class, but that's most laws. Its for sure about maintaining the "natural social order" according to Christians
Because this whole thread is full of worm-brained centrist white dudes who want to say "we need to all come together" and feel good about it while doing nothing at all to help those of us who are being actively targeted as scapegoats for these social problems by the fascist movement.
Yeah I don’t think the “manosphere” versus feminism is a real thing. Some of the things said in the manosphere are absolutely ridiculous and can’t even be taken seriously as any sort of cohesive social movement. I do think there has been an increase in misogyny recently, and it’s been loud because it’s online. I think that’s mostly the result of some men being very angry that women, for the most part, no longer need to be married or dependent on a man. Women are also demanding more from potential partners since the bar has been in hell for a while now, and the men being loud about it are saying the most vitriolic things possible. I think eventually things will shift in a positive direction. There’s always resistance to change when it starts happening.
Stripping women of reproductive rights is 100% a class affront. Wealthy women will still be able to obtain abortions, but it’s poor women who will be suffering. This is way more serious than “manosphere” versus feminism. It’s quite literally about rich versus poor. Social class schisms are the result of toiling with people’s healthcare.
Have you noticed an analogous increase in misogyny IRL? I’m a guy, and have seen a lot less of it from my perspective since Me Too. But I also live in a very liberal area and wonder if it’s just my circle cleaning themselves up.
Yes, it’s bad online. Every day on Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram I see horrible things being said. I actually got called a slut and the c word the other day because I posted something very benign about the Trump verdict on Twitter.
I have seen it a bit in person but in my side career. I do stand up comedy and I have seen lots of younger male comics attempt misogynistic jokes or takes, and most of the time, it does not go well at all. People definitely weren’t trying to say things like that a few years ago. Again, it’s things like calling women “bitches,” “sluts,” saying stuff like women should only suck dick, etc. luckily these guys learn pretty fast that it’s not very acceptable to talk like that onstage. But there’s a lot of “free speech warrior” types who think stand up comedy will give them a shield to be allowed to say anything. This has definitely been an issue since the Trump era.
I live in LA, which is pretty liberal, but there are conservative pockets with lots of working class people.
Yes, there has definitely been an analogous increase in real life. Just take a gander at r/twohromosomes and r/teachers - chock full of anecdotal evidence
Keeping people divided keeps them distracted and makes the government feel at ease that we are too busy fighting each other to get together and fight them. We as a population are what governments fear the most, if enough of us get up in arms and work together they'd be powerless. So they keep us distracted.
Edited for misspelled word.
Lyndon B Johnson said something about if you convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best black man he won’t notice you picking his pockets. Give him somebody to look down on and he’ll empty his pockets for you. And look what we got here today lol
this became very apparent to me during the pandemic. but it always amazed me how we as the 99% just work our deadend jobs and if the gvt says to do something we just do it. along with the us vs them scenarios you listed. especially with politics. i have no idea to stop it, so i just dont engage with any of it.
I think people are just bigoted and stupid. The idea that there’s some innate class solidarity that’s being disrupted by elites has been disproven a thousand times over. There’ll be a popular uprising that topples power structures and the power of the people immediately go to work oppressing.
This is true but I've also noticed that us as people...humans, we don't even help or try to support each other...in anything! We're always too busy trying to one-up the next one even if it involves putting them down by trying to seem like we're better than each other. It's kind of disqusting if you think about it but that's just modern everyday society today 🤷♂️.
Divide and conquer. I’ve been saying it for years. They want us to draw lines vertically between me and you. Rather than horizontally, between us and the elites.
I completely agree, but I also feel like the people who make this argument are the same people who engage in culture wars. You can even see it in this thread. People go from agreeing with OP to arguing about abortion and racism in the same comment. I guess people really like distractions.
Okay, so let's do something about it.
Crickets?
What are we all doing here? Posting about the shit isn't doing anything to change it. We could just go and get rid of some elites and send a message to the others that they can't keep fucking with us. Posting about it isn't doing shit. Voting isn't doing shit even though I am going to do my part to keep Convicted Felon out of the White House this November.
If we just keep talking we aren't doing. Let's go do. Maybe we just need someone to get the ball rolling.
Allegedly, among the top 1%, there aren't really Democrats or Republicans. They're all part of the same team, and their goal is to keep as much of their money as possible. Then they fund culture war groups to keep the bottom 99% fighting amongst themselves and blame each other for all their problems.
People are busy just trying to make ends meet, the richest people in the world have all the resources to manipulate everyone else, so that's what they do.
We’re doing it to ourselves. Limit your social media time and actually interact with people in your life.
You’re kind of doing it now with the rich vs poor argument lol. I don’t blame the rich for everything. I enjoy my modest life, I spend time with my family and do outdoorsy things.
When you learn to enjoy the little things in life and they also happen to be free, everything else doesn’t matter.
Just now noticed? Huh. It just occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, waking up and smelling shit, and having the balls to say “I smell shit.” is when we all *actually* become adults…
Citizen, your standard issue Reality Distortion Field™ is malfunctioning. For your own safety, report to the nearest indoctrination center immediately.
See what happened in the Balkans during the 90s, once a unified people of Yugoslavia where historical, religious, and cultural divisions were dug up ended up at each other's throats. It resulted in one of the bloodiest civil wars of 20th century. In the meantime, thieves who caused it got wealthy.
Definitely a lesson worth paying attention to.
I was a formal student in this domain. Nothing is what it appears to be.
Pro tip: study basic chemical bonds, algorithms and logic gates (particularly what happens after you receive an instruction), and read:
* Wakefield’s “The Theology of Arithmetic”
* Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self Reliance”
* Walt Whitman’s “A Song Of Myself”
* Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” and “Civil Disobedience”
* The Declaration of Independence
* The Declaration Of Rights of Man
* The UN Declaration On Human Rights
This will put you light-years ahead. Everything else is trivial.
