What gives you hope?
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The past wasn't as great, and the future won't be as bad, as we think they are.
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Knowing that people are not evil. We're just animals who conform. It's too late for some to get better and be more empathetic but not everyone.
My uncle had to move states for work and he went from a MAGA tattoo trumper to a protester in the span of two years because he was isolated from his "friends" and met some fellas at work who took his ignorant ass in. Played pool in one of their garages every Wednesday and Friday with the rest of their friends. Found community. Doted on his coworkers trans daughter to the point where he pitched in a third for her first car. People are all the same but are easily tricked and will do anything to fit in. It gives me hope that love can spread too. Not just hate.
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Recently, not much
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Matter fact, might celebrate a few years early. Sing songs about how happy we are that he's dead.
Joy to the world, that Trump is dead.
We barbecued his heaad.
And the rest of the body, we flushed down the potty.
We found him in the sewer, all covered in manure.
And that was the end of that fat orange bellend. -
This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
My family used to have a bird when I was growing up. A parrot that would bite everyone. Only if you let it bite you enough would it start to let you hold it, but even then it would randomly bite you. Made me never want a bird again.
But after my parents passed I moved into an apartment complex with our dogs. And when I woild walk the dogs I would pass by this bird that was always outside on someones second story patio. Not only always outside, but in a small cage, barely any toys, never covered, and kept underneath LED light straps that never got turned off. Plus, the patio was facing the only open field in the place so it had no nearby friends or cover from the wind.
I woukd walk by and whistle; eventually it leaned my whistles and would call them back. Figured it would give him some stimulation at least. And I knew it deserved a better life, but there was no way I would take it as ive had the previous bird and it didn't go well. But eventually winter came, and still the bird was outside, uncovered, and underneath the lights.
So I ended up writing a note and leaving it on their door asking to have the bird since it was one of the only things besides my dogs that brought me joy. And eventually they texted me saying I could come grab him.
Well, this bird is amazing. I was hoping he would maybe just chill on my shoulder from time to time, but he loves to hang out there. Plus I can rub his neck and he'll close his eyes in comfort. And I give him showers. And he loves chewing paper. He eats seeds I crack from my mouth. I bought him a backpack so he can come on walks with us or go to fairs and stuff like that
Not only is he a stable part of my family, but a few people i know have bought birds of thier own because they love him so much
All this to say, you really dont know what the future will bring. Even if you say you really dont want something, life may bring it to you in a way that makes you question why you were so scared to begin with.
But yeah. Here's Wilson in all his glory
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Knowing that people are not evil. We're just animals who conform. It's too late for some to get better and be more empathetic but not everyone.
My uncle had to move states for work and he went from a MAGA tattoo trumper to a protester in the span of two years because he was isolated from his "friends" and met some fellas at work who took his ignorant ass in. Played pool in one of their garages every Wednesday and Friday with the rest of their friends. Found community. Doted on his coworkers trans daughter to the point where he pitched in a third for her first car. People are all the same but are easily tricked and will do anything to fit in. It gives me hope that love can spread too. Not just hate.
This is fantastic.
Thanks for writing it.
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Declining fertility rates
Microplastics are stored in the balls
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My family used to have a bird when I was growing up. A parrot that would bite everyone. Only if you let it bite you enough would it start to let you hold it, but even then it would randomly bite you. Made me never want a bird again.
But after my parents passed I moved into an apartment complex with our dogs. And when I woild walk the dogs I would pass by this bird that was always outside on someones second story patio. Not only always outside, but in a small cage, barely any toys, never covered, and kept underneath LED light straps that never got turned off. Plus, the patio was facing the only open field in the place so it had no nearby friends or cover from the wind.
I woukd walk by and whistle; eventually it leaned my whistles and would call them back. Figured it would give him some stimulation at least. And I knew it deserved a better life, but there was no way I would take it as ive had the previous bird and it didn't go well. But eventually winter came, and still the bird was outside, uncovered, and underneath the lights.
