Give your life meaning. Unlearn hopelessness and set out to do something about making the world a better place. The world will thank you for it. I promise.
You provide lots of food (yum raspberries) for thought-and action-in your article. It took me a while to process your content because I tend to be a little wary when psychological terms (helplessness) are applied to social conditions because they are often from the framework of the powerful dominant society who consider non-achievers as “ill.” When I was an undergraduate studying anthropology, some professors would speak of those in third world countries as having “fatalistic” attitudes. Yet people in these very countries have undertaken authentic revolutions (although some have been undone over time).
I understand what you mean by being able to identify the true sources of our societal problems and if we don’t we end up thinking that people who represent controlled opposition are the answer. Yet haven’t some of us evolved from that perspective? I certainly have. It has taken me decades to put the pieces together. Yes, many of these people who are not there yet get on my nerves but perhaps one of these days they too will be able to see the true dynamics. We live in a country where enough people are comfortable and they really aren’t motivated to seriously change the structure. Yet some of these people may see their own conditions change in the future.
P.S. Whitney Webb has some great insights! You and she are on the same wavelength about creating alternative lifestyles.
I hate it that some people are considered "maladjusted" and others "well-adjusted" to our very sick society. The so-called "maladjusted" are probably the saner of the two groups! (This is a psych major talking here.) But the idea that we can "learn" be "helpless" (we aren't helpless because of our DNA or societal status) and then we can become "hopeless" is a concept I find rather empowering. If we learn poor coping behaviors, we can unlearn them, and we can help others unlearn them as well, thus freeing all to become their True Selves and live in true freedom in spite of being surrounded by a very sick and corrupt system.
And I'm still running into people who somehow just aren't aware that they have actual choices and aren't stuck deciding between Candidate A or Candidate B who both are on the take from Corporation X. It's frustrating, but we've got to be patient and continue to help them unlearn the propaganda that has been drilled into their heads for decades. When the cost of gasoline hits $20/gallon and the DollarTree store becomes the $10 DollarTree store, we'll probably find more of them coming around and rejecting the status quo. At least I hope so!
I must watch/read more of Whitney Webb's articles/podcasts. I've liked what I've seen of them so far...
I guess what I was questioning was whether if someone who says “I’ve done all these things to change this problem and still no results” whether that’s necessarily “helplessness.” They may be experiencing temporary frustration, which seems to me a natural response. It’s true that people can experience much deeper feelings and those can be more concerning but even that may be because of feelings of disgust rather than of helplessness. Yet there are those who do have a sense of helplessness. Yes, that could be because of family dynamics and how they have been treated when they have attempted to demonstrate personal power. Also, they may feel they don’t have sufficient knowledge of issues and how institutions operate. Perhaps I was thinking there might be a need to distinguish between these perspectives.
I think that's good to distinguish between frustration and helplessness/hopelessness. I've felt frustrated by the lack of progress on a lot of issues, but still held out hope for positive change. Other times, it's just a complete feeling of "Why bother? It's hopeless!" Emotions are not black or white--they're on a continuum--and you can feel a whole range of them on any given day pertaining to any particular challenge. The thing is to learn that you don't have to remain feeling helpless or hopeless or frustrated. You can "unlearn" these responses and keep fighting if you choose to do so. (Why I always liked Lee Camp ending his podcasts with "Keep fighting!" We need encouragement on a regular basis.)
“Abolitionists kept agitating for an end to slavery decade after decade after decade… Many suffered and died before it came to an end. But thankfully, most didn’t give up.”
Such an important point. What’s happening in Gaza demands action now, and many are acting, but every day that this continues should harden our resolve, not leave us in despair. No matter what happens from here, the imperial system will keep producing victims, until it’s stopped for good.
You said it well. Imperialism and white settler colonizing isn't going to disappear the day we finally obtain a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. So many countries in Africa right now are struggling to rid themselves of the last remnants of their Western colonization. We see this struggle echoing all over the world. We must harden our resolve and keep fighting. If our ancestors could do it and prevail against the odds--we can do no less.
