There is a lot going on in the world right now. Discuss it here. No trolls, MRAs, etc.
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Open Thread for Non-Personal Stuff: May 2015 Edition
We Hunted The MammothBucking the Backlash
We Hunted The MammothThere is a lot going on in the world right now. Discuss it here. No trolls, MRAs, etc.
My comment up there was meant for the personal stuff thread, not the non-personal thread. Ignore that comment, and hopefully delete?
I had a short discussion with my son about Baltimore yesterday – we are from the UK, so not close to us. We had riots in 2011 that lasted days and by Facebook popped up in some bizarre places (eg Gloucester, and mainly affluent middle class rural town). Our police response was the total opp to the US (it would appear) typical police response.
They were instructed to back right off, and as a result people had their homes and businesses trashed, and at least 6 men died who were trying to defend property.
No one was happy about that, but I think at least we do not have armed police steaming in and hurting hundreds of people, and probably killing a few.
On a brighter bit of news, the 2nd royal baby has been born.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32562117
(TBH I’m really not fussed about royal babies and such, don’t really care what the monarchy does, but I know some people do so here you go. ^_^ )
I’m on the ground here in Baltimore. It’s crazy out here, but there has been so much positivity- there has been a march every day for what feels like forever. Here’s the front of Friday’s march:
cw: suicidal ideation
I have a question that’s somewhat related to Baltimore, but also more general. I’m wondering how all of you maintain enough hope to be willing to live when the world seems to be falling into utter shit. On a social level it seems like we’re killing POC at about the same rates that we did in the 60s at home, abroad we’re fighting more and more wars, killing more and more people. White, middle-class LGB people are gaining rights using rhetoric that dehumanizes all other LGBT people. A recent UN report indicates that we only have 15 more years of clean water left. Corporations are strangling us and destroying the world.
And if there were time I could maybe feel hope, but again, 15 years of clean water left. Global famine and drought imminent. No reason to expect anything to be done about it as the world crumbles around us. There is not enough time to fix things. Even in the incredibly unlikely event of a global revolution, it’s just too late to fix things before things get so utterly awful that death will come as a blessed relief to all of us.
I do what I can to avoid thinking about this stuff, but that isn’t ultimately helpful because it’s still happening; I can’t completely block myself off from knowing what’s happening in the world. I’m not currently suicidal, thank God, but quite honestly I can’t justify not being.
A few links to sites that have been suggested as helpful in Baltimore.
Baltimore Food Bank:
https://www.mdfoodbank.org/
Ferguson Legal Defense Committee (now also operating in Baltimore):
http://www.fergusonlegaldefense.com/baltimore
Google Docs Spreadsheet with other ways of helping:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tronDLSXq9al0xwk28xnwUQ/htmlview#gid=1123862524
re: Leum
I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been difficult lately. I already suffer from major depression, and suicidal thoughts are not unusual, even when things are going okay. For the most part, the outside world doesn’t affect me as much as what’s going on in my head. But I also have to admit that I’ve thought more about it with what’s been going on lately. I think it would be even harder for me if I were a POC in a densely populated urban area, instead of the white dude in the suburbs I am right now. I know that I’ll almost always get a fair shake from the police, provided I keep my LGBT status quiet. I genuinely can’t conceive of being concerned that police could kill me when I’m 12.
@Leum
@Leum (sorry about the empty comment)
As a historian, I feel that from time to time, one needs to step back and get some distance from these impressions that the world is going to hell. This is something that different cultures in different eras have embraced as a worldview, e.g. the general sense of living in an apocalyptic time in the early middle ages in Europe. This is not to say that the things you mentioned aren’t very real problems, but the idea that growth is finite economically as well as ecologically has been a staple of public discourse since at least the Club of Rome’s “The limits of growth” in the early 70s, and it’s been connected to different things in succession, like the dying of forests from toxic gases and rain – which was a real thing, but turned out to be less dramatic than people thought, and has been brought under control in Europe.
What I’m trying to say is: the problems are real, but no one, no scientist, no politician, or expert of any kind can really tell you what’s going to happen in the future. I always found that being involved in politics, be it in NGOs, in Media, or academia, helps me to keep some optimism. Mostly because I’m surrounded by people who give me hope, and because, even if I know that it’s only on a local level, we can enact change.
I’m actually not depressed by what happens in Baltimore, because the situation was much more depressing before. I’m very far away from the city and from the US, but watching Baltimoreans on Television who talk about how they organise the protests and how they want things to change and how they try to actually help each other hints at a much more positive picture than the “violent thugs protesting” narrative some media.
@ Leum
Also, for more positive news, watch some talks by Hans Rosling. He is a Swedish statistician and Professor for International Health who is involved with a lot of awful things, but, back by a lot of data, gives a much more optimistic outlook on health and living situations of people on the globe. I don’t always agree, but his data is impressive, and I think he’s right about a lot of things.
This is his website:
http://www.gapminder.org/
*backed
@Leum
I know things seem like there’s no way out but there are studies going on, inventions coming up and honestly you can’t say for sure what will happen in the next few years. The long and short of it is none of us know. I mean, there used to be so much lead in the air from gasoline that everyone said it would never go away, but it did. It went down so much that it’s barely there. The ozone has started to repair itself. Education is the cure for most of these ills and spurs regulations, laws and invention.
Disgusting,but not surprising. The comments on that article are just as bad with fake tweeters showing up to brag about or trying to blame the anti-gamergate crowd for making the tweets
I just totally list the plot on a pua/bro site with more invective per line than I’ve said in a long time, I reverted totally to my old unreconstructed nasty b*stars self
I dont expect much from Adam Sandler but I expect more from Steve Buscemi.
