We are heading towards an Idiocracy! - Page 58

Solid Snake · 11-09-2016, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kim

Actually there are lots of queer folks and people with mental health stuff going who I know and are taking mental breaks. I'm doing it. Like, I self harmed today at one point but I also used shit like Mario and anime and stuff to just... not think about things for a while. I won't pretend everyone can do that but sometimes surviving means finding ways to just not feel the crushing weight of reality on your shoulders every moment of every day.

That's totally fine.
My point was that I never attempted to argue that people shouldn't take mental breaks.
I was simply trying to tell RPG that some people -- including people who'd really like to relax! -- can't take mental breaks on a day like today, and it can come across as insulting for someone with very different life circumstances, who barely comprehends your own life circumstances, to say "Hey don't worry about it, relax, just take a break with some videogames and you'll feel better!!"

Sometimes something happens and it's so awful that you have to grieve, you have to rage out, you have to feel the totality of the pain and reflect upon the totality of the loss, and the last thing you want a presumptively sympathetic friend to say in those circumstances is "Don't worry so much, take a mental health cue, do something that takes your mind off this, just relax," because of the implicit assumption in that sentiment that it's all just about subjective feelings as opposed to objective hardships.

That's what I was trying to communicate to RPG and I was surprised he interpreted it as an accusation against anyone who could escape to the realm of fantasy. Trust me; if I could right now, I'd be anywhere else.

Kim · 11-09-2016, 11:59 PM

I mean, Snake, the way he phrased it was really more just a general, "You're allowed this." And you got bent out of shape over it.

---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------

He didn't say everyone could. He was just reminding folks that it's okay to do these things. Some people have a hard time feeling like they're allowed to treat themselves kindly in bad times.

Solid Snake · 11-10-2016, 12:03 AM

I don't feel I am allowed it, though.
I don't really feel like anyone's allowed it, but that isn't a sentiment borne of hatred or a desire to prevent others from enjoying their own escapes, but rather my own personal reflection of how I feel in the wake of something that's completely destroyed my own faith in people in such a way that just leaves everything, even things I enjoy like videogames, feeling hollow and rudderless.
*sigh* This isn't going to go anywhere productive.

Overcast · 11-10-2016, 12:09 AM

And that's the trouble of dwelling. Sometimes we all need a moment's peace to try to step back from it all and give yourself the means to approach what may seem insurmountable. It's much harder to do that with it bearing down on you, but with a little distance the view opens.

That's why I can't be like Marc. When I asked who was going to help us win next time it wasn't an inspirational statement. It was a legitimate question. Look forward, a crisis is an opportunity for change, and our failures today will hopefully give us the perspective to be the victors of tomorrow.

Kim · 11-10-2016, 12:12 AM

We gotta mobilize more than ever before and hold our own side more accountable than ever as well. It's gonna be hard as fuck.

Terex4 · 11-10-2016, 12:32 AM

Optimism is not my forte today and I suspect it won't be for quite some time.

**Slapping a nice big trigger warning here because fuck this, no one should have to read it and you shouldn't if you're feeling vulnerable**

I'm not nearly as involved in the community as I have been and I've only today started looking at Facebook again. With me being somewhat removed from the loop, I have heard 5 stories of people being harassed in the streets and of 8 transgender kids who killed themselves for fear of their future. My news feed is a repetition of suicide hotline numbers and horror stories.

That was as of this afternoon, I haven't checked it in several hours. This is all just the transgender community. Our death rates are already catastrophically high at roughly 1 in 12. That's 8, before dinnertime today.

I've also heard stories about Latino kids being pulled from school because they and their parents are terrified of deportation and they just want to be together. We now know that there have been shots fired at at least one protest. I don't know what all is going on with other groups but it isn't pretty.

So yeah, optimism, patience to wait 2 years for mid-terms and another 2 to vote the scumbag out, not happening.

Solid Snake · 11-10-2016, 12:34 AM

EDIT: One of President Trump's first actions while in office will apparently be to get rid of ALL gun-free zones.
All of them.
Every last single fucking one.
Around schools? They're gone.
Jesus fucking Christ on a stick we're through as a country.

pochercoaster · 11-10-2016, 05:05 AM

Originally as a green card holder- not an undocumented immigrant- I wasn't too concerned for my personal future here, at least in terms of residency. But now I'm seeing some stuff* on twitter encouraging legal residents eligible for citizenship to apply before January 20. And I want to, but I can't afford the fee. I'm kind of scared, although concerns for my own situation are eclipsed by everything fucking else about a Trump presidency.

*https://twitter.com/JoaquinCastrotx/...99066431700992

Steel Shadow · 11-10-2016, 05:34 AM

How much is the fee? Can you set up some sort of go-fund-indy-starter thing? Google's saying it's in the region of 600 dollars, but I don't know how accurate that is.

