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Quicksilver wrote

Got family down, and celebrating a very belated Christmas. Got presents, playing some Christmas music, have the cookies out, warm inside and cold outside, a bit of booze. Grandparents are happy, aunt and uncle are happy, I'm happy. Good day!

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zoom_zip wrote

i’ve been listening to this album a lot lately: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=2zIHPCt0Q2c

it’s really good

the other day someone linked me this album: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=eaMbKZPBruU

i’ll be honest i didn’t think i’d be into it, but it’s fuckin’ great too. i’ve listened to it through a few times.

this song is probably my most played song this week that i wasn’t listening to as part of a full album: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=v0kiNesQpmE

i had to burn my phone that had all my music saved on it so i need to try and remember what i like listening to

although it all got lost, it’s kind of nice feeling like i can start again

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metocin wrote

I was around a bunch of bars the other day and was actually grossed out by the smell of weed around me. Big change for me as somebody who smoked everyday for a decade. Pretty happy with sobriety as I have found my energy and mental health easier to manage.

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Raxalor wrote

I'm starting a new garden :D

It's going to be a lot of work to make more of the yard usable because it's mostly sand, but it'll be a good project for me this summer. Going to finally experiment with hugelkultur

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Ennui wrote

I went to my first protest a month back. It was cool, but definitely a form of self-gratification. Trying to measure the invisible ways in which the protest might have achieved something is infuriating.

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halfway_prince wrote (edited )

Definitely identify/empathize with this, especially when I first started participating in more direct action. Reading some of the stuff by Dean Spade (Mutual Aid, Building solidarity during this crises and the next) and listening to some of their lectures helped me work through those feelings.

I can't find their exact phrasing, but the general sentiment is (basically what you've already identified) that direct action is both valuable as a spectacle to draw attention to a movement and as a way for people to build solidarity/community/momentum. I think it's pretty clear how the former is beneficial, but the latter definitely requires a little more unpacking, especially if you're coming from an pure altruism/service motivation.

To break each of those three things down:

  1. Solidarity - not sure about you but in the world we live it's not always clear how many comrades exist. Unless you work/live with a group of social justice aligned folks you typically may not get to experience the pleasure of being in psychological/mental solidarity with those you are in close physical proximity to all the time. It can be a huge mental relief to know that you're not the only one angry, you're not the only one thinking about these things, etc.

  2. Community - taking risks breaking the law, yelling at cops, even just sharing physical space together helps you build community and make connections with other people around you. You'll start to recognize faces as you go to more direct action, and those people will likely pop up in other spaces around you (grocery stores, events, organizing meetings, etc.). This is a great way to get involved/exposed to communities that you might not already have access to.

  3. Momentum - The high of direct action and feeling of real change can build momentum for individuals and organizations to continue taking further (and even more radical) action. Taking to the streets and exercising some real autonomy against laws/oppression is incredibly energizing.

Hope any of that resonated with you. Happy to continue this convo or make it a whole thread b/c it's pretty important to work through/process direct action in a healthy/productive way.

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Ennui wrote

I feel like these 3 concepts have little meaning for me because I lack a close-knit affinity group for direct action to reflect itself on.

I need more friends, but in a way I feel like the environment of activism stands contrary to friendship. Too many appearances to keep up, and not enough risk to our persons to hold us together (since I live a privileged life in a relatively stable society). I need to find a space more conducive to emotional development.

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halfway_prince wrote

Oh sorry, i must not have been phrased that well.

I mostly meant that you can find/experience solidarity and community through direct action events even though you might not have that outside of direct action spaces. I.e. you don't need to go to a (day/peaceful) protest with a tight knit group (for something more dangerous you probably should have a group obviously), you can find groups/orgs at those events which can be the basis for you building connections.

It's a great way to find people you can identify with. Some events are easier than others - maybe try volunteering with mutual aid group (which is direct action to a certain extent)?

I've found food not bombs to be a great organization with good people (for the most part). It's also important for me to remember that there is almost never a "perfect" community that is exactly what you're looking for. The diversity of opinions, approaches, interests, etc. is what makes community powerful and beautiful.

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existential1 wrote

It took a couple months, but I'm starting to get burned out from moving to a new state and my new job. I'm going to try to be more active here again so I can see what the hell is going on.

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NOISEBOB wrote

i ate kiwi on pizza with thin slices of marinated tofu, kale and discount vegan cheese this week. it was good. thanks, raddle!

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DinV wrote

"Courage, camarades! Vive l'anarchie!" we will always rise back from the ashes to fight again, to remove the filthy fascist puppets and puppeteers from our burning world. Fight harder, smarter!

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Bezotcovschina wrote

Been too tired to do anything or even check raddle. Seems like you had a very funny week here.

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halfway_prince wrote

should we stop doing science entirely?

I'm familiar with the narrative that technological innovations (in medicine, robotics, automation, etc.) are posited as solutions which will make life better / easier, but inevitably are just co opted by corporations to extract more profit while still demanding the extremes of labor from people. However, it leads me to think about what "science" or "scientists" would do in a world where constant growth/expansion/innovation is not the expectation.

In a world where we have more or less everything we need to survive and the main problem is allocation not production/innovation what is the role of science?

Would we still have theoretical physics? would we still have dna nanotechnology? Or would it turn to something more applied like resource optimization?

context: i'm a scientist with an identity crisis

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DeletedButArchived wrote

I've been rewinding a slight amount. Biology and more specifically ecology is incredibly useful. You learn biology just by watching the plants. Science has been around since a human wanted to understand the world around them better. Unless a post industrial society would require people not understand the world better than it would still be around.

I would be as bold to say that any world which prevents me from trying to understand the world better or do basic organic chemistry is a world worth fighting against.

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Ennui wrote

In the mythical, impossible future utopia you can do all the science you want for any reason you want—don’t worry.

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