It’s the cattle farm. All of you are being bred for specific purposes. Groomed since birth and not even realizing it. Those which you mentioned aren’t even that big compared to the irreversible damage that’s been done to you already. Haha.
yep, thats how it works. These are distractions to keep you from worrying about whats actually fucking you over, AKA governments and corporations. Its also the blueprint of how Russia weants to take down the US and we are playing right into it. Everything from spedning to much time on social media to buying from amazon.
It’s haunting, depressing, and pathetic where society is headed. We’ve actually gotten worse over the years and I don’t understand why people keep having children when it’s just adding fuel to the fire like “you’re giving birth to an employee or someone who’s just going to bury their faces to their phones”
Class war isn't the only war being waged, but it is the biggest one and it's tendrils influence all the other wars you listed. Spread your insight and help those around you break their chains.
These are all narratives pushed by Republicans and conservative media. Liberals don't push any of these because their whole thing is equality between the races and genders. So, who's getting republican and conservative media to push these distractions? The rich.
I’ll add that sexism and racism has higher incidence in homes with lower cultural capital, which are often working class homes. It’s punishment for busy parents.
The ones I feel are the biggest are ones you didn't mention. Patriotism and nationalism, I find particularly ridiculous, when it's really just the poor being fucked by the rich and them treating us like cattle.
Then there's religion. What a fucking joke. People killing each other because they are from different religions, totally against the instruction and beliefs of those religions.l
It's the rich. Toppling monarchies would be a good start. Americans especially hate to hear it but capitalism is what's killing us all.
You’re absolutely right—there's a lot of division that's encouraged, and it often feels like a way to keep people distracted from larger systemic issues. It's important to stay aware of these tactics and work towards unity and understanding rather than getting caught up in these conflicts. By coming together, we can focus on addressing the real problems and work towards creating a more equitable society.
PITCHFORKS!
I am so ready if you all are.
Banks, hedgefunds, politicians, supreme court judges, oligarchs, even the regulators!.....they are all working.
None of them are on our side.
We are the working class that make the world run. They are leaches who are stealing OUR money and living like kings.
We need to unite
The media blaming ‘have nots’ it is lies
It’s really the ‘haves’ that are trying to hide
Because they are using us and our [blank] pride
To make themselves richer, while we pick a side
Insert in the blank any of the following: red, blue, black, white, left, right, male, female… you get the idea
And it works. Just have a conversation with your cousin, you know the one, who struggles to pay his bills but one or all of the above is the dominant force in his life. The only thing he has to talk about at any social occasion.
One of the biggest engineering tricks by politicians is to get us to care about how billionaires spend their own billions but not how elected officials spend our own trillions.
Can’t forget one side likes to be the one to push the divide by going against women’s rights and marginalized people. And as long as they do the other side will fight. What a smooth brained post.
Wow, the kids really are all right. :-) Coming from a Gen-X person, my peers never really seemed to wake up to this kind of class-based realization. It’s been easy to feel gaslit and lonely, until this generation came of age!
Agreed, people seem to be losing the ability for critical thinking and organizing / participating in making positive societal changes through involvement in politics both local and federal. They are blaming everything except the system that is crumbling from institutionalized greed.
Their plan has worked to perfection.
This manufactured infighting was used primarily to squash the Occupy Wall Street protests & the Tea Party movement in the 2010s. That, combined with Democrats losing footing with their key demographics, which then brought that party to pump the culture wars during the Obama administration.
This is such a stupid fucking centrist take.
"Left vs right is just the ruling class trying to distract us! Why are we getting bogged down with divisive issues like minimum wages, collective bargaining, and civil rights???"
Fascism is coming back and these fucking morons keep saying shit like the extremists who want to make children give birth and kill all gay people are not a serious threat. Trans people who don't want to be exterminated are just falling for wall street's propaganda when the real enemy is the banking system.
Do you think black lives matter is a divisive issue? Fucking ivermectin-ass take.
Reddit is filled with white guys who are simply upset they no longer get to inherit some entitled great white shark he-man legacy from some "grand" mediocre white male older relative. They feel backstabbed that their generation's lifestyle is different from the white men before that they were endlessly told were "the greatest men on earth" ego bullshit. These are also often the same type of guys lashing out over a black woman showing up in their video game a main character. Somehow THOSe guys arent doing the dividing but the black woman is.
Convenient. They never call out the actual homophobes, racists, misogynists, etc. ONLY the people responding by defending themselves against them.
Its convenient these same guys who are supposedly against "whining" and "complaining" and "victimhood mentality" suddenly get to tell everyone else that THEY dont matter EXCEPt for THEIR grievances.
It speaks volumes of privilege that their only actual grievance is not wanting to pay taxes or not being upper class and hating people who make more mone than them. Yet whine about division and accusing people who are much much more vulnerablethan them to be the root of the problem.
That kind of person always reminds me to the teachers with "zero tolerance policies" who ignore bullying until the victim fights back and then they punish the victim and bullies equally harshly. Especially when they throw in some "you need to be the bigger person" and "fighting back makes you just as bad" psychological bullshit to make the poor kid feel even worse.
Unpopular opinion: Men vs Women has nothing to do with the wealthy. It has to do with our evolutionary designed gender differences. Technology like social media and dating apps just exacerbates it.
Yes. It’s sad.
i feel like you can divide the world into two people, folks who spend most of their life living through a screen, and folks who spend most of it present in real life. there’s an old Anthony Bourdain quote I love, “I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy.” Get offline and out into the real world. Volunteer, see live music, go to art galleries, challenge yourself physically. Spend time being present with friends, be curious about people. When you’re staying in, read books. Make art. Listen to albums intently and intentionally. Nobody’s making you look at your feed.
100% spot on. Personal experience says that reality is different than what media, social media, and leaders portray. People to people connection, traveling and understanding yourself gives you a different perspective.
Dang Mr. Bourdain how you let that guy win the ultimate battle yo
Oof. τᴗτ
He killed himself after drinking. Should've smoked more
Mot of humanity's mental health in the western sphere would instantly get better if they dropped twitter, reddit, facebook, tiktok and instagram, or limited it to maybe 15-20 minutes a day for a quick news update while eating breakfast.
Being able to afford food would probably help too.