Overcast · 11-10-2016, 08:53 AM

You know we'll help Poch, so keep us in the loop. And I understand Terex, keep your eyes on the situation. I don't know if moving forward is about optimism as much about holding ourselves together. Holding each other together, not to be positive but brave in the face of a terrifying time. For the moment our only option is this but more may open up if Trump and the Republican party can generate enough unrest in the coming months. For those of us living in districts Republican state elect members consider starting recall petitions now, if such measures are even possible in your state. It isn't something we can do on a Presidential level or Congress but if we can enthuse State resistance it'll open up opportunities for state level lawsuits to go to the still split Supreme Court in the coming years. Perhaps opening the door for congressional or even presidential recalls.

Edit: Learned there is no mechanism for Congressional recall.

11-09-2016, 11:59 PM	#572
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	I mean, Snake, the way he phrased it was really more just a general, "You're allowed this." And you got bent out of shape over it. ---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ---------- He didn't say everyone could. He was just reminding folks that it's okay to do these things. Some people have a hard time feeling like they're allowed to treat themselves kindly in bad times. __________________ this post is about how to successfully H the Kimmy

11-10-2016, 12:03 AM	#573
Solid Snake Erotic Esquire Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 5,563	I don't feel I am allowed it, though. I don't really feel like anyone's allowed it, but that isn't a sentiment borne of hatred or a desire to prevent others from enjoying their own escapes, but rather my own personal reflection of how I feel in the wake of something that's completely destroyed my own faith in people in such a way that just leaves everything, even things I enjoy like videogames, feeling hollow and rudderless. sigh This isn't going to go anywhere productive. __________________ *WARNING:* Snek's all up in this thread. Be prepared to read massive walls of text.

11-10-2016, 12:09 AM	#574
Overcast Cinderella Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Trespassing in the graveyard Posts: 3,076	And that's the trouble of dwelling. Sometimes we all need a moment's peace to try to step back from it all and give yourself the means to approach what may seem insurmountable. It's much harder to do that with it bearing down on you, but with a little distance the view opens. That's why I can't be like Marc. When I asked who was going to help us win next time it wasn't an inspirational statement. It was a legitimate question. Look forward, a crisis is an opportunity for change, and our failures today will hopefully give us the perspective to be the victors of tomorrow. __________________ Time to bust out the glow sticks!

11-10-2016, 12:12 AM	#575
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	We gotta mobilize more than ever before and hold our own side more accountable than ever as well. It's gonna be hard as fuck. __________________ this post is about how to successfully H the Kimmy

11-10-2016, 12:34 AM	#577
Solid Snake Erotic Esquire Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 5,563	EDIT: One of President Trump's first actions while in office will apparently be to *get rid of ALL gun-free zones.* All of them. Every last single fucking one. Around schools? They're gone. Jesus fucking Christ on a stick we're through as a country. __________________ *WARNING:* Snek's all up in this thread. Be prepared to read massive walls of text. Last edited by Solid Snake; 11-10-2016 at 03:52 AM.

11-10-2016, 05:05 AM	#578
pochercoaster rollerpocher tycoon Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,808	Originally as a green card holder- not an undocumented immigrant- I wasn't too concerned for my personal future here, at least in terms of residency. But now I'm seeing some stuff* on twitter encouraging legal residents eligible for citizenship to apply before January 20. And I want to, but I can't afford the fee. I'm kind of scared, although concerns for my own situation are eclipsed by everything fucking else about a Trump presidency. https://twitter.com/JoaquinCastrotx/...99066431700992 Last edited by pochercoaster; 11-10-2016 at 05:13 AM.*

11-10-2016, 05:34 AM	#579
Steel Shadow Mild Psychosis Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Aroundabouts thereish. Posts: 1,246	How much is the fee? Can you set up some sort of go-fund-indy-starter thing? Google's saying it's in the region of 600 dollars, but I don't know how accurate that is. __________________ Yeah, I'm understating. I do that sometimes.

11-10-2016, 08:53 AM	#580
Overcast Cinderella Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Trespassing in the graveyard Posts: 3,076	You know we'll help Poch, so keep us in the loop. And I understand Terex, keep your eyes on the situation. I don't know if moving forward is about optimism as much about holding ourselves together. Holding each other together, not to be positive but brave in the face of a terrifying time. For the moment our only option is this but more may open up if Trump and the Republican party can generate enough unrest in the coming months. For those of us living in districts Republican state elect members consider starting recall petitions now, if such measures are even possible in your state. It isn't something we can do on a Presidential level or Congress but if we can enthuse State resistance it'll open up opportunities for state level lawsuits to go to the still split Supreme Court in the coming years. Perhaps opening the door for congressional or even presidential recalls. Edit: Learned there is no mechanism for Congressional recall. __________________ Time to bust out the glow sticks! Last edited by Overcast; 11-10-2016 at 08:59 AM.