@ Leum – I’ll bet you that the stats are only based on current water consumption rates, and not that the planet will totally dry up. We can still do things to conserve water and make sure we can survive.
Sometimes the world does seem to be crumbling about our ears, and it’s terrifying. But the best we can all do is to make little changes in our immediate surroundings to help keep the hope alive. I can’t prevent poverty, but I can donate to charities. I can’t stop global warming, but I can try to cut down my emissions, and encourage others to do the same. And I can’t stop Racism, but I can try to challenge the prejudices I’ve internalised, and call it out when I can.
I’m feeling fairly optimistic at the moment, because there’s a General Election in 5 days time and I’m hoping to do my part for a chance at making the country less shit by voting.
Of course, I’ll feel very frustrated if we get 5 years of malicious right-wingers, but for now there is hope.
I don’t know what kind of advice to offer, other than to try to connect with people doing Good Stuff, like a local wildlife volunteer group, or even set up something of your own – be the catalyst for people to make a positive change, if you can.
I know that is so hard to do if you’re in the grips of depression, so sometimes all you can do is ignore the world completely and try to do something nice for yourself, to remind yourself of your potential, to make your life good, and to give yourself purpose.
And I realise that probably sounds very glib, but sometimes just slogging through the washing-up can help.
I joined a community choir. At some point I made a conscious decision that I was sick of feeling like crap and that I wasn’t going to let my brain ruin my life any more.
I asked my GP for a prescription, and just took things one step at a time until the antidepressants had time to work. I don’t know if they actually made me feel any better, but I felt like I was a bit more in control and going places. Literally, because that year I completed my exams, left school and moved town for university, where I decided that the world had opened up to me enough that I had better make a proper go of it.
In a moment of clarity, the fogginess had lifted and I kind of realised that I didn’t fear death, but I chose to live. And that kind of felt like I’d emerged from the other side of depression and could move on.
Obviously, everyone’s headspace is different, but once you can muster up enough determination to make one small request for help, cross one small chore off your to-do list, and keep making one small step at a time, I think you can get to a place where you can start feeling strong enough to move others, and build up to the bigger projects. But you can’t shoulder the world’s problems until you’ve got a secure footing and enough strength in yourself.
The fact that you even worry about climate change means that the planet needs you.
But the world has always survived catastrophes, so DON’T PANIC. Just try not to focus on the Doom, and look out for anything positive you can do to improve the odds.
You are not alone.
Also, Sandi Toksvig is entering politics with a Women’s Equality Party, which I think is pretty interesting, although I think their flavour of Feminism not nearly radical enough for my preference. Still, it’s something to watch with interest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32531750
What a lovely, and true, thing to say. Just QFT everything you said, @AltoFronto.
The comments section on Baltimore in the papers make me hate humanity
O. M. G.
I have found a recipe for a MAMMOTH-HERDER’S PIE!
http://s28.postimg.org/3m6j5gwb1/8paleo_4_1024x1024.jpg
Found here: http://www.foodonyourshirt.com/blogs/recipe-box/14491033-mammoth-herders-pie
Look how fucking alpha that bro is. Hunted the mammoth? These fucker’s HERDED the mammoth.
Boston Magazine has an article (available online) about Eron Gjoni. It is almost as devastating as the GQ article by Sharlet. Feel free to ignore the comments.
I had known Gjoni was a Captain Creep, but he’s worse than I imagined.
@Robert
Oh, yeah, I think I read that particular article.
I think the worst part is that he said that he had over 10 women approve and look over the paper.
What he SAID.
And, of course, he also said Zoe slept with five guys at once, so I really don’t fucking believe it.
RE: “I dont expect much from Adam Sandler but I expect more from Steve Buscemi.”
I KNOW!!!
*heartbroken*
RE: feelings of hopelessness and despair:
I gave up recently, at least on the US of A. I’m tired of being beaten down at every turn for being not male, not straight, not religious, not rich.
We got our passports a few days ago, booked our tickets, put a deposit down on a house, and by this time next month we will be living in a lovely house on the beach in Piriapolis, Uruguay.
If my daughter accidentally or by force gets pregnant, she can get an abortion.
If my kids have kids with someone not lily white, I won’t have to worry about grandchildren being gunned down by policia.
I can get MARRIED to my dear fiancee, and she can legally adopt our kids.
I will never have to list my race or religion on a government form ever again.
I can get my back (ruined by the US insurance run “health-care” system) possibly treated, finally. She can see a doctor (been waiting 4 years for a VA appt – she’s a USAF veteran) and get back to managing her PTSD.
My kids can get a first rate university education with zero college debt, and have jobs waiting for them upon graduation.
I can’t even express how much I am looking forward to getting the hell out of here. I know not everyone can, but it’s been a bright spot in my otherwise utterly crap year. Seriously, expatriation is something to be considered. (especially if you live in the U.S. Bible Belt or Bread Basket…)
Grace Alexander: As a WoC, it is a consideration. It’s always something in the back of my thoughts, whether or not I will have to leave this country.
To the person up thread who wondered what it’s like to be a PoC here: it’s not different from any of the other millions of times you’ve risked leaving your house for the day. There are a million and one dangers when you walk out your front door. It’s always a gamble.
At least I know about the police one. There are a hundred more I passed by and never saw or even suspected. So it’s still just like everyone else’s life but with a few extra risks you know about.
I remember a scene from the last episode of Angel, when Gunn asked a friend of his, who was helping homeless teens, what she would do if she knew it was all pointless. That there are people in the world who made it their life’s work to see that nothing changes.
She answered that she would keep doing what she was already doing. Alleviating the pain of other human beings.
The show’s motto: When nothing you do matters, ALL that matters is what you do.