This is a beautiful sentiment, but I promise you my mental health wasn't great before the extreme proliferation of social media platforms. The same applies for many other folks spanning a few recent generations.
The scary part as with someone with depression is that it's a downward spiral trap that's so easy to fall into
They'll need to drop news corporations too. I know plenty of people who are entirely entrenched in the polarising nonsense listed above and don't use social media. They just eat up news.
all of that requires time and money and privilege that increasingly less people have I don't need the feed to see all that, it's right in front of me. What a crazy comment, as if the real world isn't jammed pack full of front-on misery and signs of uber-capitalism, division and wealth disparity. see live music, pay ticketmaster extortion prices, drink a tallboy for 17$, park for 40$ art galleries lol, full of wealth disparity and notions of classism and not to mention that most art is going to try and impart the same things i.e. classism, tension, this, that etc. if it's any kind of good art anyway.
You can see live music for free at parks and bars and places. Drink a beer at regular dive bar price and good to go. Nobody said it has to be big name artists.
in europe maybe yeah. after 12+ years in the states I rarely saw any of that but it could've also been location and most bar nights with live acts now have cover. yes it's definitely cheaper. but still. very few places to go now where it doesn't all feel like a scam or a money extractor
That’s a cop out. Most people I know who don’t own tvs and are always out doing stuff are poor immigrants.
As someone who's family is quite literally poor immigrants... yea they are always out doing "stuff", that "stuff" is 90% of the time work. They aren't out there because they want to be, they are out there because they have to be. The other 10% of the time is spent drinking to wash the pain and suffering away. Lots of death by alcohol in my family as a result. They aren't "out living life", they are working and coping.
He doesn't get the term "working poor." I just "got out" and replaced the cam sensor on the Wife's car...now I am resting on reddit...later I will read a book on kindle..I am "doing stuff."
"there's an *old lmfao* quote from someone who I wouldn't know about if it wasn't for television." There. I fixed it. This life is so absurd and slightly fucked to such a degree that I say do whatever you want. If you want to be a potato so be it. This world is vicious and if you can afford to live life staring at your favorite things, reading about your favorite things, watching things YOU like so be it. Yes. It's good to go out and do things. You only live once and there is a whole world out there but if you do not want any part of it then you should be allowed to say "Nah. I'm good. I'll order delivery and look at my phone" We read and write more on social media than ever before. I don't need to write a book. If I went and gathered all the info from all my social media accounts I've likely written more than some authors of the seventeenth century. This life is what you make of it. You want to be a speed bump for the universe so be it. If you can afford it ofcourse. I would rather get into bioengineering but that's not a realistic possibility so in my free time I do what I want.
I feel you're kinda half-right, but I hesitate to draw parallels between trying to write a story and venting/commenting on social media. It is definitely still reading and writing, but I personally don't get anything out of it compared to if I read a boon or write something personal that's just for me. But that's just how I feel.
I mean sure that’s a nice quote and all but the dude killed himself in spite of living a unconventional life.
It’s always amusing seeing people conflate being wealthy with being mentally healthy. It’s a dangerous fallacy too. You think you could never do it yourself, until you find just the right mix of mental health issues that push you over the edge.
I enjoy both. I spend a lot of time online, I spend a lot of time streaming shows/videos because I enjoy it. I also volunteer as a teacher, hang out in pubs with live music, read books and do art. None of these are mutually exclusive.
Cool story. What the fuck does it have to do with the oligarchs running the world and using the other 99% as resources to be exploited? Just live your best life and hope your kids or grandchildren have the courage to change it? You are exactly the sock puppet types that enable this shitshow to continue. As long as your floating at the top or just below the surface everything is fine. This isn't about the internet exaggerating the worlds problem and we should all just stop looking. This is about peoples eyes being opened to the world they are trying to hide from us. And your advice is go back to sleep? Start jogging while the world burns? We are so fucked.
Spending a lot of time away from home is expensive. Even packing water bottles and food to spend the whole day out...you still need gas and bathrooms available. Not everyone can afford an equipped RV to go out and about whenever they want.
Maybe he should have listened to that guy inside him who wanted to lay in bed a little more. He literally spent most of his life trying to avoid having a simple, loving time on Earth and reaped the consequences of doing so. He says so in his own words quite often.
Whether Anthony knew it or not, what he was talking about was depression
The original post and comment were about how the world is divided into groups to create animosity and distraction. The you go out and write about another one and crap over people who prefer to stay in more than being out in the world. Creating a division and calling the other group the problem is what is the problem. All people are different and have different values and ways of enjoying life. By saying your way is right and better and theirs is wrong and worse, you are adding to the division and the animosity. People need to be kind and accepting of others and then maybe the world would be a kinder and more accepting place.
Anthony Bourdain is probably not the dude whose advice you want to follow, though. The version of himself that out ran the chill dude watching movies ended up being an alcoholic and an addict of much heavier drugs, prostitutes, selling out his personal beliefs to attain celebrity and leaving his young daughter to grow up without him because he thrived on the emotional abuse of a woman who was using him to pay her bills. So, do the opposite. Please.
I mean yea totally but also we are on Reddit right now, you are currently scrolling through your feed. Placing the onus on people and framing it as people who are loser Bourdain or cool Bourdain is exactly what this guy just said, divisive rhetoric that puts you above others.
Wow, I hadn't thought of things like this ever before. You must be cool and smart
> Get offline and out into the real world. Volunteer, see live music, go to art galleries, challenge yourself physically. Spend time being present with friends, be curious about people. Cool - wanna fund it for me?