Attitude is everything. It's going to take decades to get out of the mess created by centuries of capitalism and feudalism. We can't stop slashing through the jungle now.
No, we can't stop now. The "jungle" is scary, but the alternative is scarier yet. We must change our attitude and keep on keeping on. All our futures depend upon it.
I’ve just read of a planned flotilla with at least 50 ships leaving from Spain to Gaza sometime later this month. They’re looking for volunteers; people with boats, medical personnel, just plain observers. Goddess willing I can get my hip, injured in a fall, squared away before then.
I saw a post for the flotilla leaving from Spain. It said they're leaving on August 31. I hope it's not too late to save people in Gaza by then. The one caveat about that large a flotilla is that the IDF might take it as an "invasion" and sink all the boats. Now, if the Spanish Navy came along to protect the smaller, private vessels, that would be a different matter. I'm hoping that we'll see a military invasion of Israel by Spain/Ireland/Yemen/Iran/? then to protect the flotilla as well as the people of Gaza. But it does sound exciting that so many are motivated to help feed Gaza--if I had the money and health, I'd want to be there.
I filled out an online application but it said space on the boats was limited and specifically wanted people with maritime and medical experience. So I may be only able to contribute financially, which any of us can do.
That makes sense and it's safer for everyone if all volunteers have the skills to help with the success of the flotilla. Can you share the link for donations? Thanks!
So much to say in response to this. First, Gaza is just one issue--and solving that problem is not a matter of letting more food and other aid in--Gaza has been destroyed and is surrounded by a population trained to hate the Palestinians. The only long-term, just solution is one few if any dare voice--terminate the state of Israel, which has forfeited its right to exist if it ever legitimately had one. Allow those Jews capable of living peaceably beside their neighbors in the new state of Palestine to remain, if they choose to do so--the percentage of Israelis this applies to would be in the single digits. The rest go to whatever countries will take them, wherever they have kin.
But it's not just Gaza/Palestine, and it's not just the myriad atrocities of the Trump regime. We're in the endgame now, which is why these things are happening. Combine climate change--which is rapidly advancing and threatening human survival, whether the authorities and media acknowledge it or not--with plummeting biodiversity, and the reality that the material and energetic resources to accomplish a transition to a renewably-powered economy in which everyone, all 8.5 billion humans, have enough--is not possible, and attempting it would require a big ramp-up of necessarily destructive and unjust mining and drilling. There are two ways to get through this. One is very difficult: we slowly lower our numbers while rapidly reducing the impact and consumption of the richest half or so of humanity, and eliminate wealth and sizable militaries so that the poorest can have enough, at the same time rapidly restructuring the way we do pretty much everything to make it sustainable. The other way, clearly chosen by the tiny percentage of humans who actually have power, is to create fortress nations of the rich counties, and enclaves for the wealthy within them so they can hoard the remaining resources. They don't need to actively kill the "useless eaters" on the outside--just leave us to struggle for survival in a hot, depleted, polluted world in which the wealthy can loot resources at will and we have no rights. The wars the US supposedly lost left many countries as failed states--which means US-based corporations can loot them with no effective resistance from an absent or weak government. At home, the new fascist ICE/police units may not be enough to subdue the revolt that's coming when the realities become clear, which is why they're building all those Cop Cities, to "train" their goons. And why we've become polarized into two opposing camps--the real enemy of all of us owns all the major media and the electronic monopolies that act as gatekeepers.
And--again, a general strike is only effective under some challenging conditions. First, if it's only a work strike it may have little effect--they're planning to replace most of us with AI, robots and perhaps prisoner-slaves. We also need to refuse to buy anything during the strike--which means preparation in advance, and likely a regimen in which we strike on designated days of the week, ramping up to include more days until our demands are met.
Second, we must in fact issue demands--concrete, ambitious demands, not limited, measly demands. We must be ready to resume the strike if the demands are not actually met.
