My first impression when I read your post that you definitely give a fuck!. Otherwise you wouldn't reflect on your coping mechanism and question it :)!
In fact, you even inspired me to write a longer version of this response later as a blog post!
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I believe, It is normal to feel overwhelmed with the over exposure to news. Each one can take their time to deal with these feelings then transform them into actions. At the end, each one can find a space in their domain to do a bit more instead of falling into nihilism.
For instance, if someone works at the tech industry (like me), they could do things like:
- Raise awareness in talks, blogs and any platform about the impact of the unethical applications of technology.
- Raise questions when invited to an event sponsored by a company providing infrastructure for military, enabling oppression.
- Put pressure on Generative AI companies that exploit data annotators in the global south, steal copyrighted work and ingest training data from extreme media (e.g. OpenAI with AxelSpringer).
- Amplifying voices of big tech workers groups who stand up and try to pressure their companies to cancel military contracts (e.g. Project Nimbus).
- Question the government spendings on contracts from IT firms with controversial practices (e.g. Palantir).
- In case of founders, perform due diligence on the services/APIs they pay for, see whether this entity has any problematic associations, or strong positions in favor of discriminating against a certain group.
- Investigating VCs/Angel Investors portfolios, when raising fund as founders. Make it clear that you won't accept the money if they invest in companies with harmful/shady applications.
I can go on and on with examples for tech workers, founders, artists, and more!
You might feel, all this is nonsense, it won't make a big impact! But let me give you a couple of examples from history:
- Polaroid provided the apartheid government in South Africa with the devices to make ID cards and passbooks, enabling segregation. A group of the employees kept pressuring their company in the 70's to cut ties with the oppressive racist regime. They were few, they could surrender to hopelessness but they kept pushing, and it worked. Other companies followed!
- IBM supplied punch cards for "military logistics, ghetto statistics, concentration camp capacity" to the Nazis in the 30's. I imagine some employees in the US (and Germany?) recognized what was going on, but probably they just said this was out of their control and did nothing!
It is for us to decide what position we would like to take, despite the despair, doubt, and probability of zero impact!
At the end, it is all about doing our best regardless of the consequences! It is all about finding a community that cares, to raise awareness, to keep our humanity and sanity, to not be defeated by the destructive forces that benefit from the withdrawal of good people!
And like the Lorax said "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not!" :)
My coping strategy is much the same as yours, mainly self care, which is partly selfish but I know that I can't look after others without looking after myself too, so there is that. And like you, I'm also doing okay, but very depressed about the state of the world, and painfully aware of the limits of individual actions in the face of systemic problems. I still try to do what good I can, and surround myself in a little bubble of sanity in a world going insane. Much love to you Maaike
Hi :) I've been following you since ATD 2019 and if you don't mind, I kindly disagree that you have no influence. Of course you do. What the world is going through is not a matter of politics only and definitely not influenced by politicians alone. There's a universal awakening and truth is manifesting in unexpected places. You are one of so many people who can recognize that the direction isn't right. Yes we can't control the outcome (do we even control the outcome in our own personal lives? No, not really). But we keep trying anyway, doing what we think is right and advocating for it. We might not be even alive by the time our actions lead to something positive, but we do our best. Resignation is not for people like you. You trying to be minimalistic is already a form of resistance against capitalism, not just because minimalism is cool, but because capitalism has made the people in power way too powerful that they can't be stopped. This is not a safe and just place to be for all of us, not just the people in the war zones right now. So I appreciate what you are trying to do, please don't resign :)
Thanks Maaike for sharing your thoughts!
My first impression when I read your post that you definitely give a fuck!. Otherwise you wouldn't reflect on your coping mechanism and question it :)!
In fact, you even inspired me to write a longer version of this response later as a blog post!
------
I believe, It is normal to feel overwhelmed with the over exposure to news. Each one can take their time to deal with these feelings then transform them into actions. At the end, each one can find a space in their domain to do a bit more instead of falling into nihilism.
For instance, if someone works at the tech industry (like me), they could do things like:
- Raise awareness in talks, blogs and any platform about the impact of the unethical applications of technology.
- Raise questions when invited to an event sponsored by a company providing infrastructure for military, enabling oppression.
- Put pressure on Generative AI companies that exploit data annotators in the global south, steal copyrighted work and ingest training data from extreme media (e.g. OpenAI with AxelSpringer).
- Amplifying voices of big tech workers groups who stand up and try to pressure their companies to cancel military contracts (e.g. Project Nimbus).
- Question the government spendings on contracts from IT firms with controversial practices (e.g. Palantir).
- In case of founders, perform due diligence on the services/APIs they pay for, see whether this entity has any problematic associations, or strong positions in favor of discriminating against a certain group.
- Investigating VCs/Angel Investors portfolios, when raising fund as founders. Make it clear that you won't accept the money if they invest in companies with harmful/shady applications.
I can go on and on with examples for tech workers, founders, artists, and more!
You might feel, all this is nonsense, it won't make a big impact! But let me give you a couple of examples from history:
- Polaroid provided the apartheid government in South Africa with the devices to make ID cards and passbooks, enabling segregation. A group of the employees kept pressuring their company in the 70's to cut ties with the oppressive racist regime. They were few, they could surrender to hopelessness but they kept pushing, and it worked. Other companies followed!
- IBM supplied punch cards for "military logistics, ghetto statistics, concentration camp capacity" to the Nazis in the 30's. I imagine some employees in the US (and Germany?) recognized what was going on, but probably they just said this was out of their control and did nothing!
It is for us to decide what position we would like to take, despite the despair, doubt, and probability of zero impact!
At the end, it is all about doing our best regardless of the consequences! It is all about finding a community that cares, to raise awareness, to keep our humanity and sanity, to not be defeated by the destructive forces that benefit from the withdrawal of good people!
And like the Lorax said "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not!" :)
My coping strategy is much the same as yours, mainly self care, which is partly selfish but I know that I can't look after others without looking after myself too, so there is that. And like you, I'm also doing okay, but very depressed about the state of the world, and painfully aware of the limits of individual actions in the face of systemic problems. I still try to do what good I can, and surround myself in a little bubble of sanity in a world going insane. Much love to you Maaike
Self care + a bit of local community care is where I draw the line. I admire people who do more, I don't know how they keep doing it!
Hi :) I've been following you since ATD 2019 and if you don't mind, I kindly disagree that you have no influence. Of course you do. What the world is going through is not a matter of politics only and definitely not influenced by politicians alone. There's a universal awakening and truth is manifesting in unexpected places. You are one of so many people who can recognize that the direction isn't right. Yes we can't control the outcome (do we even control the outcome in our own personal lives? No, not really). But we keep trying anyway, doing what we think is right and advocating for it. We might not be even alive by the time our actions lead to something positive, but we do our best. Resignation is not for people like you. You trying to be minimalistic is already a form of resistance against capitalism, not just because minimalism is cool, but because capitalism has made the people in power way too powerful that they can't be stopped. This is not a safe and just place to be for all of us, not just the people in the war zones right now. So I appreciate what you are trying to do, please don't resign :)
Yeah, I hear ya. The possibility of influence is there, but very minimal.
I do feel resigned about the world at large, but not about my own small world. You're right, that the acts about not buying stuff matter.