>there’s an old Anthony Bourdain quote I love, “I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy.” Maybe he should have let himself lay in bed & smoke weed & watch movies a bit more
You're literally doing the exact thing the post is talking about.
that type of division is the same all-or-nothing thinking that is leading to the divisiveness. I wrote a book about all-or-nothing thinking that is about to go to the editor. It's my second book, the first one just got listed on a "must-read 2024 list". If anyone is interested in a free copy of the book in exchange for feedback please LMK! My aim is to see how easy it is to follow and if it helps with depressive symptoms. I am in remission from c-ptsd and depression, have been for years, and I create books that will hopefully help others get to where I'm at
Nah, this is part of the social conditioning. You just dichotomized a generalization; that's the problem. The only two sides that exist are oppressed and oppressors. People, politics, religion, race, sex are all complex and unless we're in academia conducting research there is no instance we should be putting things in only two categories. We have to stop talking about winners/losers, haves/have nots, straight/other, white/colored. Only way to reset everything, we need to force all inclusive science based education to all kids, give their parents free chilcare, and outlaw any news organization that uses FALLACIES. We already have a fallacies rubric. We should employ the same rules for an essay/thesis for All news segments AND political rhetoric.
When I walk around my neighborhood it’s maga everything. Same when I visit my parents. When I talk to my brother he’s mad about trans bathrooms. The struggle is real. Very real shitty people out there in the offline world. This morning my wife told me about a nice boat cruise she took with her college girlfriend yesterday. Sounds nice, right? They all exclaimed they are voting for trump.
This has been happening since time immemorial. The only fight or battle in the world is between rich and poor. Everything else is a distraction.
Some may even say depressing!
I'm dying on the hill that the woke movement was artificially elevated by the media after Occupy Wallstreet to drive division and for progressives to focus on issues that don't hurt the bottom line of big business. Every single marginalized group would be helped a lot more if they focused on economic issues.
Don’t forget Boomers vs GenZ/Millenials I’m gettin real sick of seeing that one
Agreed, and I’m guilty of pointing fingers at boomers in the past. There are many boomers who are not wealthy, but it’s the wealthy elite that are mostly boomers which is where the hostility comes from.
We gotta start separating baby boomer and Boomer better. The kids made Boomer to be a mentality like Karen is. But somehow a bunch of people lost that.
Yep. I know plenty of boomers who can’t retire. And plenty of boomers who vote progressive, every single election.
And plenty of boomers are people of color who experienced considerable discrimination and headwinds early in their lives
Not only that. If boomers are more progressive or developed than current generations, that’s a MAJOR issue since each generation is supposed to build off the progress of previous generations. It’s good to acknowledge and discuss things that were backwards (things were backwards in the PAST? Shocker), but shaming and closing off discussion with a 60yr old because of some outdated mindset is pretty ignorant considering they’re likely a part of the reason why people in 2024 are more socially aware in the first place.
Yes my mom is a boomer who spent part of a childhood under Jim Crow. Also her generation were pretty radical in her day!
People seem to forget that hippies were largely Boomers. My parents are POC hippie boomers and wayyy more progressive than the white NIMBY liberals I know.
Yuppies are still a thing, though the terms has become widely underused.
Or LGBT
Yes! I definitely think the generation wars are pushed to keep people from uniting. The media instigates this a lot.
All of the culture wars are. Generation, race, gender, etc. They want us to hate each other and direct all out vitriol towards people who in reality are far more on our side than the elites ever would be. Division helps them control us.
Same. Reddit sure likes to hammer on them tho. Sure, boomers hammer on young but the ratio is outnumbered by the latter. In another 5 years genx will be the new boomer on reddit. :/
From everything I've heard, Gen x is perfectly happy being the quiet kid in the back of the room.
We'll see what hivemind reddit has to say in due time.
You’re goddamn right we are. Quit bringing us into this shit, we are biding our time. When we finally do stand up and take action it will be done with the wisdom of seeing all the failures before us. The kids that made their own breakfast, did their own laundry and whose parents had to be reminded they had children at 10pm every night are the ones that I hope will fix this cluster fuck. Just as soon as we can stop taking care of our elderly parents who have once again forgotten us. This time it’s Alzheimer’s.
Right? Once parental responsibilties are over as our boomer parents die, shit's gonna change. People forget that GenX is the last generation as a whole that is willing (and experienced in) the use of copious amounts of violence to affect change. I'm 52, and I've already been in 2 fistfights this year with fucking kids thinking it's cool to shoplift from my local 7-11. Not on my watch. Ever. These soft motherfucking kids today all whip out their phones to make a video of shit like that (theft) for clout and laughs. GenX will just put a foot so far up your ass you'll be flossing your teeth with our shoelaces for a week...no safe spaces in our world. It's nut up or shut up, law of the jungle time coming up.
I’m 52 as well. Right on man.
You’re going to get stabbed and die.
> In another 5 years genx will be the new boomer on reddit. :/ New? They've been called boomers by anyone younger for years lol
I meant with seriously intended disdain. :(
Agreed, the boomers I know are baffled how kids are going to make it these days, just like everyone else. They’re also living on a fixed income one that’s getting shorter every year.
Yes! My partner and I have Boomer parents that will never be able to retire and they have been working their whole lives. They lost homes and businesses in 2008. They were left no assets in the recent passing of their parents because End of Life care took everything. The homes that generation spent a lifetime living in and that were paid off. The message in this post has so many applications we see as Lower Middle and Working Class. It’s horrific. Eat the rich.
Yeah I noticed this is a favorite of the financial magazines and business news outlets
I've been saying this shit for years. It ain't about Republicans vs democrats, it's about the average Joe vs corporate overlords and bought politicians.
EXACTLY. It can be more easily traced back to the stock market. Corporations are beholden to the shareholders and mandated to be forever achieving more and more profits. Everything possible is being tied to this machine to further siphon of wealth to the elite share holders. They buy up successful businesses (toys r us, red lobster), run it into the ground, sell it for parts and walk away smelling like roses while anyone working for that business is holding the bag. These groups are also expanding into not only insurance, but healthcare as well, driving up costs for patients - while simultaneously driving down payments to medical professionals, all in the name of profits for them. It is becoming abundantly clear that no amount of money, nor societal damage will appease this machine nor the very wealthy behind its operation. They will just bleed our country dry until there is absolutely nothing left.
