Apart from the obvious—calling congress, holding signs, donating to advocacy groups—what are some constructive ways to channel your frustration at the ongoing coup? What works? In particular, what (if anything) can you do at your desk when you’ve just read the headlines and you find yourself filled with impotent rage?
Is it worthwhile to engage with people online, and what would be the best way to do that? I thought that the Holocaust remembrance Twitter feed picturing Jewish refugees turned back by the US made a pretty powerful statement, but as a social media Luddite I’m not privy to the one weird trick of amassing 73.6k followers in less than a month.
Someone on discussion-board thread dealing with burnout and the different ways are dealing with this shitty situation came up with a lovely term for over-the-top analysis, twitter threads, and blog posts that wallow in worst-case speculation:
Anxiety porn.
Stop being frustrated by realizing that there’s only so much you can do, and driving yourself crazy isn’t going to help anyone.
I’m not a twelve-stepper or a Believer, but this sums things up nicely:
"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. "
Me: I cut back news, Twitter reading, and even Boing Boing reading to a bare minimum. I’m listening to podcasts about food and other people’s D&D sessions, and diverting the “Oh God, What Does That Latest Revelation Mean?” fruitless speculation into my old habit of writing first drafts of RPG material in my head.
You’re right, and I’ve said that exact thing to others, but it feels so perverse to keep telling myself to calm down and not think about it when I actually feel the motivation to do something.
This article made me feel a little better about the situation:
Huh, I don’t remember the story going down that way. I thought Tolstoy was basically a fatalist who thought the universe was a big depressing place and anyone who believed they were important enough to make a difference in the grand scheme of things was deluding themselves.
I’ve taken to talking about pet issues with a couple friends, individually. Sharing some ideas and things we’ve read or seen. I’ve also kept abreast of when people need crowds, and have decided to turn out from time to time, even if I go solo.
According to the article, that seems to be what he’s saying of Napoleon and the Tsar; that their fortunes are the cumulative effect of the individual choices/priorities of ordinary people. I haven’t read the book, so I can’t debate it, but, in any event, just give me this one thing, wo/man!
On another note, the advice from your other reply is proving helpful so far.
That is more or less true. Tolstoy basically kept returning to the theme “look at these men playing gods and generals, deluding themselves into thinking it was their actions that were responsible for burning down Moscow.”
