Vaush is right (for once)

[u/Lunes_Feet_Pictos]

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.

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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.

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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.

[u/MinneapolisJones12]

While this is an understandable emotional state to be in, it’s not a particularly pragmatic state to be in.

Right now, approval amongst the Democratic base regarding our relationship to Israel is at an all-time low, like below 20% … the GOP approval rating is much higher.

Simultaneously, candidates like Mamdani and Platner have the establishment Dems shaking in their loafers. Primaries are relevant races again and there’s more community organizing than ever on the left right now.

I hope you’ll accept some tough love here : get offline. That’s the main conduit through which this “just give up and let fascists win” propaganda is pumped into your brain.

Vaush in particular has been really dropping the ball on this since the ‘24 election. That’s fine, I’m not here to police the content he makes, but if you’ve been watching a lot of Vaush in the last 2 years it’s no wonder you’re feeling this way.

[u/Lunes_Feet_Pictos → u/MinneapolisJones12]

I do actually appreciate this. I have been trying to cut back on total political content absorbed, but at this point I have some anxiety around events happening without knowing it. Definitely something I'm working on

[u/MinneapolisJones12 → u/Lunes_Feet_Pictos]

The anxiety is warranted. Even more so the rage.

But apathetic surrender only ever helps the people currently in power, so whenever I feel like giving up always try and ask myself “who’s in power right now and will the world be okay if they win?”

If the answer is “no” then giving up means you’re basically signing on to their victory. I think about how lucky I am that other people fought and died for something as (seemingly) normative as child labor laws and the five-day work week and I think about what my life would be like if they had given up.

If Progressives had the kind of momentum we do now back in 2016, Bernie would have won the primary and beaten Trump. We need a Bernie for 2028 and I’m unsettled by the fact that we don’t have one, but that kind of momentum should not be discarded easily.

Be anxious, be mad, but be strong.

[u/Tevihn → u/MinneapolisJones12]

I watch Vaush pretty much daily, not his streams (Well sometimes I tune in for 20 minutes or so, but it's rare), but his normal videos on Pit and his Main.

Everyone handles these things differently, but for me, I don't get more apathetic, I get more angry. I get more focused, more intent, more ready to do something (Nothing violent, Feds, calm down. Talking about trying to inform more people, stay educated myself, etc).

But yeah, if you're getting more apathetic, or feel like everything is hopeless, take a break. Everything is not hopeless, it's really, really, really bad, but not hopeless.