Sometimes I feel like whatever I’d do it won’t be enough. What/where I buy or where I donate seem trivial in the larger scheme of things. From extreme power concentration to world hunger. From climate change to AI safety. Too many things that I’d like to change, but I feel powerless sometimes. The feeling comes coupled with a sense of guilt of not doing enough and not being enough. Do you guys get this feeling too? How do you deal with it?
I do believe in the necessity of optimism in order to affect change, but sometimes hope is hard to cultivate. How do you guys keep your optimism up?
Thanks for reading my mini-rant.
Also, the meme is not OC
You must log in or # to comment.
Meaning is more important than optimism. You don’t have to like it, you just have to care.
I find comfort from entertaining a view that is a close relative of the “block universe theory”. YMMV.
I find that adopting “leave no trace” not just a backpacking code but as a core moral value changes my estimation of succeeding in life.
First, survive. Next, stop harming others (and go vegan). Finally, help others survive and grow. Supposedly that is enough to keep one busy in life.
I’ve never studied paper straws under laboratory conditions, but I did use them in my lunches throughout all of elementary and high school. So I’ve personally experienced approximately 2000 of them lasting long enough to finish a drink in a reasonable time without turning to mush. On that basis I call BS on whining about this like it’s a significant problem.
except i don’t think the post is really about straws.
I don’t think it’s a significant problem, I think it’s a significant illustration of the little folk being expected to deal with the inconveniences caused by the wealthy.
Seems like there should be better examples based on truth, like a family in a shelter because they couldn’t pay rent due to hospital bills. That would be hard to put in a phoito, but I’m not trying to come up with a perfect one on the spur of the moment, I just know the paper straw complaint isn’t it.
Nah, people being forced into homelessness and medical debt is too real. Nobody wants to think about that shit, and when it happens to them, they aren’t really in a position to deal with it.
Paper straws are perfect. They’re the most minor of inconveniences, so people are willing to engage and make jokes about it.
I never had an issue with a soggy straw or I don’t remember it. It’s the same as the attached caps in plastic bottles.
Do people really have issues with those things or is this just some stupid propaganda from the plastic industry? I feel like only really fragile people would complain about such silly things. If drinking through straws is so fucking important part of your life get a metal one and shut up.
Yeah like just drink from a glass with the other adults, and get a stainless steel canteen for on the go
Down By Law
I’m chasing a girl, that’s it. I just imagine that things work out with her and I make sure to stop thinking about the world
I take comfort in the fact that life has always sucked in some way no matter who is running the world or how they’re doing it. The old “it could always be worse” is a cliche, but it’s always true - except for the one person who has it worse than literally everybody else - and that can’t be you or me right now, because at least we have internet access. Buck up, li’l camper!
Worked in a small event managing company (planning, gear, etc). It produces so much waste in a week that a typical 10 floor 10 staircases living building house wouldn’t in 2 months. There are much more and bigger companies. I can only speculate how much waste they produce.
This is only a microscopic part of all businesses in our city. Production lines, grocery stores, commercial buildings must be producing thousands of tonnes more. I doubt that all of the households in town produce as much as all the companies combined. We are not the problem.
can’t we just have lids with tear away drink holes like coffee?
I don’t feel like I’m optimistic, I think we are doomed and all I can do is enjoy my last days in this world. I do what I can, but it’s not in my hand what those fucking leaders do. They are going to destroy the world no matter what I think or do, so I keep on drinking and jerking and doom scrolling until they are done.
Or you could be like Seattle and just use compostable “plastic” straws. They have a slightly different texture to normal plastic, but they work and bend like normal plastic straws.
Yeah i just gave up on trying to save the world, it’s really nothing more than a hollywood trope, it’s nonsense. Best you can do is make your little corner of the universe better, help your neighbors etc. Even someone like MLK jr, what did they do to help anyone in europe asia africa south america?
Like what could i do to help anyone on a different continent? Donate money via the Internet to some NGO and hope it’s not a scam because i really would have zero control over what happens to the money after i click send.
So i do what i can instead, volunteer at the local high school, donate clothes to the local homeless shelter, do stuff where i can see the impact. Vote in local elections (MUCH more important than voting in national elections), help my elderly neighbor bring in groceries etc etc. Idk what else can we do??
MLK helped inspire the movements of the 60s and 70s which put pressure on the US forcing it to leave Vietnam. His speeches have inspired activists and rebels all over the world, why do you think he was killed?
If you are in the US there are ample ways to help the world. Many parts of the armaments for the military industry are produced in small factories around the US with relatively little security. The soldiers that fight in the imperialist wars are recruited in US cities. Drones are cheap and can even be assembled by yourself with fairly low amounts of money.
You can’t “save the world” by yourself, but the systems that are causing the massacres and ecocide across the earth all have weak points and are only comprised of so many people. The working people always massively outnumber the forces against us.
I think it’s narcissistic and egocentric to think that you yourself should change the world. It’s like a single grain of sand believing themselves able to dam amazon river at it’s delta. Unplug yourself with the world news. You cannot affect anything beyond your home town, and even that would most likely require initiative, will and time not available for most people. You can worry about the whole world, but that will only be detrimental to your mental health.
So to answer your question - how do I stay optimistic? By focusing on my place in the world and not caring about anywhere and anyone outside it. My daughter just got her first computer and she is learning interface fast. My wife is selling paintings she made for fun as a side gig. My cherry tree is doing well. This is what matters and this is what makes me happy.
Some of our local fast food chains don’t even give us cardboard straws anymore. Just drink from the sad cup. With a Sad Turtle warning label on it. [EU single use plastic label]
It just gives the public a pause to think. To plot for the revolution.
Me, I’m beyond that, I usually can’t afford fast food, most parts of the month I buy potatoes from the local store.
Why use a straw?
when I couldn’t afford to fix my teeth, using a straw was less painful than not using one
I’d recommend you get a reusable one and take it with you for that duration.