So I ended up writing a note and leaving it on their door asking to have the bird since it was one of the only things besides my dogs that brought me joy. And eventually they texted me saying I could come grab him.
Well, this bird is amazing. I was hoping he would maybe just chill on my shoulder from time to time, but he loves to hang out there. Plus I can rub his neck and he'll close his eyes in comfort. And I give him showers. And he loves chewing paper. He eats seeds I crack from my mouth. I bought him a backpack so he can come on walks with us or go to fairs and stuff like that
Not only is he a stable part of my family, but a few people i know have bought birds of thier own because they love him so much
All this to say, you really dont know what the future will bring. Even if you say you really dont want something, life may bring it to you in a way that makes you question why you were so scared to begin with.
But yeah. Here's Wilson in all his glory
Beautiful little bird. How long does this type of bird live?
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Beautiful little bird. How long does this type of bird live?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Thanks! Ill tell him you said that then kiss him on the head for ya.
Only like 12 years or so from what I've heard though. Worst part is I dont even know how old he is. Technically I dont even know if its a him but I haven't found any eggs yet haha.
The people I saved him from opened their door and handed me the cage and a bit of food. Couldn't even get his former name so I renamed him unless by slim chance they also called him Wilson haha
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Joy to the world, that Trump is dead.
We barbecued his heaad.
And the rest of the body, we flushed down the potty.
We found him in the sewer, all covered in manure.
And that was the end of that fat orange bellend.Everybody now!
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Knowing that people are not evil. We're just animals who conform. It's too late for some to get better and be more empathetic but not everyone.
My uncle had to move states for work and he went from a MAGA tattoo trumper to a protester in the span of two years because he was isolated from his "friends" and met some fellas at work who took his ignorant ass in. Played pool in one of their garages every Wednesday and Friday with the rest of their friends. Found community. Doted on his coworkers trans daughter to the point where he pitched in a third for her first car. People are all the same but are easily tricked and will do anything to fit in. It gives me hope that love can spread too. Not just hate.
Yeah but why are some people doing the maga thing to fit in whereas others see no need to? If it's all conformation pressure then surely it will go the other way and we'll all be trumpers soon enough.
This is what troubles me. More abstractly - Why am I x and others y. I think things would be more good if more people did x, but I cannot discern any particular surefire reason(s) or principle that makes someone x instead of y. To me I can never imagine being y, it is incomprehensible. Some people randomly stop being y and start being x and vice versa, but there's never a principle(s) that emerges that could be used as a basis of a theory, it seems chaotic, and it defies understanding. Are y misinformed? Doesn't seem like it. Are y just evil? Are x just fundamentally better, smarter, more moral than y?
Well then that's no good because that would mean people really aren't all the same, and anyway such thoughts are unbefitting a systemic humanist view of being able to alter the world unto better outcomes that people will go along with if it's made to be in their interest, like reducing poverty to reduce crime, and anyway that seems to hold true in data so it can't be. Can we all be nietzchean "over"men?
And so I continue to think.
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Thanks! Ill tell him you said that then kiss him on the head for ya.
Only like 12 years or so from what I've heard though. Worst part is I dont even know how old he is. Technically I dont even know if its a him but I haven't found any eggs yet haha.
The people I saved him from opened their door and handed me the cage and a bit of food. Couldn't even get his former name so I renamed him unless by slim chance they also called him Wilson haha
Lovely. They are without a doubt a Wilson.
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The goodness of people. I run into it every day. People holding the door, saying kind words, going out of their way to help. I know there's also a lot of cruelty, but that's predominantly in the media, not in my life.
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Microplastics are stored in the balls
I'm working hard to get them all out.
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Sometime in the near future, possibly 2050ish give or take 10 years, if we make it there, I will never have to work again. By then computers will be smarter than people, and then much smarter than people.
We will either get terminators destroying humanity, or a star trek post-scarcity future paradise.
Either way, no problems after that.
