a-teardrop-of-the-sun - Tumblr blog

a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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wasn't this also the golden age of Jewish culture in spain which was infamously brutally destroyed by the catholic reconquista kicking out the Muslim rulers of spain and re-establishing catholic ones, following which said new christian rulers literally created the fucking spanish inquisition and then EXPELLED ALL JEWISH PEOPLE FROM SPAIN.

extremely telling how everytime Israel gets mad at someone it's palestinians that are punished

#just so we're clear #zionism

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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extremely telling how everytime Israel gets mad at someone it's palestinians that are punished

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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Instagram : krewkutz

This made me feel really happy ❤️

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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“no job is worth your physical & mental health” i hauve. Bills.

#every time i hear older folks/any folks say 'why not just get another job' when someone's workplace is crushing them #i want to throw them into the sea #just far enough out that it takes real exercise to swim back to shore #long enough to think about their actions

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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Insight today while washing the lettuce and thinking of my friend who doesn't want to vote.

They are an otherwise intelligent, responsible, generous person, who appears to be socially conscious. They have worked hard and long for their position in their profession. They express concern for the planet. They get twitchy if you use too many paper towels.

But they don’t want to vote for Biden for reasons, and quote "doesn't like the whole system where the parties take turns swinging things back and forth" unquote.

I have been dumbstruck at their attitude for about two months now. I've been thrashing back and forth trying to reconcile this person I love with their attitude:

If you care abt the planet enough to conserve paper towels, don’t you care enough to stop a Repub administration from raping the land?

If you don’t like how things can swing back and forth, don't you want an administration that's going to work to shore up, rather than dismantle, more lasting democratic systems of governance?

If you understand the value of the long game, why are you only satisfied with instant results from a single election rather than viewing that election as a single move in an ongoing process?

The insight came to me as I used an extra set of paper towels to dry my lettuce:

These people are not motivated by outcomes. They are motivated by how their choices make them FEEL.

Not how the outcomes of their choices will make them feel. But how the action associated with their choices makes them feel.

In terms of outcomes for the environment, saving paper towels doesn't do shit compared to pushing for restrictions on oil companies. But using half a paper towel is an instant dopamine hit: "Ahhh, I am caring for Mother Earth. I care. I am a good person. Ahh yes that's the stuff."

This model fits for voting too. We know that The Only Votes That Count Are Those Cast. We know that Dems Go Where The Votes Are Not Where The Votes Aren't. We know that voting in every election, every time, in numbers, is a very low-effort way to contribute to moving the Overton window farther left.

But in the moment, for people who are motivated by how their action associated with their choice makes them feel... the absolute best move for their dopamine supply is to abstain: "I am NOT supporting an old fart; I am NOT supporting genocide; I am Challenging The System; I am a good person. Ahh yes, that's the stuff."

At the time, when I challenged my friend on their position, they held up their hands and said "look, I'm not saying I have any answers, I'm just saying I don’t like how the system works."

They didn't like how participating in the system made them FEEL in the moment.

For those of us who think this is madness, hey, we aren't off the hook entirely. We are basing our choices and actions off of outcomes, true. But there's probably a feeling/dopamine component in there too. "I am holding my nose and voting Blue; I am doing my part to actually affect the future even if I hate some things abt my choice; I am a good person."

So maybe the difference isn't in the motivation (my feelings and self-image) but in what motivates us (my action vs the outcome of my action).

I don't have an answer to the question at this time and this post is already long enough. But I'll think on it. And I invite you to do so as well:

For these people (who seem to be a sizable part of the population), how to outweigh the choice where their action preserves their self-image, doesn't cost them dopamine for having to take a "bad" action, and maybe even gives them a happy boost for "not being part of a flawed system?"

For these people, how to help them connect more to the outcome?

Off the cuff, I can't think of any means other than cognitive-behavioral therapy. :/

EDIT: Apparently there's a term for this and it's called Emotivism -- ethics isn't abt effects but abt feelings.

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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i think if geoffrey chaucer were zapped into the current day then once he learned the language and grasped the social situation he would leverage his position as Actually Geoffrey Chaucer to get the cushiest most luxurious publishing contract imaginable. and then within six months tops he would be writing omegaverse

#all of this is 100% accurate

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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Source: The New York Tattler, July 8, 1909.

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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here's your memorial day reminder that 98% of american soldiers who have died has done so pointlessly. their lives were cut short and wasted for nothing. they didn't "die for their country", they didn't gain any glory, they got killed, and their blood got cold and dried up on the ground, and their mother wept, their family grieved, and it was all for nothing. And not only did they die for nothing. Many of them killed for nothing. Millions have also died pointlessly at the hands of these soldiers and the generals that give the orders. Millions have died to ensure the political and economic dominance of the American state.

I don't know what the point of this post is. War and death for empire is pointless, and isn't that sad?

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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pros of keeping records of your old writing: whenever you refer back to it you will experience the unparalleled gratification of being able to see just how much progress you've made. you may even find yourself revisiting ideas you had that you didn't have the skills to fully realise at the time, but have since developed enough to renew your efforts.

cons of keeping records of your old writing: you will find yourself constantly mortified and tormented by the words of the stupidest most ignorant shit idiot currently drawing breath on earth, and that person is you

#sometimes concurrently or even simultaneously

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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Listen Up Columbia! — Portraits from a campus in crisis Photographed by Gabriella Gregor Splaver

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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“if somebody becomes panicked when you accuse them of lying theyre obviously not telling the truth” shut up ugly im a survivor who got punished for shit i never did all the time of fucking course im gonna panic when im blamed for something i didnt do

#i behave more like i'm lying when i'm being accused of it while telling the truth #than i do when i'm lying for real (accused or not)#always have even as a kid #got in trouble constantly for 'lying' when i was telling the truth #to the point that i later just gave in and would lie/say whatever i was told to say to avoid being in trouble

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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its so fucked up that your dreams can spring some crazy horrible shit on you and when you wake up you just have to go about your day like normal

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a-teardrop-of-the-sun · 13 hours

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