I was supposed to go to the Gym this morning for a cycling class but made the decision at 7am that it would be a better use of my time to be horizontal. After a much-needed extra hour asleep, scrolling through the half-dozen media sites which all fail to do the same job one site did until it was torched, I discovered another in a series of digital evangelists.
There is an increasing movement of individuals who, having had their career prospects damaged by the ‘people in charge’ feel it is now their job to let everyone else know how terrible these people truly are. Except, in pretty much all of the cases I have encountered thus far, this is not news to me. I already know that the extremist idiots have all the money.
It is hard to be truly ethical in a capitalist society.
What I can do is done: Green Party member and voter, recycle, upcycle and haven’t got on a plane since 2017. I buy ethically whenever possible. My car is not used unless it has to be. When it’s clear that rich people in private planes are more polluting than small countries, dealing with them is a priority. Me being here and on Substack and NOT on an open source alternative is not the answer that really matters right now.
Can I ever individually force systemic change by my actions? We all know who Greta Thunberg is, and what she has achieved. Is this possible for anyone else? On a local level, absolutely. In specific fields and professions, very much so. I have a friend trying to do this in poetry right now, with varying degrees of success. You have to work stupidly hard to get anywhere.
Your actions are really significant, and occasionally you can and do fuck up.
When Twitter exploded and I was forced to make decisions based on circumstances, it turns out I chose poorly. My sub to Twitter Blue expires in February and I’m never going back. Knowing Substack is funded by morally questionable individuals is no surprise, lots of places are. Am I going to migrate off their platform now? Nope.
I am very lucky that the overlaps between social groups in which I function are incredibly aware of actual reality. It’s also easy to see, down the chain, those people who have no idea what the fuck is going on and, let’s be honest, do not care about anything other than their own happiness. Worthiness and activism are someone else’s job, way above their pay grade.
When it seems nobody ever listens to your concerns, why bother fighting?
No system is ever going to be perfect. The activists do a great job of trying to alter that, but nobody makes any traction ANYWHERE when the definition of successful remains ‘making more stuff than anyone else’. The ONLY way this ever plays out happily is when the field is level for everyone. It is the almost extinct elephant in the room.
Telling me I’m not doing my bit is great, but that’s not how you bring down the systems. You get the people who don’t know to be interested, and if they’re being oppressed and subjugated by the same people funding the platform you’re now choosing to champion your attacks on? We all still lose. People need to learn to pick their moments better.
One answer is finding a unique path to undermining centuries of systemic deception, in creating a reality where people can come to accept and truly believe that they, and they alone, are the most powerful part of the process. I know my power now, and what is possible for the greater good. Trust me, I’m on it.
I’m never the person you need to be preaching to.