Third, we must prepare for at least months in advance, in order to get the word out because a strike with limited participation is useless and maybe even counterproductive if its failure leaves people thinking "general strikes don't work." But also because a refusal to buy requires that we have enough necessities stockpiled to survive the strike days--and mere stockpiling will not do the trick because if you buy things in advance you're still paying in the same amount. Instead, the strike prep must be the beginning of the transition we need anyway to survive what's coming--a move toward less dependence on jobs, more self-sufficiency, including growing some of our own food, less consumerism, a transition to localized economies, eventually a phaseout of single-use plastic and agricultural toxins and CAFOs--in other words, building the alternative system we want starts BEFORE the strike.
Another great article worth of insights here! The General Strike US organization (https://generalstrikeus.com/) is planning things on a state by state basis now. I'm on a Discord for Ohio right now. Mutual aid and "parallel systems" are discussed a lot. We really do need to prepare ourselves well and create our own alternative system(s) so we can succeed, and if not, we still can take care of ourselves.
YES. Everything we do to prepare for a general strike by reducing our dependence on megacorporations and a global economy, also reduces support for the Machine permanently, and makes us more secure in almost any scenario. It may also build community, which also enhances our security.
Thanks so much for this inspiring and timely post. I'd like to share some tools I like. They're on the footer of all of my posts. The post-its are fun, and are an easy way to create awareness outside of our bubble.
I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.
Thanks for the links, Diana! There's also an app for shopping called "Boycatt" that tells you if an item comes from Israel or not. I found it online at the Google Play store. Boycotts really do make a difference. I heard earlier today that Starbucks is closing stores because boycotting has cut into their profits. The oligarchs do NOT want us to share this sort of information with others because it's so powerful... So, please don't share it! *wink, wink!*
You provide lots of food (yum raspberries) for thought-and action-in your article. It took me a while to process your content because I tend to be a little wary when psychological terms (helplessness) are applied to social conditions because they are often from the framework of the powerful dominant society who consider non-achievers as “ill.” When I was an undergraduate studying anthropology, some professors would speak of those in third world countries as having “fatalistic” attitudes. Yet people in these very countries have undertaken authentic revolutions (although some have been undone over time).
I understand what you mean by being able to identify the true sources of our societal problems and if we don’t we end up thinking that people who represent controlled opposition are the answer. Yet haven’t some of us evolved from that perspective? I certainly have. It has taken me decades to put the pieces together. Yes, many of these people who are not there yet get on my nerves but perhaps one of these days they too will be able to see the true dynamics. We live in a country where enough people are comfortable and they really aren’t motivated to seriously change the structure. Yet some of these people may see their own conditions change in the future.
P.S. Whitney Webb has some great insights! You and she are on the same wavelength about creating alternative lifestyles.
I hate it that some people are considered "maladjusted" and others "well-adjusted" to our very sick society. The so-called "maladjusted" are probably the saner of the two groups! (This is a psych major talking here.) But the idea that we can "learn" be "helpless" (we aren't helpless because of our DNA or societal status) and then we can become "hopeless" is a concept I find rather empowering. If we learn poor coping behaviors, we can unlearn them, and we can help others unlearn them as well, thus freeing all to become their True Selves and live in true freedom in spite of being surrounded by a very sick and corrupt system.
And I'm still running into people who somehow just aren't aware that they have actual choices and aren't stuck deciding between Candidate A or Candidate B who both are on the take from Corporation X. It's frustrating, but we've got to be patient and continue to help them unlearn the propaganda that has been drilled into their heads for decades. When the cost of gasoline hits $20/gallon and the DollarTree store becomes the $10 DollarTree store, we'll probably find more of them coming around and rejecting the status quo. At least I hope so!
I must watch/read more of Whitney Webb's articles/podcasts. I've liked what I've seen of them so far...
