The core human problem is Sociopathy / Narcissism (Cluster B Personality Disorders). 5% of people cause 95% of all problems. And it has always been that way.
No matter what systems or institutions you put into place, public or private, and no matter how rock-solid your constitution or by-laws or institutional culture is: eventually and inevitably, one day, sociopaths and narcissists will conspire to take it over, by hook or by crook, and ultimately they will succeed.
Government, company, charity, church, club, movement, whatever; they all fall to sociopathic takeover, no matter how initially well-led, well-planned, well-founded. In fact, the more successful your organization or movement, the more lucrative a target for takeover it becomes. Corruption, therefore, is inevitable. The best you can do is keep it at bay as long as you can before the cycle of corruption, destruction, and renewal takes place.
It’s the ever-perennial Problem of Evil.
No one has ever solved it, though many have tried.
You cannot educate it away, you cannot religion it away, you cannot forgive it away, you cannot shame it away, and you cannot punish it away. It keeps coming back.
You cannot teach Character. For example, Seneca attempting to tutor Nero into becoming a man of Wisdom and Character is a tragic tale as old as human time. To a Narcissist, everything is merely a tool for gaining power and influence, even lessons in Ethics and Character. Pearls before swine.
Only a Sisyphean resolve to constantly and persistently RESIST, every hour, every day, every generation - every moment that one can, no matter what, and knowing that bullies and a control-freaks will always be with us, and the struggle to resist and restrain them will ever be refreshed anew with every sunrise, that is all we have right now.
Learn the signs of Malignant Narcissism. Be proactive. Protect yourself. Stand up to bullies.
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I agree that this is the root of all human problems, but I think there’s more to it also. There aren’t 95% of people willing to resist it. I imagine the opposite kind of people, those deeply selfless and incapable of tolerating injustice, also make up less than 5% of people.
And so even though only a small minority are naked power seekers, something like 80+% of all humans are just looking for someone to tell them what to do. They don’t want responsibility, power, or self-determination. They want to be made to feel safe, and be given orders.
Don’t forget their cowardly base that will claim ignorance of the Paradox of Tolerance while they claim those who are intolerant of intolerance are just as bad and evil. Those who would step in front of the only solution found to work with any permanency. The fascist apologists and enablers.
I think you’re right, and this is why it’s so important to protest and create a movement, be visible and make a noise in every way you can. Those 80% will follow a movement but they won’t act as individuals.
Well it would be nice if we ever return to normalcy to overturn CU and clamp down HARD on the issues that enable the rampant abuse of the system. Like I’m talking union busting levels of “No you’re complicit in this more than X% you are out, forever”
I agree that our only way, truly, out of our current mess here in the United States is to get hardcore, focused, and doggedly persistent. Overturning CU, if we ever have a remote chance of even getting close to doing it, will be a hard slog, but it is fundamental, absolutely necessary, and singularly non-negotiable.
It should be our primary issue, I think, even though it’s not a sexy one.
If Democrats don’t deliver on this fight, then we must fight the Democrats tooth and nail, too.
The real problem is that our elected representatives are not sufficiently afraid of us.
We should be verbally abusing Democratic party leadership until they “radicalize” with us, or join MAGA in fighting us outright.
If good, strong, brave people can fight the good fight and win, then perhaps we can turn the tide and we’ll keep evil at bay for another 40-year cycle or whatever.
Or it might be too late, and we have to go through a real destructive cycle of severe suffering at the hands of tyrants first. I hope not, but I don’t know.
Spoilers: Democrats have already failed repeatedly on this task. Americans are also too stupid and stubbornly independent to properly unionize against this BS, so it’s suffering under tyrants as your only option unless you can figure out a way to unbrainwash the dumbest mother fuckers in this county.
Another pseudoscientific theory about how a small minority of society are naturally bad in a way that causes all social ills?
And of course none of this is exacerbated by said socirty. It’s your fault if you don’t fit thos artoficial thing we built, which cannot fail-only be failed.
Oh my god this essentialist bullshit.
