The Stoned Hacker

My brother in Christ, im sorry to inform you but the upcoming fiscal crisis are gonna be some of the least of your kids worries. I’m still probably closer in age to you rather than them, but i grew up knowing that money is gonna mean jack shit once the water starts boiling (metaphorically, but hyperbolically realistic). We’re the frogs in the pot and the economy is gonna be the least of our troubles. We’re seeing a global rise in fascism, climate disasters, war, inequity, and yes financial instability. If you wanna help your kids, get involved in the community and organize. Start unions at your work places and march in protests for a better future. I’m not talking about a stronger or more fashy future, but one where we work together. Join or make mutual aid networks where you live. The best thing you can do for your children (imo, coming from a young person) is help set up the future you want for them. I would hope that’s one of community and mutual aid where we help each other not because we expect a reward or are paid to, but because together we stand taller and can hoist up those who cannot stand on their own. I hope i don’t sound too preachy, but it sounds like you love your kids so I implore you to get involved further. The future did not look kind to me when I was a child, and it looks even less hospitable now. We can change that. Direct action and mutual aid are the way forward to a better future imo.

I mean i definitely do in a sense of the word

I think that a separate free market that is isolated from the necessities of life can help fulfill human ambition, but there need not be scarcity of the necessities of life.

or a system and culture that isn’t predicated on a fear of artificial scarcity

I prefer multiple systems of scale based on mutual aid, where all shared institutions and resources are collectively owned and managed by the people working in those institutions without the obligation of profit. Then those institutions would cooperate to form larger scale systems that can form the complex widespread support for our technologically advanced society without having to be centrally managed or owned. Necessarily, but not ideally, there would be a limited free market that is completely isolated from the actual organizational structure (no lobbying, no private ownership of necessities, etc.) to allow interaction with non-collectivist states and entities.

I agree with your controversial take, however it’s important to note that a lot of this fascist rhetoric relies on misinformation which is spread far quicker and further than the truth. And the neofascism that has taken hold is very in-group oriented (i.e. the concepts that the in group is by definition morally virtuous and thus can do no real harm, whereas the out-group is the opposite) which is difficult to break down with logic and rhetoric. That’s not to say it can’t be done, but in terms of conversion (purely as a metric, i don’t mean to be oberly reductionist) it will always be one step forward three back. And if they people don’t approach a conversation in good faith it can be downright impossible to get them to even fathom a differing perspective. What I’m saying is that the new breed of fascists rely solely on dogma and groupthink, and have been trained to reject any rebuttal or outside perspective. They took what the old fascists did well and optimized it and trained people in it for the past 70+ years.

Come to Chicago. Rent is fucked I won’t lie, but you can still find some cheap places. Depending on what you do (or are willing to do) there’s plenty of work here. Our city is a far cry from perfect but we have a mayor who actually has the people’s best interests in mind, we’re politically active and quite progressive, there aren’t enough free community resources but far more than most places, we have multiple forms of slightly shitty but fully functional mass transit, and weed is legal. Also, portions of the city are extremely walkable and bikeable.

I disagree for one reason.

My uncle was being homophobic and transphobic so I started to misgender him so he could see what its like.

Unsure if he’s less bigoted now but he definitely got quite upset and it made the point to everyone else around at least.

I agree with your points. I just want to add that what OP was talking about is that the existence of a deity or higher power is not falsifiable and thus is impossible to logically disprove. I’m sure many, many, many people have tried on both sides.

My favorite proof against any higher power is from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:

Now, it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some have chosen to see it as the final proof of the NON-existence of God. The argument goes something like this:

“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.”

“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that You exist, and so therefore, by Your own arguments, You don’t. QED.”

“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

“Oh, that was easy,” says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

Edit: changes “logically prove” to “logically disprove” as that’s why the concept of a higher power cannot be disproven.

well deserved L ratio

Genuinely not necessarily true. I used to do this when I was younger. It wasn’t because I wanted attention, I just like the feeling of being surrounded by music