So, I don't really talk about politics on here! That's not why you're here, and there are hundreds of other folks to follow. But today I can't help myself. Today, there's too much to think about, too much to chew on, too much wrong to just remain silent.
Today, I was talking to my hair stylist - idle chatter to fill time - and I mentioned I was reading the news. She asked me if anything was happening, and what she should know.
I downplayed it. How could I not?
This woman, let's call her Ann, is a lovely, progressive, very ordinary, older Canadian. Skilled and kind and professional and politically disengaged.
Ann knew about the tariffs, and a bit about ICE. The broad strokes, that you might pick up by accident just living your life. But the details, and especially the sheer magnitude and horror and how extremely *not normal* this all is... hadn't been impressed on her.
How do you tell someone these things, when the media and our leaders are treating this as business as usual: just another setback. Because it can't happen here!
How do you tell someone these things, and convey that this time it's different. This time it's not hyperbole, it's not politicking, it's not bait.
How do you tell someone these things without coming across as hysterical, conspiratorial, radical, insane? Because this shouldn't be real. How can it be?
I don't know what to do. I don't know what to tell you. I don't know how to fix this.
But I do know that we *have* to reach the good-hearted, out-of-touch, apolitical masses: people like Ann. It feels so cruel, but yet...
It's not just about convincing them of the righteousness of the cause-de-jour, or getting them to vote and sign your petition. These people need to know and understand what's happening, because their lives and their businesses depend on it.
@yoh Yeah :( That willful ignorance is bliss. And it feels... so cruel and hard and unfair and impossible to take it away from them. But one shouldn't just sleepwalk into the future. Not this future.
Even here in Canada the effects will be staggering.
@alice_i_cecile, not only in Canada but around the globe. That's due to what people are made of, unfortunately. No one can fix them.
So, the only way in such situations is to adopt and take the best from everyone, even that ignorance for some topics. Otherwise, just denounce incoming shit to preserve enough energy for something valuable and important at least for yourself. Then with that ground it's possible to keep a tiny bit of the world in good shape.
I understood that quite late and wasted at least a few years on things that I couldn't influence at all. Therefore, I wish you not to repeat the same shit, but care about you and your closest circle, and act when there's a window or a right person.
@alice_i_cecile Maybe right on topic, maybe not. I (very surprisingly) found out that the andor tv show did very well at showing to (particularly non-political) viewers how fascism takes over. Whether you are part of the rebellion or not, whether you're a part of the empire workers or not, you're all suspects and if "confirmed", your rights are suspended.
Anyway, very dark times and no clue how we can make this better at our levels. Awareness is the first important step but we need good speakers to come in (and there are already doing this! We need to share their speeches more!).
Some nice quotes from the show can be seen in this thread: https://toot.cat/@RickiTarr@beige.party/114817714174196133
Alice I. Cecile
Yoh Deadfall
Guillaume Gomez