I guess what I was questioning was whether if someone who says “I’ve done all these things to change this problem and still no results” whether that’s necessarily “helplessness.” They may be experiencing temporary frustration, which seems to me a natural response. It’s true that people can experience much deeper feelings and those can be more concerning but even that may be because of feelings of disgust rather than of helplessness. Yet there are those who do have a sense of helplessness. Yes, that could be because of family dynamics and how they have been treated when they have attempted to demonstrate personal power. Also, they may feel they don’t have sufficient knowledge of issues and how institutions operate. Perhaps I was thinking there might be a need to distinguish between these perspectives.
I think that's good to distinguish between frustration and helplessness/hopelessness. I've felt frustrated by the lack of progress on a lot of issues, but still held out hope for positive change. Other times, it's just a complete feeling of "Why bother? It's hopeless!" Emotions are not black or white--they're on a continuum--and you can feel a whole range of them on any given day pertaining to any particular challenge. The thing is to learn that you don't have to remain feeling helpless or hopeless or frustrated. You can "unlearn" these responses and keep fighting if you choose to do so. (Why I always liked Lee Camp ending his podcasts with "Keep fighting!" We need encouragement on a regular basis.)
“Abolitionists kept agitating for an end to slavery decade after decade after decade… Many suffered and died before it came to an end. But thankfully, most didn’t give up.”
Such an important point. What’s happening in Gaza demands action now, and many are acting, but every day that this continues should harden our resolve, not leave us in despair. No matter what happens from here, the imperial system will keep producing victims, until it’s stopped for good.
You said it well. Imperialism and white settler colonizing isn't going to disappear the day we finally obtain a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. So many countries in Africa right now are struggling to rid themselves of the last remnants of their Western colonization. We see this struggle echoing all over the world. We must harden our resolve and keep fighting. If our ancestors could do it and prevail against the odds--we can do no less.
Attitude is everything. It's going to take decades to get out of the mess created by centuries of capitalism and feudalism. We can't stop slashing through the jungle now.
No, we can't stop now. The "jungle" is scary, but the alternative is scarier yet. We must change our attitude and keep on keeping on. All our futures depend upon it.
I love the gardening metaphor; it's so right on!
Gardens are the ultimate metaphor for life, the universe, and everything. I think it must be why Adam and Eve started out in one. LOL! :)
And look what happened!
Hi Cindy
I’ve just read of a planned flotilla with at least 50 ships leaving from Spain to Gaza sometime later this month. They’re looking for volunteers; people with boats, medical personnel, just plain observers. Goddess willing I can get my hip, injured in a fall, squared away before then.
I WANNA BE WITH THEM!
Anyone else?
I saw a post for the flotilla leaving from Spain. It said they're leaving on August 31. I hope it's not too late to save people in Gaza by then. The one caveat about that large a flotilla is that the IDF might take it as an "invasion" and sink all the boats. Now, if the Spanish Navy came along to protect the smaller, private vessels, that would be a different matter. I'm hoping that we'll see a military invasion of Israel by Spain/Ireland/Yemen/Iran/? then to protect the flotilla as well as the people of Gaza. But it does sound exciting that so many are motivated to help feed Gaza--if I had the money and health, I'd want to be there.
Hi Cindy
Also North Africa and other points.
I filled out an online application but it said space on the boats was limited and specifically wanted people with maritime and medical experience. So I may be only able to contribute financially, which any of us can do.
That makes sense and it's safer for everyone if all volunteers have the skills to help with the success of the flotilla. Can you share the link for donations? Thanks!
So much to say in response to this. First, Gaza is just one issue--and solving that problem is not a matter of letting more food and other aid in--Gaza has been destroyed and is surrounded by a population trained to hate the Palestinians. The only long-term, just solution is one few if any dare voice--terminate the state of Israel, which has forfeited its right to exist if it ever legitimately had one. Allow those Jews capable of living peaceably beside their neighbors in the new state of Palestine to remain, if they choose to do so--the percentage of Israelis this applies to would be in the single digits. The rest go to whatever countries will take them, wherever they have kin.
