Why existentialism, straight edge, NoFap and Stop Gaming should join forces
Introduction
I guess Ian Mackaye never thought of Heidegger when he started when he write songs for his band minor threat like “out of step (with the world)” and “straight edge”.
Neither had Alexander Rhodes thought of Minor Thread or Straight Edge when he founded the NoFap movement, nor Cam Adair, when he founded Stop Gaming.
What is straight edge?
Straight edge was an movement in the hardcore scene that couldn´t accept the self-destructive behaviour of their peers any longer. They committed to not taking drugs, not drinking alcohol and have sex only as an expression of deep feelings. They were proactive and wanted to create positive change in the world by changing themselves first.
What is NoFap?
NoFap is a movement of people who want to help each other to abstain from Pornography, Masturbation and Orgasms (PMO). They see that pornography is a supernormal stimulus for the brain with which the brain can´t cope. Porn releases dopamine in masses that are too much for our brain and which forces it to reduce its dopamine receptors. Because of this you need to release more dopamine to get the same level of arousal, which will lead the watchers to more and more extreme consumption of porn. This will again lead to less dopamine receptors in the brain. A hell circle. The NoFap Community sees these effects of pornography and want to heal themselves by abstaining from it.
Stop Gaming
Stop Gaming is a movement similar to NoFap. Video gaming has the same effects on the brain that the viewing of pornography has. Stop Gaming is a platform that was founded to help people to quit their video game addiction and live their lives for the better.
Most of the time, the members of NoFap and Stop Gaming also quit all other drugs on their journeys.
Existentialism
Existentialism believes that every individual has the potential to change their current circumstances and choose their own purpose with by being bound by nothing. The highest virtue you can live by as existentialist is authenticity. Heidegger defines authenticity with being in touch with our sein and being aware of the constantly surrounding of the sein by the nichts. But most people are so afraid of the nichts that they decide to distract themselves of the knowledge of the surrounding of the sein by the nichts. That can be with harmless things like chatter, but it could also be by hard stuff like drugs, watching tv, pornography or video games.
Nietzsche claims his edge
In his autobiography “Ecco Homo” Nietzsche says that he doesn´t drink alcohol and that he is disgusted by his peers who are doing so. He also says that while his peers use marihuana to relax, he only needs the music of Wagner. With this public announcement of his sobriety, he can be seen as a person who claimed edge.
So while you find not a single picture of the french existentialist Camus without a cigarette and Sartre without his pipe or a glass of red wine, Nietzsche was someone who lived up to the highest virtues of authenticity.
What does the movements have in common?
While existentialism was the philosophical mainstream in the 1950s straight edge, NoFap and Stop Gaming are counter-currents, straight edge to the substance abuse of the hardcore scene, NoFap to the destructive might that PMO helds and Stop Gaming to the destructive power of video games.
But there are some things that all these three movements have in common:
- They are all positive
- They all say that change is possible, by changing yourself
- They encourage you to better yourself
- They want you to reach your highest potential
You may even see the straight edge movement as existentialists of the 80s and NoFap + Stop Gaming as straight edge of our modern time.
Why this movements should join forces
Since this four movements share so many powerful core values, that are so important in this world, it would be nice when they would join forces. This would strenghten each of the movements and help each movement to reach out, get their messages heard and get new members. It would increase the good that each movement could achieve in this world compared to when each has to do things alone.
To do this there are requirements needed:
Existentialist need to see that you have to be drug free in order to live authentically according to Heideggers definition.
Straight edge would need to acknowledge PMO and video games as drugs.
Fapstronauts (this is how members of NoFap call themselves) need to see that video games are a drug to and that they shouldn´t substitute the time used to watch porn to play video games.
StopGaming members shouldn´t substitute the time the gain from quitting video games to watch porn.