Yeah some inbred ancient greek ivory tower assholes couldnt teach someone to be good in between beating their slaves and fucking their kids and believing lightning came from an old guy with a big fluffy beard whike changing nothing about their surroubdings. Someone else tried one thing three thousand years ago, and im all out of ideas. guess it’s impossible. Shows great passion for the subject.
This is all fundamental elemental unchangeable nature of humanity. Our social system has no effect on what that is or how it manifests. the system has zero culpability for the outcomes it produces, it could have been no different.
And we obviously know this. You can look at neoliberal colonialist empires where they eat baguettes and neoliberal colonialist empires where they eat deep fried twinkies and neoliberal colonialist empires where they eat poutine and neofascist empires where they eat borscht and neoliberal colonialist empires where they eat fried rice(i know, but too many distinct regional cuisines) and neoliberal colonialist empires where they eat sushi. Plus accounts from a bunch of their current and former subjects, and historic accounts of monarchic slave societies. Weve got data on people from all kinds of society. All kinds of culture. And they all turn out some percentage of shameless manipulative bastard-monster. Allof them! Every possible kind, even the cutthroat neoliberal one that just eats boiled sheep! So obviously no ither proportion of humanity is possible. Weve even done formal studies on upperiddle class male college students from a couple of these places to confirm it!
And, look, heres where we get into much harder science: it’s in the DSM as a disorder. That means its always bad and always gonna be bad. There’s no social arrangement or technology that can make it benign. Just cant be done. That’s not just some shit some guy decided so he could get home and start nursing the hangover from his four martini lunch and the mountainous pile of cocaine he snorted for his daily insight into normal humanity-that’s a fact.
For fascists, sure. If we killed all the sociopaths, who would cut us up when we’re sick/injured and run into our burning buildings?
If we kill all the mentally ill, who ths fuck would make our art? The actually good stuff?
You’re just asking why I think it would be good to harm people who have done nothing wrong. I wouldn’t. I can point to several posts in my history that will show I’m not a eugenicist. Which appears to be the brush you’re reaching for.
Maybe you were replying to thee wrong comment.
Yeah, probably.
Has anyone made a tarpit for these types? Some sort of scoring system to trap them in.
Fascist uprisings are the closest we’ve come.
Fucking YES. Thank you, extremely well said
100% there.
look for local mutual aids, or political organisations fighting for your rights.
being active will make you feel better and will actually make the world around you better.
“They” want you to give up and doomscroll
This! Political activism is about networking and mutual aid, not visibility in media. At least it should be. Give me less Gretchen more aid workers.
Hey, OP. Welcome to your 30s. 🎉 New to the US, or just seeing it for the first time?
New to the
USWorld, or just seeing it for the first time?What is the benefit of making a comment like this?
Pointing out how it’s not a new phenominon. This is an entrenched fight that will take decades. Not some sudden scrap where everything can go back to normal after covfefe is out…
If you read the OP it doesn’t say anything about it being a new phenomenon. Even if that’s what this comment “accomplished” is it worth shitting on someone for sharing their emotions? It comes across as self congratulatory, like the commenter is above the OP because they’ve experienced negative circumstances for longer.
FWIW, I meant it in welcome, not patronizing dickery.
Take a walk, fellow prol, breathe the air. It was levity, not whatever you’ve got there, triggering on default. (FFS. This place smells of reddit more every day.)
Thank you for clarifying you didn’t intend to be patronizing. That said, I invite you to re-read the content of what you wrote:
Hey, OP. Welcome to your 30s. 🎉 New to the US, or just seeing it for the first time?
After OP just expressed emotional distress, you said “Welcome to your 30s”, which implies you think that has something to do with what they just said. “This feeling is part of being in your thirties, when you start to notice things are wrong in the world.” Not a stereotype I’ve heard before, but reading it as a straight welcome doesn’t make sense either because OP didn’t say “I just turned 30,” they said they’re 32. This isn’t a new age bracket for them.
