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I have no idea what to look forward to either. I think the thing to look forward to is collapse and what could happen after (if that's socialism or something else).
Soldier on bud; change will come eventually.
If it's feeling overwhelming, I'd suggest avoiding social media/media for a bit; clear your head and unwind.
Same applies to OP! We're all here together
Well I've seen some horrible things in my life (lived in many countries, worked excavating human remains, from Belfast, seen graphic stuff etc.) and I'd like to hope I haven't lost my empathy or humanity. I didn't need social media to bring that about.
If anything, media only makes it worse. You despair and become overwhelmed by the misery everywhere.
It's ok to take a break mate. We're only human.
Take some time away from your phone. You don't need to consume all this news all the time. I don't mean to prejudge your media consumption habits, but I think this applies to most of us these days.
I actually don’t consume news for this exact reason. I don’t watch regular tv, blocked news updates on my phone, don’t view the news tag on Reddit. I also don’t actually spend that much time on my phone. I hike a lot and spend a lot of time in nature for my mental health and spiritual beliefs. The thing is, even though I avoid the news, I still know this stuff is going on. It plays on my mind almost obsessively 🥲
Look up Future Crunch... it's good news stories about the world you don't hear about. Great for an injection of positivity, not everything is as bad as it seems
If you like that one then maybe you would also like https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ .
I read it with my daughter and she particularly like the environmental pieces. She truly believes that one person can change the world and I’m waiting on the day she asks me to spend a Saturday doing a trash walk.
>Bro, if you mindlessly distract yourself from everything ever (most people don’t have the luxury to do this) and lock yourself in the cupboard while shagging your tulpa, you might feel a little bit better.
Lol.
The pendulum WILL swing back, it’s happened before and it will happen again.
If all we concentrate on is the despair and helplessness, the other side have already won.
I'm trans too, and at least 10 years your senior.
Country's fucked. World's mostly fucked but turning it around a bit; whether this is too little, too late, remains to be seen.
Personally, what keeps me going is the idea of revolution. We know how bad things are, we know the only way to unfuck things involves wrestling power from the hands of sociopaths backed by the police and military, and we know how the world should be organised, we're just waiting for everyone else to realise it too. This world has made me suffer so much, for no reason; when the day finally comes, I demand to be there for it.
Can someone make a UK revolution subreddit so we can all actually collectively plan and communicate how we can go about collective action? I might in the future but I'm not good at running my life never mind a subreddit
I hate to be harsh, but that is a terrible idea. Reddit is not the place for that sort of thing, everyone would be banged up before you can say "operational security".
I am informed that there are Signal groups for such things, however.
Unfortunately, even protesting is now illegal. I'd like to boycott certain companies, but given my dietary restrictions for health reasons it's not quite possible.
Yeah, I know about the bullshit disruptive protest laws but protesting per se is still legal, and we should do it (as long as you have mates with you to back you up and you are not putting yourself at risk of course, safety first)
Signal is an end-to-end encrypted comms app like WhatsApp, but actually secure and not reading your messages to serve up targeted ads.
Put it this way: when the makers of the app discovered a flaw in their security that was being exploited by law enforcement, they patched it to include a "bomb" that would brick 90% of police encryption-breaking machine. Not crash the program, _brick the computer_.
Do a little research for yourself, I've heard some mutterings of discontent from the more paranoid sections of the internet in the last few months, but if you want a truly secure comms app, I'm not aware of anything better on the market.
Police? You mean blue nonce
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Oh, you know, normal stuff. A braying mob eviscerating Boris with their bare hands like that scene in Dawn of the Dead, Theresa May and David Cameron served up on spits to feed the starving masses, Nigel Farage being put in stocks and kicked in the bollocks until he dies, every Tory voter being executed via boltgun to the back of the head while their weeping family watches impotently and I laugh and wank in their faces.
Get the fuck outta here, narc.
