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elyersio wrote

I've no experience in these, but this is what I'd do: Save up, pay off the house, buy solar panels, invest in yourself and become less involved in the system.

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alqm wrote (edited )

In addition to what Elon said, apply the DIY philosophy and try to maximize your free time. Refuse any offers from the system that will put more responsibility on you. Don't let anything suck up your time besides the essential and what you really care about. Try every day to detach from things, to seek the manual switch. Take back control.

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An_Old_Big_Tree wrote

I've given this a few ponders over the course of the day, and I think it's hard to say if you don't give more information. Are you saying you want to stop resisting? What do you think that would look like in reality?

I've had a few friends over the years reach their mid-thirties and start burning out hard. Often it's a really shitty process where they start doing things they never would have done before (even simple things like, buying cheap clothes that you know came from a sweatshop), and are really affected (breaking down in tears) by the change while also just so relieved not to fight it all the time.

If giving up is something you feel like you're leaning towards doing, and, as you say, you have a decent job, one thing you could do that would make a meaningful difference is to put a solid chunk of that money in the pockets of younger, broker people with good politics, so that they can smash for you and not have as bad a money struggle as you might have had. Find a project you think is badass and give them a serious and consistent cash injection.

Maybe your local infoshop is always struggling to make the rent and spending much of their revolutionary energy selling coffee to hipsters so that they can keep their space open. Maybe the local anarchist press collective would print way more books if they had the money. Who knows. But there are badasses out there who could use your dough so they don't have to spend so much time participating in capitalism before they get to smashing it.

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MeowZedong wrote

My opinion might be unpopular here but here it goes.

For a lot of people, there isn't much of a choice in terms of getting "in the system" in some way or another. Many people have responsibilities like kids, aging relatives, or sick relatives who depend on them. Many, if not most, people depend on the system in some way or another to put food on the table and a roof over their heads and will take these opportunities in a heartbeat because nobody likes to starve.

I think anarchism should be something oriented towards others, not just ourselves. Historically, many anarchists were "in the system" (like people working in factories they didn't own themselves). To me that's part of the point, when you can't just drop everything to go live off the grid on your own terms, that's all the more reason for wanting things to change.

Ask yourself, what do you want? How do you see your workplace and your community? How can you use what you have to help change things? This can mean getting more involved in local anarchist groups, helping create a space in your community where people can support each other and rely less on the system, whatever.

If you're asking about your beliefs in a more personal sense, that's just work you'll have to put into reminding yourself of what's important to you and what you believe in, instead of just letting get yourself settle. Maybe remind yourself that this system where you've gotten a good deal is the same system that screws over many people and denies them even the opportunities you've had.

Sorry if this is unclear, English isn't my first language.

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Enkara wrote

Wait are you afraid of losing your mortgage? Why?

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chaos OP wrote (edited )

My point was that, once you've paid into it for a decade, have invested years of your life into paying for it, you might be less inclined to want to risk going to jail or losing your job because suddenly all those years of struggle were for nothing. I don't feel like that now, but I can see how a mortgage can deradicalize people.

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Enkara wrote

Ah I see...

Yeah I can relate to that feeling, having shit means being afraid of losing it and maybe feeling less inclined to do some fantastic rioting.

But there's still roles that are relatively safer and need people.

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MeowZedong wrote

Yes! I think it's really important to emphasise the existence of safer roles and how necessary they can be. Not everyone is able to go out and do some rioting, not just because of being afraid to lose their mortgage but because of stuff like disabilities or having to take care of kids or whatever.

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