That reading is bolstered by the next part. After OP is crashing out about the state of the world, you asked if they’re new to the US or just seeing it for the first time. The “or” implies these are the only two reasons why OP might be bringing this up. “Are you new here or did you just start paying attention?”
Even if you were going for a “Welcome to the club friend, things have been fucked up for a long time,” I don’t think it’s an effective comment because of the tone, and you’re assuming this is the first time they’ve thought about it, and that they don’t know that things have been bad before. That may be true, but sometimes people just want to vent. I understand it’s common to become jaded over time if only just for self protection, but it’s valuable to still be able to be outraged and to experience injustice fresh.
I appreciate you having good intentions. I think a sincere reading of the words can end up with the impression I shared.
I don’t see it that way. The 30’s comment could easily just be a reference to the “32 years old” in the OP.
Being new to the US or seeing it for the first time is a valid question, too, as again, the referenced phenominon is not new. It could’ve been posted in the 2010’s, the 2000’s, the 90’s, the 80’s, etc…
Asking if someone has just noticed is only insulting depending on tone, and text does not convey tone. So any animosity is your own reading of the text. Why do you view simple questions as confrontational?
- The 30s* comment
- posted in the 2010s*, the 2000s*, the 90s*, the 80s*
Might wanna dial back that last question, just in case. 😅😶
Nah, too many sheltered idiots in the world. Blunt questions are necessary in far too many situations.
May your message be resonant and your delivery as effective as nails in a baseball bat. 🤘🏼
try thinking smaller. where can you help in your community? volunteering is my emotional bastion against the larger, more uncontrollable horrors of the world.
As well as helping, make sure to connect with these people and build up community bonds. Our power comes from unity.
I second this, and add that if you have an area of expertise, you will have more impact if you utilize that expertise. Some examples:
- If you have access to a commercial kitchen during off hours, you could cook food for the poor.
- If you are good at socializing, try meeting with local political groups, influencing election candidates, or running for office.
- If you are a software engineer, volunteer on an open-source project related to a cause that you care about.
And if you don’t want to spend effort, you can always donate to a cause.
Bingo. Anytime I see a too-large way of thinking, I try to suggesting thinking small. You can’t save the rainforest, but you can plant a tree in your community, you know? And it feels good.
I volunteered as en EMT for about 10 years, until the second kid came, and COVID and all that. It was difficult, took me away from work and my family, long days, mentally and emotionally taxing at times, and one of the more rewarding experiences I’ve had in my life. And it was all done within a few miles of my home. I (like to think) I had an impact on my community, and it feels good.
Me in my 40s, who’s been feeling this way since my teens:
It’s not a competition, and if it is, it’s not one anyone should want to win
It’s not a meme about making it a competition. It’s a meme to point out how this shit isn’t new nor novel.
Relevant username?
to quote jreg, “these people have physical bodies”
I feel overwhelmed a lot lately.
I think one of the causes for the situation in the U.S. is isolation. Both that the bad actors are too isolated from their fellow human, and that people of good will feel alone in facing rising assholedom.
It’s helped me to physically go to gatherings of people who are like minded. To be reminded that you’re not alone. We’ll never get everyone on our side, but I believe we can get enough.
How do you find these in person gatherings, most of my socialization with other Americans happens through work and I cannot be my authentic self at work because that has negative consequences in my experience, the American work culture is kind depressing, where everyone seems to be in some rat race to be the most busy and most productive or at least pretend to be so, most of my interactions lack human warmth and it all feels fake and performative, I have to be guarded about what I say so that it doesn’t come back to bite me even with colleague’s of the same level and I am tired of the expectations of overwork and constant threat of being laid off of the right people don’t have a high opinion of you.
For me I’ve been involved in an anti gerrymandering group, which definitely fulfills the “like-minded” category. But there’s still value just in connecting with people outside work even if it’s not ideological, so things like classes, hobbies, casual sports/exercise, anything that has regular meetings.
This ain’t funny.
Such a shame we cant mention it here.
Or at least a necessary step in it,
The first step is to organize, start a local community group and exercise your combined people power.
