MountainWitch ⛤

This kind of thing drives me nuts. That guy in the picture is a farmer. The apple tree behind him takes planting, watering, pruning, harvesting, preserving year after year. He had to prepare and bake that pie he's eating. The garden takes cultivating, buying seeds, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, preserving. Then the chickens need a chicken house built, summer and winter they need fencing, protection, water, food, and managing. If any of this all gets sold, the farmer has to either go to a market or build a market stall, pick in early mornings, wash, display, sell, manage the money and accounting.

All of that is just from this little silly painting. Everyone has to "grind". It's just different depending on how you choose to live your life. Memes like this contribute to the problem of younger people heading to the country to "live freely" and get so bogged down by the amount of work it takes that they fail then write massive amounts of blogs about how homesteading is "not sustainable" and no one can do it. Anyone can do it. You just have to be prepared to work your ass off.

#Homesteading #CountryLife #TheGrind #GetReal

Dec 2, 2023 at 7:38pmWeb
Show threadBakersRelayDec 2, 2023
@mountainwitch When you homestead time off is nonexistent.
Show threadScott MatterDec 2, 2023

@mountainwitch

Makes me wonder if “the grind” has something to do with how meaningful one feels their hard work is.

Show threadOpenDNA⚙️Dec 2, 2023

@scottmatter @mountainwitch The grind is serving capitalism.

Incidentally, that book series features lots of physical labor (we have many). Recommended for all ages.

Show threadScott MatterDec 3, 2023

@opendna @mountainwitch

I’m out of touch with that whole scene. Is it basically the same as “hustle”?

I think it’s funny that in calling it a “grind” there’s some implicit awareness that serving capitalism is demoralizing and dehumanizing.

I do wonder how much of grind culture burnout is a manifestation of moral injury

Show threadPassengerDec 3, 2023

@scottmatter @opendna @mountainwitch

My understanding - and the terms may be used differently in different spheres by different people - is that "hustle" and "grind" are related but somewhat different. To grind is to repetitively carry out a structured workload, often one which is calendar- or timetable-driven, usually in order to meet a predetermined target. To hustle is to engage in a more freeform workload, often more intense but with more improvisation and less security.

You could compare it to agriculture versus hunter-gatherer, I suppose; I think of it as the replacement of monotonous routine work with insecure gig work. Both terms are, as you say, demoralising and degrading, because capitalism is bad. Both terms get used by people who don't understand that capitalism is bad, as a way to persuade themselves that this is Good Actually. (Your point about moral injury is a very good one, I think.)

A good grind wouldn't be a grind, it would just be doing what you love. When I've got my head stuck in some data-automation code then the hours just fly by, and I find washing dishes to be a pleasant way of letting my hands do something while my mind wanders. To other people, these are horrible things to do.

A good hustle wouldn't be a hustle, it would be fun opportunism, spotting quick bargains and good deals. I hate this sort of thing but many people like it enough that they do it as a leisure activity.

As Mark Twain pointed out, both become degraded once you have an obligation to do them, and as Karl Marx pointed out, both become awful when you're alienated from their products.

Show threadCyDec 2, 2023

@mountainwitch Well, I can't do it no matter how hard I work, because the police come and arrest me for camping in a national park.

People aren't lazy. They're oppressed.

Show threaddz🌵🦇Dec 2, 2023
@mountainwitch fucking nailed it!
Show threadWigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚Dec 2, 2023

@mountainwitch

not sure, how this picture made it into this meme - but it’s actually from the very nice children book series “Petterson & Findus” from Sven Nordqvist.

(Findus is the cat, which should be featured more often on #caturday)

Show threadNapalousaDec 3, 2023
@mountainwitch
The picture is from a picture book called Findus and Pettson. It’s aimed at 4 year olds and has light hearted stories about a farmer, his cat and his chickens. It’s designed to help teach preschool children to learn about reading and learn about colors and things. Usually the cat gets into silly situations and has adventures. Don’t know who used it as a meme but there you go.