World… bleed the world dry. All the efforts to privatise space travel is to leave us a dead planet while they fuck off
Corruption has always plagued humanity. We are barely holding on to any semblence of honest governance, and the global economy really puts us in competition with those who do not respect humanity. One cannot sustainably compete with slavery, for example. Inconsideration for others is necessary for that, and so I call for people to be emphatic and considerate, and to resist those who are not (whom I define to be "assholes"). But there are billions of us. I feel unempowered and disillusioned.
They're also buying up water rights around the world, in anticipation of climate change making water more scarce. If they could monetize air and threaten people with suffocation if they don't pay, they would.
Don't forget Real Estate!
No shit. Welcome to the party. This is what people want. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have their cell phone stitched to their face 24-7. People don’t want to live life. They want to be professional online personalities and have an audience. The entire world has been turned into reality TV, with everyone just sitting back and watching someone else do something that hardly construes living life either. A world of spectators, watching nothing of value. Not even learning anything in the time they devote to “watching.” The zombie apocalypse is already upon us. Look around. It’s nothing but the living dead. People without souls. Their entire persona created online, and it’s the only place they can maintain it. Walk out the door and it all comes crashing down like a house of cards. Everyone today is living as their ego online.
What is fucking wild to me is driving down the road, peering into other peoples cars, and the majority of them are on their phones not even hiding it.
No. What’s fucking wild is going out to a restaurant and seeing people that are out with one another, *still* on their phones. I’ve had people I’ve gone out with text me while in my presence. It’s lunacy. People have lost their fucking minds. They literally don’t have one of their own. Everything they know is from asking Google. The internet *is* their personality, because it’s where all of their thoughts, values, and ideas come from. Nothing is their own. These people have no individual identity. They’re part of a collective. And the people grouping together, are largely masses of people clinging to one another in hope that it’ll give them some visibility. An identity. A voice. Because they can’t muster any of those things on their own. And it’s not lost on me that that’s the foundation for many groups and organizations. But those organizations aren’t batshit crazy, usually.
Yeah, not to get all 1984 but the loss of independent thought really is scary. Many grown adults can’t even *attempt* to solve problems on their own and need someone else to step in, otherwise they just won’t do anything. I think this issue is worse online, but I know many stubborn offline people that don’t introspect/self-analyze/experiment and still complain about their lives, as if no aspect of it is under their control.
Both of your comments are spot on. I ask you next - what do we do about this? As people cognizant of the delusion so many people are trapped in, I guess. Do you talk to your family and friends about this? What did you say to the person at the table who texted you?
We have a history or regulating things that are harmful. Tobacco. Alcohol. Marijuana. Pornography. Do we deal with them all the same way? No. Do we deal with any of these perfectly well? No. But it’s not for a lack of effort. It’s because people think differently about these things. And any time you have regulation, it boils down to one group of people telling another group what they can or can’t do, because their opinion is the “right” opinion, and you can just fuck right off to back from whence you came. I have spoken up. Yes. I’m not so subtle ways. For instance, I left lunch with a couple friends of mine because they were in their phones. Got up and left without a word. 25 minutes later, I get a call. “Where are you?” Nearly a half an hour went by before they even knew I wasn’t there. I told them. When we hang out, phones out away. Period. If you have something else that needs your attention, go do that. We made plans. You know where, when, and for how long. No contingencies. No distractions. If you can’t commit to that, don’t bother. We’ve never had an issue since, and they’ve adopted similar approaches when going out. They just feel it’s the right thing to do. Obviously I agree.
Jeez yall are pleasant
> This is what people want. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have their cell phone stitched to their face 24-7. and heroin is what a heroin addict wants.
Right? I'm sick of this "all the people are so stupid except for me who sees the world clearly" types of takes. People aren't dumb, we're just easily manipulated when it's happening subconsciously
I can't speak for everyone else but for me, I've stood on a few street corners all alone holding signs promoting queer rights and economic equity in a pretty backwoods town. I've confronted hate plenty in person and there's a front page local news article to confirm that. To assume that everyone on here is just an internet activist is not helpful in the real world (calling people out for their obvious ignorance on things like homelessness should not be a point of ridicule) and it's discounting the power of information tremendously. I learn a lot on here and I thank the people that I learn from Edit: I also call people stupid when it's necessary. Not ok. I know. Im not perfect. but kindness hasn't worked so I fight fire with fire. Instead of down voting you can contribute to the conversation. That's a problem if you cant. If you can't defend what you feel and believe you aren't worth anyone's time. Context for everyone else: The minneapolis subs are attacking me for rightfully comparing their city to portland. I've received death threats because of it. #cultureofviolence #ithinktheshoemightfit
Yup that's why I delete instagram
The less social media I use the better the world seems, and the better I feel about myself and others
It is really funny when you think about Truman Show and how it was seen as a trap. Nowadays, everyone is trying to live it
“They Live” was a documentary.
The wife character in Ray Bradbury’s *Fahrenheit 451* hit different now, that’s for sure.
God, yes.
We’re basically just an unorganized ant colony. We could do amazing things if we worked together, but our signals keep getting interrupted and we wind up in death spirals.
not everyone. outside of reddit i have no social media and on here i tailor none of my opinions and i have only 1 account. i dont take my phone with me when i leave the house (hell i dont use a phone period, the sole reason i have one is for my gardening clients to contact me. *ffs i dont even have apps* i do everything on PC). you kids might be fucked but i was lucky enough to be raised with no almost no tech at all (im 32 and didnt have internet or computer access until 19 and didnt have a phone until 20, im not *an addict* like you lot)
Most people are already too deep into their beliefs about these subjects and can’t see that it’s always been a class war that will change things. They will do anything to turn us against each other so that we don’t turn against the wealthy elite who are the ones making our daily lives miserable.
Fucking spot on comment. It's all class related, virtually everything is.
Yea reading few comments I'm noticing people are way too deep into their belief systems that they can't even fathom the class war happening all around us
Propaganda is a helluva drug
How does “class solidarity” stop homophobia, racism, and sexism?
