Those who punch down are expressing their anger in all directions. Perhaps they think that scolding will prick people to greater effort; perhaps not.

Yes, it is not enough, it is never enough, because, as you say, no single action is going to solve everything.

As the saying goes, "The perfect is the enemy of the good." Those who demand perfection are always going to be disappointed.

How do you eat an elephant, indeed.

One bite at a time.

Yes please!

This is true for so many things that may not register as "resistance" as well.
If it's the direction you want the world to go, celebrate it, encourage it, don't belittle it, even if it's not <there> yet.

@grumpy4n6 You are absolutely right and I am probably guilty of doing this. Sorry.

It's very frustrating and discouraging when so many people think that their little tiny thing -- signing an online petition, wearing a certain color hat, sharing a meme -- is going to turn the world around. Especially when so many of these people fail to do the big things: vote, call their Senators and Congress people, attend Townhall meetings. It's the bragging about Slactivism that I'm against.

I think some of this disparagement activity is ratfucking sponsored by the Bad Guys.

It's kind of like the 1960s adage that the guy in your radical group who tells you you need to stop messing around with useless protests and get violent is the undercover cop.

if I could pin other folks’ posts… this would be the one.

YESSS.

Is one allowed to ask:

This specific action seems less useful then this other action, so why do the former ?

@kerravonsen @geonz
Good discussion! Whether it's performative or not, a lot of uncertain people trying to find ways to engage with be lurking and would see folks being shot down for being perforative and then doubt themselves and their motives and be less likely to try something out of their comfort zone. It demotivates all around.

It isn't always about who you're talking to, it's also about who's quietly listening.

Never be silent.

It is all about moving the needle.

And eventually send them back the flood, so they drown in their own shit.

👍

No dunes without grains of sand.

unless they do something that's actually useless, like voting, or calling their congressional representatives. then it's okay to shit on them, right? /s

and of course if they vote for either of the two major candidates it's our civic duty to call them a fascist

☝️Two follow up thoughts from the conversations on this thread:

Patience.
For a lot of people, this is their first foray into non-compliance. They are going to start with small things within their comfort zone. This isn't a failure to do bigger things, this is training for it.

Self compassion.
If you are finding yourself angry at how little others are doing, you may be burned out. Rest is resistance too, as is pivoting to joy or humour in how you protest.

Tautoko.

If everyone did one small act of resistance today the fight would be over tomorrow.

I would say it is more about the how able you are to inhibit thoughts from becoming actions.

Sometimes that means losing focus on a task.

Sometimes that means blurting out something you didn't mean to.

Sometimes it means fidgeting.

Sometimes it means the world is gone to you while you stay narrowed in on a really demanding task for hours... or consistently for days, weeks, years.

learning about hyperfocus was the thing that made me consider getting tested for ADHD.

I don't have trouble focusing, I just can't control where my focus goes, and I have zero sensory filters, so my attention goes all over the place when I get too many different stimuli.

It certainly doesn't help that all my senses are unusually sensitive.

I absolutely agree. I wish I had more control over my hyperfocus, because when it kicks in, I stop thinking and just start doing.

There might be a few neurotypical people who did awesome things, but honestly? Having ADHD helps so much doing these things... If only we had more control over it!

I have ADHD, diagnosed around 1995, and medicated at the time. I have a genius level IQ and can hyperfocus. Taking care of daily life? Not so good. 😂

My family always said that a bomb could go off and I wouldn’t notice if I had my ‘nose in a book’. Same thing with my life in Electronics and Coding. Now I write novels.

Apparently I ‘fake’ respond to conversations, but have no clue what anyone said, or that I did so. Fortunately, my better half understands that now and when she wants my opinion knows to interrupt whatever I’m doing and make sure I am focused on her instead of the task at hand.