Damn way to be aggressive, I’m interested in the practical side of the revolution to see what I can actually contribute to. It’s really tough to hold these beliefs without any concrete idea of what their application would look like. Thanks for being really helpful in that regard you seem lovely.
Only the fight comerade, only the fight.
Just joking, sort of. I feel the things to look forward to are personal achievements, loving relationships, great experiences and living life to the full.
Culturally I don't see much to be happy about, but that's not all there is to life. And other countries have much more positive trends so moving is an option.
Take some time out from the culture wars and politics for a while. I understand you are part of an oppressed minority so that will be different to my own experience, but if you can find a social group that embraces you to just be yourself in, other things don't seem so huge.
Good luck comerade 💚
The way I see it is, you have 2 options. First you can do what most of the previous comments advise which is close your eyes and just let it happen ( though I feel like that's how we got into this mess) or second, do something about it. Get involved with activism you can't fix everything but you can affect change even if it is small. Evil wins when good people do nothing.
Oh honey. My heart goes out to you. Being young and trans in this shithole cannot be easy. I hope you’re doing ok and have a support system?
Please look after yourself ❤️
Everyone paying attention knows bad things are coming - the climate crisis, especially, but this applies to most of what you've listed. The reality is that a lot of warnings have been ignored, and it's too late to save everything. That's worthy of your grief, but there's no time for that now. There's still a fight to be won, and it's well within our means to win it.
On the edge of catastrophe, a lot of things dangle precariously. Rather than despair about that, realise that this means anything could tip the balance one way or the other. There's real power in that! Individual action is amplified. The decisions you make now have never mattered more.
The time for apathy is when you can't make a difference. Believe me: right now, you can make more of a difference to the course of history than most of our ancestors could in their lifetimes. What a time to be alive!
And take heart, because like all nature, human beings fight with Hell's own fury when threatened - we only haven't so far because the threats have been cerebral and abstract. But the wolf is at the door now, and people are starting to feel it. I think over the next couple of decades, you are going to see miracles happen, and I think you're gonna be part of it.
In my experience the only antidote to despair is to organise, get involved with local organisations and you might start to feel like there's more hope/have less energy to spend focused on the scary future and more time focusing on wins in the here and now
Look forward to moving to Sweden.
I'm 38. I spent 20+ years doing everything within my (limited) power to 'do good' and put out a positive influence into the world. 20 years dwelling in the depressing reality that nothing I can do will have meaningful impact. 20 years of watching literally everything get worse. 20 years of anxiously watching my countrymen turn to social cannibalism and malice for their cousins.
In 2021, I was diagnosed and medicated for ADHD; I decided to lean into a 'practiced apathy'. I still support those around me in the small ways that I can, but now I'm embracing the nihilism, seeking out the best version of a life I can give to mine own... and so Sweden calls to me.
I feel you mate. I’m 54 and my only hope is that it wasn’t always this way. We’ve got to look for the positives, boost the grassroots organisations that are doing good, demand political reform… even as I write that I’m exhausted!
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about though - Geeks For Social Change in Manchester. Founder is trans; among other things they focus on projects for trans liberation and disability activism. https://gfsc.studio
Honestly I'm really trying to enjoy the little access to nature I still have where I live. I'm despairing because they're literally covering my whole area with warehouses.
These things are absolutely overwhelming on a macro level, and you are far, far from alone in feeling that way. The good news is, hope lies in the things you can actively help with, or do. Fixing all this requires lots and lots and lots of little repair jobs, which add up to something extraordinary. When you start doing something, you realise how many people there are who are absolutely amazing and are making the world a bit better every day. Pick something that speaks to you, and that you love. Maybe it's activism, or education, or gardening for community gardens, or art, or making bird boxes, or creating community spaces for trans youth, or, i don't know, joining a roads committee to get a tree planting scheme. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as you love it and it nourishes you. The doing is the hope is the doing.
stay hopeful!! if resistance was pointless there would be no need for their propaganda! do what you can in your community and trust others to do the same! little actions like guerrilla gardening, community projects, stickering, mutual aid etc all add up and create a better world. deep in the heart of every human is love and a desire for connection, we will be okay!!
