#Rules with a capital r

[hyperpotamianarch]

One of my biggest problems is my being fixted on certain Rules.

Now, it would've been bad enough if I really only held myself to those rules. Nobody cares if I only write poetry one specific way, or if I insist on reading only the most canon-compliant fics, or if I try being realistic and accurate when talking about alternate histories. Well, those things aren't exactly bad as they're all my choices, but they do close me in a very narrow box. And making myself stand up to particular high standards... well, we call that perfectionism and it's not all too good.

But the problem is, I occasionally find myself applying my Rules to other people. And that's a problem. No, this person doesn't actually have to stick to the rhyming patterns of the poem they write a continuation to, they can write it however they want. This joke is funny, it doesn't need to be edited for historical accuracy. If people are having fun and/or being creative, I have no right to criticize them because their fun and art isn't up to my Rules' standards.

I don't have to correct inconsequential perceived historical inaccuracies. As a matter of fact, I really should not to that as it's just pedantic bordering on patronizing and would most likely just serve to annoy people, especially with how inconsequential it usually is.

But it can drive me nuts sometimes. The poem is right there, it's not that hard to recognize the rhyming scheme; a joke about one person that sounded funny cannot be applied to another person with a completely different genre of writing; this alternate history couldn't occur because the key event isn't really when you thought it was. And the problem is me and my perfectionism, not people having fun without obeying these Rules. But it makes it very hard to not respond with corrections no one asked for, or write a condescending post seeking to inform about the topic but ending up heavily hinting at that one wrong thing I saw someone write.

I'm not very good at relaxing this urge. So I have a conundrum: either I say nothing and keep it all in my brain - in which case it will rise every now and then and drive me up the walls, because someone is wrong on the Internet and doesn't opperate by my Rules, or I break and write the post - only for it to heavily hint at where my frustration is directed at now, staying just shy of saying it outright and tagging the person who lit it up. And I don't think either of those is a good option. Bottling down my emotions would cause them to explode, and letting them run free will end up hurting people.

So yeah, I really would appreciate advice.

[daniel-nerd]

I'm here again, this time to celebrate the successful assassination of one of the biggest serial killers in human history, brian thompson!!

his annual income was 14.6 MILLION $. with 10 MILLION of it coming from his SALARY ALONE!!

he used an "AI" algorithm with 90% failure rate to deny patients life saving medical care, and put their families into debt so unfathomably big, their grand children wouldn't be able to pay it off even if they worked from the age of 12 to 100.

the hero biked off after shooting this domestic terrorist in the head point blank, and the police have no idea where to even begin to search because so many people wanted him dead.

sending hope and prayers to satan who need to now suffer this pig's existence for eternity.

may he be the first of many similar terrorists.

[bootleg-nessie]

Name a more iconic duo than anti-capitalist media and inevitably being co-opted by capitalists for profit

[flyin-shark]

You have intrinsic worth and value.

Don’t internalize capitalism

[maliciouscigarette]

I love the panopticon and its idea of constant self regulation stemming from constant observation as a metaphor for the state of constant surveillance and erosion of privacy the internet age has created 💕

[raspberrypie4u]

[jadewazzletime]

[kijetesantakalu-lanpan]

[deep-fried-onion]

I mean yeah....

[whereserpentswalk]

"It's too late doctor, he's been enshittified. There's no saving him." Gestures to former friend who's currently reciting an add, as he does every five to ten sentences. He will slap you if you say the word 'kill' in front of him.

[widebruh]

[autumnityk]

[ea-paperbits]

People out there becoming slaves to capitalism and the patriarchy in the name of growing up and being 'adults'

[bootleg-nessie]

Suddenly I care about deporting illegal immigrants

[bunnyinatree]

I was checking my Near and Mikami folder to remind myself which drawings I still want to finish, and I found this gem, which I used to pitch the idea for this fic to a couple of friends! C:

[image ID: an edited version of the presentation meme from Despicable Me. Gru is labeled "Near," and the presentation reads as follows: "I write Mikami's name in the Death Note and use him to produce concrete evidence that Light is Kira; I add a bunch of extra clauses for shits and giggles on the off-chance that the 23-Day Rule is fake; We end up happily married to one another (and we're both aroace)." This last step, of course, causes Near/Gru to do a double take. End image ID.]

[gayvampyr]

Do you support prison abolition /paying prisoners a living wage / making being able to vote more accessible to everyone?

I like your stances and opinions and your jokes but I'm genuinely curious on this one.

(This is inspired by some of the comments under one of your posts talking about how we should just make democracy more livable under capitalism, and while I disagree with that being the ONLY thing we need to do, it does kinda make me think about how many people think we need to get better without abolishing prisons or at least treating our prisoners better than we are treating them currently.)

hi! i'm not sure which post you're referring to but I'm actually anti-capitalist. I think we need to dismantle capitalism as a system because it is inherently inhumane, working exactly as intended and therefore cannot be "fixed" without restructuring it entirely from the ground up; the devaluation of human labor and environmental destruction for profit is not a bug, it's a feature. i could delve into the kind of economic system that i think should replace it after dismantling it, however it's more of a thought exercise and until it becomes a plausible reality, i would rather focus on how we can make capitalism livable for the time being because we have no other choice. for example we could start by lowering rent, instituting a 4-day work week, and establishing support networks for homeless people. i'm not an economist so it's not like i have all the answers but according to the results from other countries who have applied these practices, it improves quality of life and the economy significantly.

as for prisons, i'm pro-abolition. you can check out my prison abolition tag for more information, but essentially prisons exist in this day and age as an industry that profits off of slave labor. many of our laws and their enforcers unfairly target minorities and lower class people, and the denial of convicts the right to vote is just another way our government strips vulnerable communities of their political power, autonomy, and supposedly inalienable rights. aside from the conviction of innocent people and people who did commit a crime but ultimately did no harm, i don't think it's the right of any individual (or government, for that matter) to imprison others. i think people tend to forget that "criminals" are human beings and deserving of the same rights as everyone else, and it is human nature to make mistakes. the important thing is the opportunity to do better. militarist propaganda has done an incredible job of convincing us that convicts are amoral and undeserving of our sympathy, turning society in general against them and destroying any sort of safety net they might have had or needed otherwise. and people are too busy clinging to the notion that criminals are subhuman and deserving of whatever punishment is dealt that they can't see that this is a slide into fascism, and that they can just as easily become "other" should they find themselves on the receiving end of the system. we are very close to living in a surveillance state, which means any minor offense or slip-up has the potential to completely decimate your chances at getting a job, applying for college, getting a loan, receiving housing, and especially being able to have a say in elections. it also makes you more likely to be arrested again on account of "suspected illegal activity", so your record follows you around for the rest of your life.

sorry this got so long but yeah, essentially capitalism and the prison industry are inhumane and should be abolished.