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Yeah but why are some people doing the maga thing to fit in whereas others see no need to? If it's all conformation pressure then surely it will go the other way and we'll all be trumpers soon enough.
This is what troubles me. More abstractly - Why am I x and others y. I think things would be more good if more people did x, but I cannot discern any particular surefire reason(s) or principle that makes someone x instead of y. To me I can never imagine being y, it is incomprehensible. Some people randomly stop being y and start being x and vice versa, but there's never a principle(s) that emerges that could be used as a basis of a theory, it seems chaotic, and it defies understanding. Are y misinformed? Doesn't seem like it. Are y just evil? Are x just fundamentally better, smarter, more moral than y?
Well then that's no good because that would mean people really aren't all the same, and anyway such thoughts are unbefitting a systemic humanist view of being able to alter the world unto better outcomes that people will go along with if it's made to be in their interest, like reducing poverty to reduce crime, and anyway that seems to hold true in data so it can't be. Can we all be nietzchean "over"men?
And so I continue to think.
I listened to a podcast with someone who left the white power scene, and did some research. What I found in several sources is that extremists leverage your pain points. Feeling lonely? Unseen? Or did you grow up in a broken home? You can use that anger and redirect it towards the out-group of choice.
The wish to fit in is an important part, but I think it's first and foremost seeking for community. And when you feel lonely and are in pain, you are very vulnerable to people recruiting you into a cult or extremist group.
It could happen to anyone, but I think emotional maturity and coping skills play a big part in being able to identify and resisting extreme ideologies.
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The past wasn't as great, and the future won't be as bad, as we think they are.
I once believed the future will be good.
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Kids these days. They are nicer than when I was in school, and mine and their peers got much better education than I did (though that has declined again, there are like 20 consecutive years of kids who were better served by the school system that are just now young adults).
The rise of renewable energy marching on.
The drop in the birth rate. Not because I'm anti-natal, but because it seems like nature is working, that's a much gentler means of reducing population than most.
The fact that insect life cycles are so short. The insect apocalypse is to me the most dire and frightening thing happening, but if we can address it at least the rebound wouldn't take as long as with other creatures.
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This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
Others ITT have already mentioned people as a source of hope. For me, this is something of a paradox, as I’m fairly misanthropic. I believe most people are—on balance—good or at least prosocial. They want to get along with others and not cause harm. However, I also think we’re inherently tribal and self-centered. Our capacity for empathy within our closest social circles is quite high, but outside of them it barely exists. We tend to make good choices when it comes to those we know, but beyond that we tend to be fairly apathetic and callous.
So, I am hopeful based on people’s desire to be good and make the world a better place for all. But our historical record demonstrates a failure pattern at scale that is anything but inspiring. Overall, I think we tend to hit at the middle of the road or slightly below it. I see the history of human civilization like a corkscrew: progress is made, but only very slowly and through many repetitions of past mistakes.
Ultimately, I don’t have much hope. Humans perform best in small groups; in large ones (10,000+ people) we splinter and start treating each other very poorly. We evolved to function in small groups of just a few families. When we settled down and started developing our civilization (only 15,000 years ago—no time for evolution to change us), we struck out into territory we were not prepared for. Human civilization is effectively an experiment, and I would argue it’s returned mixed results at best.
EDIT: I also think one of the chief problems with us as a species is that we are innately myopic. That is to say, we don’t truly recognize problems until they start to affect us directly. We had all the information we needed to predict the impacts of human-driven climate change in the 1950s, if not earlier. But people trying to draw attention to them were dismissed as alarmists. Only when we began truly witnessing the impacts around the turn of the century did we acknowledge the problem and start acting on it. I think the same will be true for AI, but much worse. We intellectually understand the threats that AI poses to our species, but won’t start acting on them until they actually start to take effect, and by that point, it will be too late.
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Knowing that my daughter is not experiencing brain rot by having social media. Also that she is not only school smart but daily life smart and not brain dead that needs help with everything in life.