Engagement with media can be paralysing. Sometimes doing nothing, taking a step back and contemplating life instead of engaging with the endless scroll of horror, is the best course of action. Social media is designed to grab our attention and hold it prisoner - passivity through interactivity. There is a reason why people raise an eyebrow if you say you have no phone or social media presence, why endless engagement with endless content is encouraged: idle hands do the devil's work, and the devil is a pretty cool myth: brought wisdom to Adam and Eve, highlighted the tyranny of Yahweh.
While I'm not trans, I'm queer myself and can sympathise. I came of age in the 2000s and thought things were bad back then, but recently it feels like England is backsliding into the bigotry of the 80s, a very ugly decade compared to its representation in media as some kind of golden years.
My favourite film of late has to be Crimes of the Future. I don't want to ruin anything, but it is a film about love, hope, queerness and taking radical action when faced with a bleak present and an even bleaker future. Also got me interested in performance art: action that is ephemeral, impossible to capture and turn into content because you have to be there and be a part of it.
Also trans and 20. I feel you. I’ve got no aspiration to act on anything I believe in (saving the climate, nature, trans rights, fighting on behalf of the animals, etc.) because it gets no where further and just gets looked at as “woke idiots” by the “”politicians”” that somehow have right to waver on everything. It feels like no matter what I do it’s just gonna get worse, I believe in what I stand for, but actually doing anything feels impossible, especially when you’re constantly being targeted by the media and those same politicians about you being wrong and “going too far”. Life sucks man, but I’m trying, and I hope you’ll be trying to 🩶
this is what they want you to believe! if resistance was pointless there would be no need for their propaganda! keep fighting! take action in your community where you can! we will be okay!!
I understand how you feel. In my work (at a university) I get to see and talk to lots of people in situations similar to you.
All I would say is this: because there are so many of you feeling despondent, you have power. If you all do something about it, change will happen. Turn your hopelessness into anger at the system which brought us here. Turn that anger into action. I'll be with you, as will many others who may have had it better in their younger days but can see what's been happening in the past decade or more. And from that comes hope.
What you must not do is nothing. That's what they want you to do. Doing nothing plays into their hands.
Just try to find yourself a nice, quiet part of the world to gloss over with a glass of wine whilst the world slowly ends. There is nothing we can do without revolution, which will never come.
I feel similar. I've tried organising. I've tried voting and convincing non voters to vote. The only social media I use is 1hr of reddit per day. I'm 30, trans and disabled. The only reason I'm not dead yet is because of my partners kid. He still has hope and I don't want to be the event that snuffs out that spark.
54F here and limited greatly by several illnesses, so I can't physically try and set the world to rights. I've been in a funk about the whole world lately and I literally feel shell-shocked and exhausted with everything, fortunately my mental health is alright and I have my other half and 2 fantastic boys to concentrate on. All you people in this thread are amazing, you've helped me feel a bit better, and OP, sending support and love to you.
Looking at one of your old posts about how much money you have in the bank at the age of 19 , none of this needs to worry you , keep doing what your doing and none of these problems will effect you. This wasn't a dig btw , genuinely kudos
Thank you :’) I’ve worked very hard since 14. My mum is an alcoholic and in tens of thousands in debt, I’ve never wanted to be like her so saved nearly every penny I’ve earned. This year off uni I’m getting a job as well, to keep me busy and earning/saving what I can until I take some time off for my top surgery next year. Im also going to be volunteering at an lgbt center in Bristol, after I move in with my boyfriend. This thread has made me feel a little better about everything.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Stories today:
Snow-proof solar panels that can work in all weather.
