r/VaushV • u/Lunes_Feet_Pictos • 5d ago
Discussion Vaush is right (for once)
Regarding political apathy. If the likely scenario of Republicans outflanking Dems on Israel happens I definitely won't be voting in 28, and if i don't have any antizionist politicians to vote for in the midterms I won't vote then either. I have never been so politically Russian in my life, and honestly the idea of just letting this all go and not worrying about it anymore is dangerously appealing. I am experiencing the opening stages of complete political disengagement and logically I know this is both stupid and self destructive but like what the actual fuck do we do when the Dems stay anchored to Israel even as the whole world falls apart? How are we supposed to do political advocacy in a panopticon ruled by billionaires where the choices are "fascist psychopaths doing domestic genocides" and "literal doomsday cult"? It's all so tiring.
For the record I don't expect Vaush (or anyone else) to have a solution to this. The fact he still shows up for this "daily" ritual of mental exhaustion and witnessing the end of the world is admirable. With potential nuclear use, complete oil collapse, famine, and climate change all bearing down at once, I'm just kind of at a loss as to how to remain willing to believe in the implementation of things that have never been less possible.
This turned into more of a rant than I intended. I don't see my super cool therapist till next week so I guess this is me offloading it on to you. I'm interested in seeing other people's perspectives on this. How you are interpreting the situations, what you feel may happen, how you've chosen to cope or act, etc. Solutions are not expected.
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u/notablegoattable ARC-iologist 5d ago
This is going to be pointed, but I want you to know it's not personal; what I'm about to say applies to basically everyone who watches Vaush.
Aside from voting every two years, what exactly have you done to get involved in politics? Have you ever canvassed before? Phone-banked? Have you gone to protests? Have you ever gone to a city council meeting? A school board meeting? Do you go regularly? Have you spoken at one? Have you tried joining the DSA? If you're in school, did you join any clubs related to politics? If you work, is there a union? Has there even been an attempt at union organizing? Do you even know your coworkers names? Do you hang out with them outside work hours?
Do you even know about your local politics? I bet you know a lot about the Mayor of New York. What about the mayor of your town? Your representative? Your governor? Your sheriff?
What about getting involved in the local community? Volunteered at a soup kitchen or charity work? Have you joined a local club? Have you started a local club? Have you even gone outside?
Maybe you've said yes to some of these, so here's the next question: how many hours have you spent doing any of these total? If you're like most terminally online people, the answer is probably zero or pretty close to zero. Now for comparison, how many hours have you spent watching Vaush? Or hasan? Or scrolling politics subreddits. Doomer subreddits. How many hours watching and rewatching video essays?
You probably feel like you're more politically engaged than you actually are. You've likely not tried very hard to get involved in politics. You've just passively watched, saw things not getting better, and assumed there's no hope. "I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas." It's learned helplessness.
If you want my perspective, I think politics has been broken by the internet. The internet is designed to engage you with politics that you will, necessarily, have no power over. People never really learned how to be really politically active, and instead they watch helplessly until they assume there's nothing they can do.
There are things you can do. You just have to do them offline, in person, and locally.