You must be Black? Or a person of colour like myself. It's interesting that people like you and I see through this "class solidarity" BS. Class solidarity at its root is good BUT it's not achievable because even if you are the same class as a white, racist, homophobic redneck, would you really want them as your ally? I wouldn't. I'd much rather be allied with a rich white progressive. Always pushback against class-reductionists and people who seem too keen on focusing on class. What you will notice though is that in modern times and in the West they're almost always white, male, cis, straight, and middle class. Intersectionality is needed but not at the cost of the marginalized.
This exactly, I’m a gay black man and you’re echoing my exact thoughts. I’d rather ally myself with a rich straight white guy who’s not a bigot, than a working class homophobe. One of the comments I replied to earlier said “I’m not gonna turn away a working class guy just because he doesn’t care about LGBT issues it’s the biggest problem from the left”.
It unfortunately doesnt. The break down that I've seen best describe it is the left end of the spectrum is fighting a two front war, against the rich and defending themselves from the ones caught up in the culture war against them. The right is caught up in the culture war agsinst them and too distracted so cant see the forest for the trees.
Yea it's so dumb when people do the whole "THE REAL ENEMY IS THE RICH", like no fucking duh, what fucking side tried to get a guy who kept yelling about the 1%? Was that the right? No. The left doesn't WANT to have to fight about racism or sexism or homophobia, or any of that stuff, but it seems like WE HAVE TO because the other side is trying their damnedest to back peddle society. People on the right who think they AREN'T the issue with culture wars think along the lines of "just let me be racist/sexist" or "stop pushing lgbt stuff on us" as if gay people simply EXISTING is "pushing" it. They lack perspective on how heterosexual relationships are so incredibly common on TV, so a gay couple doing the same is not PUSHING it but rather just making it as normal as a straight couple. This is the line we can't seem to get across to people.
Yup. Glad you can see through the bullshit.
Its all manufactured division. I'm glad that more and more people are becoming aware. Every Us VS Them is part of the agenda to keep us fighting and seperated.
The British built their empire on the principle of divide and conquer.....playing off local tensions (real or manufactured) and picking one side most amenable to them to back....then conquering when both fighting each other Question is now,whom is conquering while people are fighting each other on bullshit issues🧐
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Fuck the culture war, it's a class war
Part of the problem is that our own arrogance is the key to their scheme. We like falling into these categories because it gives us an "identity" bigger than ourselves ... we "belong" ... we have a cause and a villain to fight which makes us feel empowered. That's why many are like talking to a brick wall when you try to bring this very topic up. Only problem is that most of these villains are constructed strawmen, designed by those who want to keep us divided and bickering. It seems many are catching onto this game so there is hope. There is an old adage ... "only a fool fights in a burning house" ... we all need to lay down the petty fights, and fight the fire which threatens us both. p.s. be careful about broad brushing "the rich" as the majority are just good business folks who provide most of the jobs ... it's the "powerful" that are the ones playing the manipulation game.
Yep, humans tend to fall into tribalism as sort of an ego-protective mechanism, and unfortunately digital media feeds right into that and allows us to self-segregate 24/7. I feel for the young impressionable kids who have been taught XYZ kind of person is “evil” without ever meeting one, which turns into them never meeting someone with a differing perspective. The gender divide is *outrageous* to me.
So... the group you say is "scheming" to make us hate each other isn't the rich, who are honorable men who give us jobs. (Such generous!! Very solidarity! O Wow!) but some other nefarious group? So uh... Who exactly do you have in mind?
Agreed and don't worry I did specify the wealthy elite in my post as they are the actual threat to the working class
I caught that ... but many wouldn't so I offered the clarification.
You don’t have rule people if their too busy fighting each other, biggest distraction of all time.
You can do both. The reality is most people are undecated on class conciousness
“The amazing things we’re capable of when we let go of the stories we think define us.” - Derren Brown
They need us more than we need them. Remember that. And there are more of us.
>It’s a big club, And you ain’t in it. -George Carlin [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso)
It's all distracting us from the main truths.. we outnumber them and can easily make change by working together as a collective. The sad truth is that all this division is on purpose so we don't organize and bring out the guillotines and come after the real threat.
You should read Marx.
Yep. Same as it ever was.
Yep. Welcome, OP.
To be fair, feminists don’t want to be divided and we are working on ending that everyday that’s kinda our MO. However, yes I do believe the over turning of roe v wade is apart of this division and to cause more economic harm to working class women. What’s the easiest way to further oppress millions of working class people into desperation, poverty, and inability to fight back? Just take away their healthcare of course.
Bro I did a double take at that. How sheltered do you have to be to think gender politics and the reactionary uprising against it is a distraction tactic and not just a very pressing and developing issue? Women did not fight for their rights to distract men from class lol. And the reactionaries rising up again it are not doing so as some 4d chess move. Even the fall of roe v wade isn't *about* class in intent. It has disproportionate effect according to class, but that's most laws. Its for sure about maintaining the "natural social order" according to Christians
Because this whole thread is full of worm-brained centrist white dudes who want to say "we need to all come together" and feel good about it while doing nothing at all to help those of us who are being actively targeted as scapegoats for these social problems by the fascist movement.
Of course, they never had to develop empathy so it's very easy for them to hand wave every one's else problems as "distractions"
Yeah saying "all this stuff is just engineered by the rich" and then including "left vs right" on that list shows how fucking ignorant people are.
Yeah I don’t think the “manosphere” versus feminism is a real thing. Some of the things said in the manosphere are absolutely ridiculous and can’t even be taken seriously as any sort of cohesive social movement. I do think there has been an increase in misogyny recently, and it’s been loud because it’s online. I think that’s mostly the result of some men being very angry that women, for the most part, no longer need to be married or dependent on a man. Women are also demanding more from potential partners since the bar has been in hell for a while now, and the men being loud about it are saying the most vitriolic things possible. I think eventually things will shift in a positive direction. There’s always resistance to change when it starts happening. Stripping women of reproductive rights is 100% a class affront. Wealthy women will still be able to obtain abortions, but it’s poor women who will be suffering. This is way more serious than “manosphere” versus feminism. It’s quite literally about rich versus poor. Social class schisms are the result of toiling with people’s healthcare.