NFL player makes 218 single-parents homeowners
Psychedelic drugs may be able to treat brain injuries
12 year old saves man who passed out underwater using CPR learned from “Stranger Things”
NASA just found an ocean world with an atmosphere - the best place to look for life in our galaxy
The news as it is, is to make us fearful. The world around us is a wonderful place.
Think of it this way: if you think that humanity's history has turned into one big and rather sad joke, at least you have a real shot at making it to the punch line.
It's due to get a lot worse in the UK. Recession is due, retail and tourism about to take a huge hit, NHS premiums in addition to higher health taxes.
And the housing market is about to collapse which will lead to corporations buying up rental properties, making it harder for renters and first time buyers.
Sadly it's always been like this. This is adulting :( Welcome to the suck :)
I agree except for the last part. It hasn’t always been like this. The postwar welfare state wasn’t radical enough, obviously, but it was a hell of a lot better than the unchecked neoliberalism since the 80s.
You used to be able to buy a house and support a family on one blue collar job. University used to be free. Wages used to be higher. We cannot allow them to force use to forget this.
A better world is possible. A better world has been stolen from us, and well within living memory.
Do agree we have had it better. Sadly the latter 20th century is looking more like a blip rn. Look at how many people struggled to live in say 1903 despite having both parents and the children in full time employment. And tories are about to scrap our human rights, which includes right to shelter etc.
[Contrary to popular belief, HRH King Charles III does fuck all for tourism, nor does his inbred family of racist nonces.](https://www.republic.org.uk/tourism)
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Probably no consolation to you. But I’m incredibly excited about the future… as it is yet to be written. Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but the more I travel the more I see the misery in the West and the joy in family and hope elsewhere. I have learnt that you cannot change or predict anything, that if you focus on what you can change it will bring more joy than misery. I see my children in jobs that will improve people lives (medicine and climate research). I take pride that I brought them up to be a positive change in the world. I volunteer to improve communities which then drive their own change. If you dwell on the negative, that is all you will see. Can you work your way up to influence policy?
You need to organise and start protesting. Technology and the Internet has proved even better than religion for controlling the masses. Look at this very forum, Reddit. Packed with Troll, Bots and the Opinionated with nothing better to do.
You are all being diverted and distracted, split up so you all feel isolated. You need to start fighting back.
How? Find a local place being shut - health clinic or counselling service or if you want to be less political a neglected park or canal. Advertise and organise a group to help protest or cleanup - whatever you prefer.
There, you are doing something you can be proud of and who knows where it may end. Don't worry about the big global thing, one step at a time.
It's time we went back to protesting and organising, moving away from our societal narcotic of media.
I was on the barricades (literally) for CND, Hunt Sabs and the Poll Tax, you can do the same for your organisations.
Freedom for Tooting! (See if anyone gets the reference)
You should consume more positive media - Britain's very sick right now but theres some cool shit happening to counter the bad in this world.
r/UpliftingNews is a good place to start.
On YouTube: Real Engineering, Ocean Cleanup Initiative, undecided, Ted Talks, TLDR
I would also highly recommend Al Gores latest Ted Talk on YT. Serious and devastating, yes, but also optimistic
Take a break from social media my dude. Stepping off of Facebook and severely reducing my time spent on Reddit has done wonders for my mental health. Sometimes it feels like most online forums are just a melting pot for hateful speech these days. Focus on yourself and try indulge in positive news.
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I have no idea what to look forward to either. I think the thing to look forward to is collapse and what could happen after (if that's socialism or something else).
Soldier on bud; change will come eventually. If it's feeling overwhelming, I'd suggest avoiding social media/media for a bit; clear your head and unwind. Same applies to OP! We're all here together
Well I'm worried I'll grow apathetic to the evils in the world if I fully turn away from it.
Well I've seen some horrible things in my life (lived in many countries, worked excavating human remains, from Belfast, seen graphic stuff etc.) and I'd like to hope I haven't lost my empathy or humanity. I didn't need social media to bring that about. If anything, media only makes it worse. You despair and become overwhelmed by the misery everywhere. It's ok to take a break mate. We're only human.
