SwiftOnSecurity
Telling children they are living in a dying world is an essential evil we don’t really have terminology for. Children cannot fix your sins through shame and abortion of hope. You are the villain in their story, not their savior - peddling nothing actualizing change, only dred.
Jul 11, 2024 at 12:25amWeb
Show threadJames_inthe_boxJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity You must be a real hoot at parties.... 
Show threadRev. caffinepwrd ☕Jul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity exactly. My choice was to not have children primarily for this reason. Family has made the other choice, so I'm doing my best to reverse the direction we are one and create a safety net for them if shit hits the fan.
Show threadPurple SkiesJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity damaging their hope now so they have lower expectations and feel less betrayed by your generation later
Show threadKrupoJul 12, 2024

@Leviamicky @SwiftOnSecurity you want a ruined sense of hope?

Introduce them to cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Show threadVery Human RobotJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity that is an AMAZING framing!
Show threadgaryJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity i see this as actually your own projection and not really what kids identify with - they are happy and optimistic for the most part unless they are forced to use internet explorer
Show threadJane DoeJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity Sure, it’s not good to tell children the world is ending. But the situation they face - really, all younger people face, is dire. I think it’s best to be honest with them.
Show threadTeflonTrout  he/himJul 11, 2024

@SwiftOnSecurity We never played the tooth fairy or santa games straight, we let them in on it from the beginning. We told them why their friends' parents might, and why we chose not to, and now we have kids that straight up tell us when they need help, ask questions Mrs. Trout and I never felt comfortable asking when we were kids, and we knew right away one of them was bi because they said so offhandedly during natural conversation.

You can tell the pure, unvarnished truth so long as you also provide context, how to learn more, and demonstrate how to deal with awful truths with strength and confidence.

Kids, it's gonna be a rougher world than it already is, but we'll be behind you 100% of the way. World won't end. It'll just keep getting more complicated, but we get tougher faster than life does. Keep your head, keep walking forward, and keep planning.

Show threadDarberoomJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity "Duck and cover"
Show threadCharles J Gervasi ⚡🛡️🥥Jul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity It's utter nonsense and cruel. Instead of telling them the problems before they have any tools to solve them, just give them the tools. If you want to talk about problems, talk about the big problems of the past that people solved, e.g. the Long Peace following WWII, reducing acid rain, reducing poverty, reducing ozone depletion, reducing crime, increasing respect for all people regardless of their group identities.
Show threadNicole ParsonsJul 11, 2024

@SwiftOnSecurity

To keep their wealth, kleptocrats are prepared to kill even their own children and grandchildren.

The $5 billion Charles Koch is leaving behind will create an unliveable planet, even for his own descendents.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2023/10/10/exclusive-charles-koch-koch-industries-has-given-more-than-5-billion-of-his-koch-industries-stock-to-two-nonprofits/

https://prospect.org/power/koch-brothers-best-investment/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/business/dealbook/kochs-and-other-madoff-investors-are-winners-in-fight-over-profits-held-abroad.html

Exclusive: Charles Koch Has Given More Than $5 Billion To Two Nonprofits

His previously unreported $4.3 billion gift to Believe in People is now the largest publicly disclosed donation to a 501(c)4–a type of nonprofit with fewer restrictions on lobbying and politics than traditional charities.

Forbes
Show threadRaymondJul 11, 2024

@SwiftOnSecurity The way to teach about the dying world is showing how things can recover, and what can be done.

People have already done things in the past to have regulations concerning pollution, and other problems existing in society. Even attempts to improve things still help in the long run.

Show threadWeedkillerJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity I’d tell them the billionaire class and megacorps are the villain. Individuals cannot fix systems and therefore it’s meaningless to blame them. It’s just guilt aesthetics and nothing else.
Show threadFrancheskoJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity how is it that you put out these bangers inbetween of making fun of security guys? Oh man, I love your style.
Show threadSimonoidJul 11, 2024
@SwiftOnSecurity the bus scene from utopia season 2 deeply impacted me for this reason.
https://youtu.be/rcx-nf3kH_M?si=QVFtRw3yND1hTOwI
Utopia - Season 2, Episode 6 - Opening scene

YouTube
Show threadThat Anonymous CowardJul 11, 2024

@SwiftOnSecurity

I feel like this just goes here Tay.

Show threadErsatzLogicJul 11, 2024

@SwiftOnSecurity On one hand, yeah to a point. On the other hand at least in the US my kid has been doing active shooter drills since preschool.

So, I don’t think they need me to tell them the way the world is. I just honestly answer as best I can about what can be done, what isn’t being done, etc. But you are right that a parent shouldn’t be further pounding home the terror any more than they need to keep their kid immediately safe. Kids have eyes and ears and brains enough to see a lot of it on their own.