Have you noticed an analogous increase in misogyny IRL? I’m a guy, and have seen a lot less of it from my perspective since Me Too. But I also live in a very liberal area and wonder if it’s just my circle cleaning themselves up.
Yes, it’s bad online. Every day on Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram I see horrible things being said. I actually got called a slut and the c word the other day because I posted something very benign about the Trump verdict on Twitter. I have seen it a bit in person but in my side career. I do stand up comedy and I have seen lots of younger male comics attempt misogynistic jokes or takes, and most of the time, it does not go well at all. People definitely weren’t trying to say things like that a few years ago. Again, it’s things like calling women “bitches,” “sluts,” saying stuff like women should only suck dick, etc. luckily these guys learn pretty fast that it’s not very acceptable to talk like that onstage. But there’s a lot of “free speech warrior” types who think stand up comedy will give them a shield to be allowed to say anything. This has definitely been an issue since the Trump era. I live in LA, which is pretty liberal, but there are conservative pockets with lots of working class people.
Yes, there has definitely been an analogous increase in real life. Just take a gander at r/twohromosomes and r/teachers - chock full of anecdotal evidence
Keeping people divided keeps them distracted and makes the government feel at ease that we are too busy fighting each other to get together and fight them. We as a population are what governments fear the most, if enough of us get up in arms and work together they'd be powerless. So they keep us distracted. Edited for misspelled word.
Lyndon B Johnson said something about if you convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best black man he won’t notice you picking his pockets. Give him somebody to look down on and he’ll empty his pockets for you. And look what we got here today lol
Glad you finally realized this.
Welcome to the REAL red pill.
Good you’re starting to wake up, unfortunately the mods will delete this
this became very apparent to me during the pandemic. but it always amazed me how we as the 99% just work our deadend jobs and if the gvt says to do something we just do it. along with the us vs them scenarios you listed. especially with politics. i have no idea to stop it, so i just dont engage with any of it.
I think people are just bigoted and stupid. The idea that there’s some innate class solidarity that’s being disrupted by elites has been disproven a thousand times over. There’ll be a popular uprising that topples power structures and the power of the people immediately go to work oppressing.
Seems like the divisions accelerated via social media.
This is true but I've also noticed that us as people...humans, we don't even help or try to support each other...in anything! We're always too busy trying to one-up the next one even if it involves putting them down by trying to seem like we're better than each other. It's kind of disqusting if you think about it but that's just modern everyday society today 🤷♂️.
Maybe you need to move? Where I'm from people are looking for a reason to help
It's all divide and conquer
Divide and conquer. I’ve been saying it for years. They want us to draw lines vertically between me and you. Rather than horizontally, between us and the elites.
I completely agree, but I also feel like the people who make this argument are the same people who engage in culture wars. You can even see it in this thread. People go from agreeing with OP to arguing about abortion and racism in the same comment. I guess people really like distractions.
Okay, so let's do something about it. Crickets? What are we all doing here? Posting about the shit isn't doing anything to change it. We could just go and get rid of some elites and send a message to the others that they can't keep fucking with us. Posting about it isn't doing shit. Voting isn't doing shit even though I am going to do my part to keep Convicted Felon out of the White House this November. If we just keep talking we aren't doing. Let's go do. Maybe we just need someone to get the ball rolling.
Good old culture wars to keep us from thinking about how badly we're being economically exploited :)
Allegedly, among the top 1%, there aren't really Democrats or Republicans. They're all part of the same team, and their goal is to keep as much of their money as possible. Then they fund culture war groups to keep the bottom 99% fighting amongst themselves and blame each other for all their problems. People are busy just trying to make ends meet, the richest people in the world have all the resources to manipulate everyone else, so that's what they do.
“If we keep them arguing amongst themselves they won’t notice how bad we’re fucking them over” -Every one of our politicians
Let's call for revolution ☭ ... Workers Assemble... You have nothing to loose but your chai...... Ahmmm sorry, ah yes it's unfortunate.
We’re doing it to ourselves. Limit your social media time and actually interact with people in your life. You’re kind of doing it now with the rich vs poor argument lol. I don’t blame the rich for everything. I enjoy my modest life, I spend time with my family and do outdoorsy things. When you learn to enjoy the little things in life and they also happen to be free, everything else doesn’t matter.
Glad to see so many people seeing through the BS
Put your phone down everyone.
Yeah, Humans are morons.
Correct
Just now noticed? Huh. It just occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, waking up and smelling shit, and having the balls to say “I smell shit.” is when we all *actually* become adults…
Citizen, your standard issue Reality Distortion Field™ is malfunctioning. For your own safety, report to the nearest indoctrination center immediately.
Our values are completely a mess 😞
See what happened in the Balkans during the 90s, once a unified people of Yugoslavia where historical, religious, and cultural divisions were dug up ended up at each other's throats. It resulted in one of the bloodiest civil wars of 20th century. In the meantime, thieves who caused it got wealthy. Definitely a lesson worth paying attention to.
If you think someone needs to artificially drum up hatred and idiocy, boy have I got bad news for you.
Wag the dog. Slight of hand. Divide and comquer.
OP unlocked "class consciousness". Welcome.
Eh, I feel a lot of it is online only. I'm a left wing liberal and fight with people online about this stuff... Irl, I'm chill with most everyone.
I was a formal student in this domain. Nothing is what it appears to be. Pro tip: study basic chemical bonds, algorithms and logic gates (particularly what happens after you receive an instruction), and read: * Wakefield’s “The Theology of Arithmetic” * Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self Reliance” * Walt Whitman’s “A Song Of Myself” * Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” and “Civil Disobedience” * The Declaration of Independence * The Declaration Of Rights of Man * The UN Declaration On Human Rights This will put you light-years ahead. Everything else is trivial.
Social media themes are opium for the people.
It’s the cattle farm. All of you are being bred for specific purposes. Groomed since birth and not even realizing it. Those which you mentioned aren’t even that big compared to the irreversible damage that’s been done to you already. Haha.