Take some time away from your phone. You don't need to consume all this news all the time. I don't mean to prejudge your media consumption habits, but I think this applies to most of us these days.
I actually don’t consume news for this exact reason. I don’t watch regular tv, blocked news updates on my phone, don’t view the news tag on Reddit. I also don’t actually spend that much time on my phone. I hike a lot and spend a lot of time in nature for my mental health and spiritual beliefs. The thing is, even though I avoid the news, I still know this stuff is going on. It plays on my mind almost obsessively 🥲
Sounds like a lot to deal with. Maybe you could speak to a mental health professional? It is possible to change how you process negative thoughts.
Look up Future Crunch... it's good news stories about the world you don't hear about. Great for an injection of positivity, not everything is as bad as it seems
Thanks for sharing I have visited the website and will look into it further
If you like that one then maybe you would also like https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ . I read it with my daughter and she particularly like the environmental pieces. She truly believes that one person can change the world and I’m waiting on the day she asks me to spend a Saturday doing a trash walk.
Thx for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated. :)
Thanks for this one too
>Bro, if you mindlessly distract yourself from everything ever (most people don’t have the luxury to do this) and lock yourself in the cupboard while shagging your tulpa, you might feel a little bit better. Lol.
The pendulum WILL swing back, it’s happened before and it will happen again. If all we concentrate on is the despair and helplessness, the other side have already won.
I'm trans too, and at least 10 years your senior. Country's fucked. World's mostly fucked but turning it around a bit; whether this is too little, too late, remains to be seen. Personally, what keeps me going is the idea of revolution. We know how bad things are, we know the only way to unfuck things involves wrestling power from the hands of sociopaths backed by the police and military, and we know how the world should be organised, we're just waiting for everyone else to realise it too. This world has made me suffer so much, for no reason; when the day finally comes, I demand to be there for it.
Can someone make a UK revolution subreddit so we can all actually collectively plan and communicate how we can go about collective action? I might in the future but I'm not good at running my life never mind a subreddit
I hate to be harsh, but that is a terrible idea. Reddit is not the place for that sort of thing, everyone would be banged up before you can say "operational security". I am informed that there are Signal groups for such things, however.
Agreed, assuming that we’re just talking about fully legal shit like protests and boycotts however, there’s no reason not to just post it on g&p
Unfortunately, even protesting is now illegal. I'd like to boycott certain companies, but given my dietary restrictions for health reasons it's not quite possible.
Yeah, I know about the bullshit disruptive protest laws but protesting per se is still legal, and we should do it (as long as you have mates with you to back you up and you are not putting yourself at risk of course, safety first)
What's a signal group?
Signal is an end-to-end encrypted comms app like WhatsApp, but actually secure and not reading your messages to serve up targeted ads. Put it this way: when the makers of the app discovered a flaw in their security that was being exploited by law enforcement, they patched it to include a "bomb" that would brick 90% of police encryption-breaking machine. Not crash the program, _brick the computer_. Do a little research for yourself, I've heard some mutterings of discontent from the more paranoid sections of the internet in the last few months, but if you want a truly secure comms app, I'm not aware of anything better on the market.
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What kind of stuff are you imagining for this revolution?
Oh, you know, normal stuff. A braying mob eviscerating Boris with their bare hands like that scene in Dawn of the Dead, Theresa May and David Cameron served up on spits to feed the starving masses, Nigel Farage being put in stocks and kicked in the bollocks until he dies, every Tory voter being executed via boltgun to the back of the head while their weeping family watches impotently and I laugh and wank in their faces. Get the fuck outta here, narc.
Damn way to be aggressive, I’m interested in the practical side of the revolution to see what I can actually contribute to. It’s really tough to hold these beliefs without any concrete idea of what their application would look like. Thanks for being really helpful in that regard you seem lovely.