“Step in it”? Present tense? Nah. Past tense. Way past tense.
I’ll step in you! (Sorry if thats too forward)
No thanks 😜
Just as well; no washer/dryer here, so id need to use a public one.
Sign a strike card, baby https://generalstrikeus.com/ we’ve got a long way to go but I’ve been handing out flyers on the street… Spread the decentralized jeezus-i-wish-we-had-labor-unions word. Please. No really… I’m begging.
I’ll participate, but I’m not giving out my info. I’d rather not be on as many lists as possible.
Labor unions are good, but they’re not the be-all end-all of wbat we need; they’re a moderate compromise measure. A good one, but if it atarts getting too bloody or hard to take a necessary internediate goal because the state deployed all its violence and disinformation, well… The state has already deployed all its violence and disinformation.
It does seem like the number of non-violent options are dwindling. I really meant that I wish we’d had strong labor unions for the last several decades, as I don’t think we would be in quite the same mess as we are.
If an action works, it will be defined as violence. There’s a point to playing the theatrics of an action, and most things are not best accomplished by shootin’ dudes en masse, but our opponents have taken nonviolence off the table, and pretending otherwise is masochist or suicidal.
Deleted (i’m rushing around too much this morning to focus on responding, sorry for the half thoughts)
I keep being told it’s my own fault for not voting. I’m not even a non-voter. But every time things get worse, I’m told that I deserve it for not making Texas a winning Dem state by… idfk, sneaking into the back of a voting booth and spamming “D” into the console until someone drags me out.
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I’m right there with you. For all of you that say to just wait this out — how many of these am I supposed to wait out?! I’ve been doing this since Reagan, and it’s only gotten worse.
Insert (I’m tired boss) meme.
I just want out at this point.
Not too many more; you’ll either die in the camps here, or, after a couple brief decades of the living envying the dead, the planet will no longer support life, and you will necessarily die.
This is the refreshing optimism I come here for. Finally someone talking sense!
There is an alternative, but it is jnfortunately against the rules. So either die in the camps, or kill yourself (on a planetary scale)
Personally im very lazy, hoping i end up in the camps.
Yeah! A coward dies a thousand deaths, and with climate change, those who survive fascism, if we dont depose the billionaires, will surely add some zeroes.
Vote.
*Protest-no-voters in shambles downvoting.
Organize.
Voting is doing the bare minimum.
And protest-no-voting is actively punching yourself in the face.
Voting feels unsatisfying and the message telling people to just vote, have fallen on a lot of deafened-by-despair ears.
The last three election cycles have had the highest turnout of voters in American history, so the problem isn’t a lack of voting. The problem is that the people doing the voting have had their brains melted out their ears by having to work 7 days a week, being hooked on scrolling mindless content, and a news cycle that is completely owned by commercial/political interests boosting the most loud and distracting issues on both sides of the political divide to worsen it.
Don’t stop voting, but if you are really looking to be involved in a way that does some good, one of the best things you can do is hold a yard sale.
It sounds weird, but if you have a house or driveway that supports it, just have a weekend yard sale. You may make a couple bucks and get rid of some junk, but more importantly, you meet your neighbors. You meet the people on your street and hear what’s on their minds. It gives you good exposure training for being more social.
Get to know your community and exchange contact info so you can have each others backs. Start forming community, which people value more than political ideology. People adopt political ideology just for the sense of community. If we all worked harder to get connected and connect people, we would have fewer people latching onto incel forums or pseudo-science fads.
You can learn from your community what the local issues are, who’s in charge of what, who’s running for what seat… maybe it’s unchallenged? Maybe your area needs better options for representation? It doesn’t have to be you, but you can possibly find someone to promote and help represent you and your community.
If we ALL did this, we would kick the fucking legs out from under this oligarchy that has hijacked our democratic process.
Definitely! Always vote, even if you have low confidence in the election’s integrity or your influence on the overall outcome. You have nothing to lose by voting anyway.
i dont think george constanza said that on the show…
🫂