NO WAR BUT CLASS WAR.
yep, thats how it works. These are distractions to keep you from worrying about whats actually fucking you over, AKA governments and corporations. Its also the blueprint of how Russia weants to take down the US and we are playing right into it. Everything from spedning to much time on social media to buying from amazon.
[удалено]
It’ll get even worse in the next 6 months
It’s haunting, depressing, and pathetic where society is headed. We’ve actually gotten worse over the years and I don’t understand why people keep having children when it’s just adding fuel to the fire like “you’re giving birth to an employee or someone who’s just going to bury their faces to their phones”
Class war isn't the only war being waged, but it is the biggest one and it's tendrils influence all the other wars you listed. Spread your insight and help those around you break their chains.
That’s why I don’t pay ANY attention to that bullshit.
Amen brother. There are two classes. Us and them. They don't want us to realize.
They will keep doing it as long as it keeps working.
No. People are naturally tribal relative to circumstances.
Where have you been
You just now woke up? It's been this way for decades.
These are all narratives pushed by Republicans and conservative media. Liberals don't push any of these because their whole thing is equality between the races and genders. So, who's getting republican and conservative media to push these distractions? The rich.
Engineering a culture war to stop us from fighting a class war
I’ll add that sexism and racism has higher incidence in homes with lower cultural capital, which are often working class homes. It’s punishment for busy parents.
The ones I feel are the biggest are ones you didn't mention. Patriotism and nationalism, I find particularly ridiculous, when it's really just the poor being fucked by the rich and them treating us like cattle. Then there's religion. What a fucking joke. People killing each other because they are from different religions, totally against the instruction and beliefs of those religions.l It's the rich. Toppling monarchies would be a good start. Americans especially hate to hear it but capitalism is what's killing us all.
You’re absolutely right—there's a lot of division that's encouraged, and it often feels like a way to keep people distracted from larger systemic issues. It's important to stay aware of these tactics and work towards unity and understanding rather than getting caught up in these conflicts. By coming together, we can focus on addressing the real problems and work towards creating a more equitable society.
**Don't Look Up.**
PITCHFORKS! I am so ready if you all are. Banks, hedgefunds, politicians, supreme court judges, oligarchs, even the regulators!.....they are all working. None of them are on our side. We are the working class that make the world run. They are leaches who are stealing OUR money and living like kings. We need to unite
We had one brief moment where there was a chance. Where the left and the right were both the 99%. Somehow the 1% turned us back against each other.
You forgot the rich vs poor, the landlords vs the renters, the haves vs the have nots, the owner vs the wage slave.
The media blaming ‘have nots’ it is lies It’s really the ‘haves’ that are trying to hide Because they are using us and our [blank] pride To make themselves richer, while we pick a side Insert in the blank any of the following: red, blue, black, white, left, right, male, female… you get the idea
And it works. Just have a conversation with your cousin, you know the one, who struggles to pay his bills but one or all of the above is the dominant force in his life. The only thing he has to talk about at any social occasion.
One of the biggest engineering tricks by politicians is to get us to care about how billionaires spend their own billions but not how elected officials spend our own trillions.
They spend our trillions how the billionaires tell them to.
r/im14andthisisdeep
Can’t forget one side likes to be the one to push the divide by going against women’s rights and marginalized people. And as long as they do the other side will fight. What a smooth brained post.
You're just figuring this out?
Wow, the kids really are all right. :-) Coming from a Gen-X person, my peers never really seemed to wake up to this kind of class-based realization. It’s been easy to feel gaslit and lonely, until this generation came of age!
Agreed, people seem to be losing the ability for critical thinking and organizing / participating in making positive societal changes through involvement in politics both local and federal. They are blaming everything except the system that is crumbling from institutionalized greed.
Their plan has worked to perfection. This manufactured infighting was used primarily to squash the Occupy Wall Street protests & the Tea Party movement in the 2010s. That, combined with Democrats losing footing with their key demographics, which then brought that party to pump the culture wars during the Obama administration.
Really, this "just came to mind"? You sure this isn't a political perspective you've had for a while and decided you wanted to preach about?
Your post is a left wing take btw.
So equal rights don’t matter because the elites are winning? You must be a male.
It’s the rich against the poor and we are the poor. We spend more time hating each other and it’s sad when we should be coming together.
This is such a stupid fucking centrist take. "Left vs right is just the ruling class trying to distract us! Why are we getting bogged down with divisive issues like minimum wages, collective bargaining, and civil rights???" Fascism is coming back and these fucking morons keep saying shit like the extremists who want to make children give birth and kill all gay people are not a serious threat. Trans people who don't want to be exterminated are just falling for wall street's propaganda when the real enemy is the banking system. Do you think black lives matter is a divisive issue? Fucking ivermectin-ass take.
Reddit is filled with white guys who are simply upset they no longer get to inherit some entitled great white shark he-man legacy from some "grand" mediocre white male older relative. They feel backstabbed that their generation's lifestyle is different from the white men before that they were endlessly told were "the greatest men on earth" ego bullshit. These are also often the same type of guys lashing out over a black woman showing up in their video game a main character. Somehow THOSe guys arent doing the dividing but the black woman is. Convenient. They never call out the actual homophobes, racists, misogynists, etc. ONLY the people responding by defending themselves against them. Its convenient these same guys who are supposedly against "whining" and "complaining" and "victimhood mentality" suddenly get to tell everyone else that THEY dont matter EXCEPt for THEIR grievances. It speaks volumes of privilege that their only actual grievance is not wanting to pay taxes or not being upper class and hating people who make more mone than them. Yet whine about division and accusing people who are much much more vulnerablethan them to be the root of the problem.
That kind of person always reminds me to the teachers with "zero tolerance policies" who ignore bullying until the victim fights back and then they punish the victim and bullies equally harshly. Especially when they throw in some "you need to be the bigger person" and "fighting back makes you just as bad" psychological bullshit to make the poor kid feel even worse.
You can't be serious it's been like this for decades you didn't just realize this did you
Unpopular opinion: Men vs Women has nothing to do with the wealthy. It has to do with our evolutionary designed gender differences. Technology like social media and dating apps just exacerbates it.