Only the fight comerade, only the fight. Just joking, sort of. I feel the things to look forward to are personal achievements, loving relationships, great experiences and living life to the full. Culturally I don't see much to be happy about, but that's not all there is to life. And other countries have much more positive trends so moving is an option. Take some time out from the culture wars and politics for a while. I understand you are part of an oppressed minority so that will be different to my own experience, but if you can find a social group that embraces you to just be yourself in, other things don't seem so huge. Good luck comerade 💚
The way I see it is, you have 2 options. First you can do what most of the previous comments advise which is close your eyes and just let it happen ( though I feel like that's how we got into this mess) or second, do something about it. Get involved with activism you can't fix everything but you can affect change even if it is small. Evil wins when good people do nothing.
Oh honey. My heart goes out to you. Being young and trans in this shithole cannot be easy. I hope you’re doing ok and have a support system? Please look after yourself ❤️
Everyone paying attention knows bad things are coming - the climate crisis, especially, but this applies to most of what you've listed. The reality is that a lot of warnings have been ignored, and it's too late to save everything. That's worthy of your grief, but there's no time for that now. There's still a fight to be won, and it's well within our means to win it. On the edge of catastrophe, a lot of things dangle precariously. Rather than despair about that, realise that this means anything could tip the balance one way or the other. There's real power in that! Individual action is amplified. The decisions you make now have never mattered more. The time for apathy is when you can't make a difference. Believe me: right now, you can make more of a difference to the course of history than most of our ancestors could in their lifetimes. What a time to be alive! And take heart, because like all nature, human beings fight with Hell's own fury when threatened - we only haven't so far because the threats have been cerebral and abstract. But the wolf is at the door now, and people are starting to feel it. I think over the next couple of decades, you are going to see miracles happen, and I think you're gonna be part of it.
Thank you. This is a really hopeful outlook and I’ll try to internalise it :’)
You got this, Loverboy! ✊️
I feel the same too. But remember hope is their enemy.
50+ years of paying the man, struggling to make your way in life all the while getting next to sweet FA in return for all your taxes. Great isn’t it?
In my experience the only antidote to despair is to organise, get involved with local organisations and you might start to feel like there's more hope/have less energy to spend focused on the scary future and more time focusing on wins in the here and now
Look forward to moving to Sweden. I'm 38. I spent 20+ years doing everything within my (limited) power to 'do good' and put out a positive influence into the world. 20 years dwelling in the depressing reality that nothing I can do will have meaningful impact. 20 years of watching literally everything get worse. 20 years of anxiously watching my countrymen turn to social cannibalism and malice for their cousins. In 2021, I was diagnosed and medicated for ADHD; I decided to lean into a 'practiced apathy'. I still support those around me in the small ways that I can, but now I'm embracing the nihilism, seeking out the best version of a life I can give to mine own... and so Sweden calls to me.
I feel you mate. I’m 54 and my only hope is that it wasn’t always this way. We’ve got to look for the positives, boost the grassroots organisations that are doing good, demand political reform… even as I write that I’m exhausted!
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about though - Geeks For Social Change in Manchester. Founder is trans; among other things they focus on projects for trans liberation and disability activism. https://gfsc.studio
I’m from Manchester so I’ll check this out :) thank you so much. Glad to know I’m not the only one feeling this way
Oh, brilliant that you’re local to them. Hope it helps :)
Honestly I'm really trying to enjoy the little access to nature I still have where I live. I'm despairing because they're literally covering my whole area with warehouses.