But it's not just Gaza/Palestine, and it's not just the myriad atrocities of the Trump regime. We're in the endgame now, which is why these things are happening. Combine climate change--which is rapidly advancing and threatening human survival, whether the authorities and media acknowledge it or not--with plummeting biodiversity, and the reality that the material and energetic resources to accomplish a transition to a renewably-powered economy in which everyone, all 8.5 billion humans, have enough--is not possible, and attempting it would require a big ramp-up of necessarily destructive and unjust mining and drilling. There are two ways to get through this. One is very difficult: we slowly lower our numbers while rapidly reducing the impact and consumption of the richest half or so of humanity, and eliminate wealth and sizable militaries so that the poorest can have enough, at the same time rapidly restructuring the way we do pretty much everything to make it sustainable. The other way, clearly chosen by the tiny percentage of humans who actually have power, is to create fortress nations of the rich counties, and enclaves for the wealthy within them so they can hoard the remaining resources. They don't need to actively kill the "useless eaters" on the outside--just leave us to struggle for survival in a hot, depleted, polluted world in which the wealthy can loot resources at will and we have no rights. The wars the US supposedly lost left many countries as failed states--which means US-based corporations can loot them with no effective resistance from an absent or weak government. At home, the new fascist ICE/police units may not be enough to subdue the revolt that's coming when the realities become clear, which is why they're building all those Cop Cities, to "train" their goons. And why we've become polarized into two opposing camps--the real enemy of all of us owns all the major media and the electronic monopolies that act as gatekeepers.
Good stuff! You should put this out as a Substack article. Many could learn a lot from your insights on these topics.
And--again, a general strike is only effective under some challenging conditions. First, if it's only a work strike it may have little effect--they're planning to replace most of us with AI, robots and perhaps prisoner-slaves. We also need to refuse to buy anything during the strike--which means preparation in advance, and likely a regimen in which we strike on designated days of the week, ramping up to include more days until our demands are met.
Second, we must in fact issue demands--concrete, ambitious demands, not limited, measly demands. We must be ready to resume the strike if the demands are not actually met.
Third, we must prepare for at least months in advance, in order to get the word out because a strike with limited participation is useless and maybe even counterproductive if its failure leaves people thinking "general strikes don't work." But also because a refusal to buy requires that we have enough necessities stockpiled to survive the strike days--and mere stockpiling will not do the trick because if you buy things in advance you're still paying in the same amount. Instead, the strike prep must be the beginning of the transition we need anyway to survive what's coming--a move toward less dependence on jobs, more self-sufficiency, including growing some of our own food, less consumerism, a transition to localized economies, eventually a phaseout of single-use plastic and agricultural toxins and CAFOs--in other words, building the alternative system we want starts BEFORE the strike.
Another great article worth of insights here! The General Strike US organization (https://generalstrikeus.com/) is planning things on a state by state basis now. I'm on a Discord for Ohio right now. Mutual aid and "parallel systems" are discussed a lot. We really do need to prepare ourselves well and create our own alternative system(s) so we can succeed, and if not, we still can take care of ourselves.
YES. Everything we do to prepare for a general strike by reducing our dependence on megacorporations and a global economy, also reduces support for the Machine permanently, and makes us more secure in almost any scenario. It may also build community, which also enhances our security.
Thanks so much for this inspiring and timely post. I'd like to share some tools I like. They're on the footer of all of my posts. The post-its are fun, and are an easy way to create awareness outside of our bubble.
I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.
Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1
Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en
And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/
Thanks for the links, Diana! There's also an app for shopping called "Boycatt" that tells you if an item comes from Israel or not. I found it online at the Google Play store. Boycotts really do make a difference. I heard earlier today that Starbucks is closing stores because boycotting has cut into their profits. The oligarchs do NOT want us to share this sort of information with others because it's so powerful... So, please don't share it! *wink, wink!*