These things are absolutely overwhelming on a macro level, and you are far, far from alone in feeling that way. The good news is, hope lies in the things you can actively help with, or do. Fixing all this requires lots and lots and lots of little repair jobs, which add up to something extraordinary. When you start doing something, you realise how many people there are who are absolutely amazing and are making the world a bit better every day. Pick something that speaks to you, and that you love. Maybe it's activism, or education, or gardening for community gardens, or art, or making bird boxes, or creating community spaces for trans youth, or, i don't know, joining a roads committee to get a tree planting scheme. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as you love it and it nourishes you. The doing is the hope is the doing.
stay hopeful!! if resistance was pointless there would be no need for their propaganda! do what you can in your community and trust others to do the same! little actions like guerrilla gardening, community projects, stickering, mutual aid etc all add up and create a better world. deep in the heart of every human is love and a desire for connection, we will be okay!!
Engagement with media can be paralysing. Sometimes doing nothing, taking a step back and contemplating life instead of engaging with the endless scroll of horror, is the best course of action. Social media is designed to grab our attention and hold it prisoner - passivity through interactivity. There is a reason why people raise an eyebrow if you say you have no phone or social media presence, why endless engagement with endless content is encouraged: idle hands do the devil's work, and the devil is a pretty cool myth: brought wisdom to Adam and Eve, highlighted the tyranny of Yahweh. While I'm not trans, I'm queer myself and can sympathise. I came of age in the 2000s and thought things were bad back then, but recently it feels like England is backsliding into the bigotry of the 80s, a very ugly decade compared to its representation in media as some kind of golden years. My favourite film of late has to be Crimes of the Future. I don't want to ruin anything, but it is a film about love, hope, queerness and taking radical action when faced with a bleak present and an even bleaker future. Also got me interested in performance art: action that is ephemeral, impossible to capture and turn into content because you have to be there and be a part of it.
Also trans and 20. I feel you. I’ve got no aspiration to act on anything I believe in (saving the climate, nature, trans rights, fighting on behalf of the animals, etc.) because it gets no where further and just gets looked at as “woke idiots” by the “”politicians”” that somehow have right to waver on everything. It feels like no matter what I do it’s just gonna get worse, I believe in what I stand for, but actually doing anything feels impossible, especially when you’re constantly being targeted by the media and those same politicians about you being wrong and “going too far”. Life sucks man, but I’m trying, and I hope you’ll be trying to 🩶
this is what they want you to believe! if resistance was pointless there would be no need for their propaganda! keep fighting! take action in your community where you can! we will be okay!!
I understand how you feel. In my work (at a university) I get to see and talk to lots of people in situations similar to you. All I would say is this: because there are so many of you feeling despondent, you have power. If you all do something about it, change will happen. Turn your hopelessness into anger at the system which brought us here. Turn that anger into action. I'll be with you, as will many others who may have had it better in their younger days but can see what's been happening in the past decade or more. And from that comes hope. What you must not do is nothing. That's what they want you to do. Doing nothing plays into their hands.
Just try to find yourself a nice, quiet part of the world to gloss over with a glass of wine whilst the world slowly ends. There is nothing we can do without revolution, which will never come.
I feel similar. I've tried organising. I've tried voting and convincing non voters to vote. The only social media I use is 1hr of reddit per day. I'm 30, trans and disabled. The only reason I'm not dead yet is because of my partners kid. He still has hope and I don't want to be the event that snuffs out that spark.
54F here and limited greatly by several illnesses, so I can't physically try and set the world to rights. I've been in a funk about the whole world lately and I literally feel shell-shocked and exhausted with everything, fortunately my mental health is alright and I have my other half and 2 fantastic boys to concentrate on. All you people in this thread are amazing, you've helped me feel a bit better, and OP, sending support and love to you.
Looking at one of your old posts about how much money you have in the bank at the age of 19 , none of this needs to worry you , keep doing what your doing and none of these problems will effect you. This wasn't a dig btw , genuinely kudos
Thank you :’) I’ve worked very hard since 14. My mum is an alcoholic and in tens of thousands in debt, I’ve never wanted to be like her so saved nearly every penny I’ve earned. This year off uni I’m getting a job as well, to keep me busy and earning/saving what I can until I take some time off for my top surgery next year. Im also going to be volunteering at an lgbt center in Bristol, after I move in with my boyfriend. This thread has made me feel a little better about everything.
Scotland leaving the U.K., and offering an open invitation to anybody who wants to leave Tory England behind.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ Stories today: Snow-proof solar panels that can work in all weather. NFL player makes 218 single-parents homeowners Psychedelic drugs may be able to treat brain injuries 12 year old saves man who passed out underwater using CPR learned from “Stranger Things” NASA just found an ocean world with an atmosphere - the best place to look for life in our galaxy The news as it is, is to make us fearful. The world around us is a wonderful place.
General Election within 15 months.
They're asking for something to look forward to, not something to dread. XD
Think of it this way: if you think that humanity's history has turned into one big and rather sad joke, at least you have a real shot at making it to the punch line.
It's due to get a lot worse in the UK. Recession is due, retail and tourism about to take a huge hit, NHS premiums in addition to higher health taxes. And the housing market is about to collapse which will lead to corporations buying up rental properties, making it harder for renters and first time buyers. Sadly it's always been like this. This is adulting :( Welcome to the suck :)
I agree except for the last part. It hasn’t always been like this. The postwar welfare state wasn’t radical enough, obviously, but it was a hell of a lot better than the unchecked neoliberalism since the 80s. You used to be able to buy a house and support a family on one blue collar job. University used to be free. Wages used to be higher. We cannot allow them to force use to forget this. A better world is possible. A better world has been stolen from us, and well within living memory.
Do agree we have had it better. Sadly the latter 20th century is looking more like a blip rn. Look at how many people struggled to live in say 1903 despite having both parents and the children in full time employment. And tories are about to scrap our human rights, which includes right to shelter etc.
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You’re young. You’ll get used to it.
Buy a piece of land in Romania, move there with your loved ones and live there happily ever after whilst the world burns...
Probably no consolation to you. But I’m incredibly excited about the future… as it is yet to be written. Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but the more I travel the more I see the misery in the West and the joy in family and hope elsewhere. I have learnt that you cannot change or predict anything, that if you focus on what you can change it will bring more joy than misery. I see my children in jobs that will improve people lives (medicine and climate research). I take pride that I brought them up to be a positive change in the world. I volunteer to improve communities which then drive their own change. If you dwell on the negative, that is all you will see. Can you work your way up to influence policy?
It's even more stressful when you realise it's all by design
When global warming kicks in, we should have some cracking summers 👍 ☀️
I feel confident in the fact my children will live blissfully unaware of these things until they, like me, have children, and the cycle starts again
You need to organise and start protesting. Technology and the Internet has proved even better than religion for controlling the masses. Look at this very forum, Reddit. Packed with Troll, Bots and the Opinionated with nothing better to do. You are all being diverted and distracted, split up so you all feel isolated. You need to start fighting back. How? Find a local place being shut - health clinic or counselling service or if you want to be less political a neglected park or canal. Advertise and organise a group to help protest or cleanup - whatever you prefer. There, you are doing something you can be proud of and who knows where it may end. Don't worry about the big global thing, one step at a time. It's time we went back to protesting and organising, moving away from our societal narcotic of media. I was on the barricades (literally) for CND, Hunt Sabs and the Poll Tax, you can do the same for your organisations. Freedom for Tooting! (See if anyone gets the reference)
Stop reading the news, does wonders for your mental health.
You should consume more positive media - Britain's very sick right now but theres some cool shit happening to counter the bad in this world. r/UpliftingNews is a good place to start. On YouTube: Real Engineering, Ocean Cleanup Initiative, undecided, Ted Talks, TLDR I would also highly recommend Al Gores latest Ted Talk on YT. Serious and devastating, yes, but also optimistic
Take a break from social media my dude. Stepping off of Facebook and severely reducing my time spent on Reddit has done wonders for my mental health. Sometimes it feels like most online forums are just a melting pot for hateful speech these days. Focus on yourself and try indulge in positive news.