4 ms·

This is my strategy as well. There are some issues I care about enough to follow, mostly related to lgbtq+ topics and technical regulations affecting my industr

This is my strategy as well. There are some issues I care about enough to follow, mostly related to lgbtq+ topics and technical regulations affecting my industry. But for the larger political sphere and what I hesitantly refer to as "headlines that belong in tabloids" I actively do not care. It'll take me about a day or two (per candidate) to get back up to speed when elections come around, so I can do my civic duty and vote. Beyond that I don't let it consume my life. I've got stuff to do, and not very much time left to do it.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
That's kind of my attitude. I have a number of friends that are addicted to Outrage Pron (almost all media -mainstream or fringe- qualifies). They -literally- spend almost every waking hour, doomscrolling. One of them occasionally forwards videos to me, that are clearly edited for angst, but he takes as gospel. AI will make that kind of stuff much, much worse. I had a friend tell me "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" He thought it was a clever, brand new saying (Spoiler: It's not —I first heard it, in the 1970s). I've found that I can get a lot done, when I pay attention to the things over which I have direct control.
- 0points 1y ago
  > "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" Yea.. that outrage won't lead to any change. On the contrary, being in this state of distress eventually makes you unable to cope, breaking you down.
  - ModernMech 1y ago
    Being complacent also won't lead to any change. People need to be outraged but they also have to do something about it. You have to pick a lane -- if you're going to not do anything about it, then commit to not doing anything and bury your head. If you're going to get outraged, you can't just go into work every day like everything is normal, the cognitive dissonance will get you. Outrage needs an outlet.
    - quantummagic 1y ago
      > Outrage needs an outlet. You've really let yourself off the hook there; that's way too easy to say. What exactly do you suggest, that would make an actually useful contribution to improving the situation?
      - JKCalhoun 1y ago
        You're right that optimism has a difficult job of looking for tangible, actionable things while nihilism can stretch out in a hammock and watch the world burn. Historical situations like our own might be a good place to start to look for solutions.
        quantummagic 1y ago
        > Historical situations like our own might be a good place to start to look for solutions. If you have a suggestion about something practical, that can actually help, please speak up. Offering more platitudes is just way too easy; it feels good, maybe, but it's really just an admission that we don't have a good outlet for our outrage. Which is why so many of us spend our days venting online, because apparently (judging from the lack of concrete ideas offered) it's about as effective as anything else we could do.
        cindyllm 1y ago
        [dead]
        JKCalhoun 1y ago
        I know little about history. I had hoped perhaps you did — or that you could seek out someone who does.
        quantummagic 1y ago
        Why are you afraid to say "off with their heads"? Is it because you know that it's not actually useful advice that anyone can or will follow today? If you can't even bring yourself to utter it online, why should you expect anyone to take it as a serious suggestion? I ask again, do you have any practical advice that people can follow today?
waltbosz 1y ago
> I'll take me about a day or two (per candidate) ... I have so much trouble deciding on primary elections. There are often 5 primary candidates, and 10 seats to decide upon. And I've found no good tool to help evaluate their policy and record. I want some sort of score board website that tracks their political and public behaviors towards various policies.
- Esophagus4 1y ago
  I’ve found sites like Balletopedia to be good starting points when I do my research. Then I generally go to the candidates individual websites or see what their main talking points are. You don’t always get a sense for everything, but you kind of figure out who they are in general. From an actual example of a candidate’s official Facebook page in my state, if you see them post something like “how come the MAINSTREAM media isn’t covering the BLACK on WHITE crime?!” you generally don’t need to do much research on them after that.
  - waltbosz 1y ago
    That's my standard process too, ballotpedia > candidate website. But campaign websites often feel like general bland taking points repeated by all the primary candidates.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago

That's kind of my attitude. I have a number of friends that are addicted to Outrage Pron (almost all media -mainstream or fringe- qualifies). They -literally- spend almost every waking hour, doomscrolling. One of them occasionally forwards videos to me, that are clearly edited for angst, but he takes as gospel. AI will make that kind of stuff much, much worse. I had a friend tell me "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" He thought it was a clever, brand new saying (Spoiler: It's not —I first heard it, in the 1970s). I've found that I can get a lot done, when I pay attention to the things over which I have direct control.

0points 1y ago
> "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" Yea.. that outrage won't lead to any change. On the contrary, being in this state of distress eventually makes you unable to cope, breaking you down.
- ModernMech 1y ago
  Being complacent also won't lead to any change. People need to be outraged but they also have to do something about it. You have to pick a lane -- if you're going to not do anything about it, then commit to not doing anything and bury your head. If you're going to get outraged, you can't just go into work every day like everything is normal, the cognitive dissonance will get you. Outrage needs an outlet.
  - quantummagic 1y ago
    > Outrage needs an outlet. You've really let yourself off the hook there; that's way too easy to say. What exactly do you suggest, that would make an actually useful contribution to improving the situation?
    - JKCalhoun 1y ago
      You're right that optimism has a difficult job of looking for tangible, actionable things while nihilism can stretch out in a hammock and watch the world burn. Historical situations like our own might be a good place to start to look for solutions.
      - quantummagic 1y ago
        > Historical situations like our own might be a good place to start to look for solutions. If you have a suggestion about something practical, that can actually help, please speak up. Offering more platitudes is just way too easy; it feels good, maybe, but it's really just an admission that we don't have a good outlet for our outrage. Which is why so many of us spend our days venting online, because apparently (judging from the lack of concrete ideas offered) it's about as effective as anything else we could do.
        cindyllm 1y ago
        [dead]
        JKCalhoun 1y ago
        I know little about history. I had hoped perhaps you did — or that you could seek out someone who does.
        quantummagic 1y ago
        Why are you afraid to say "off with their heads"? Is it because you know that it's not actually useful advice that anyone can or will follow today? If you can't even bring yourself to utter it online, why should you expect anyone to take it as a serious suggestion? I ask again, do you have any practical advice that people can follow today?

waltbosz 1y ago

> I'll take me about a day or two (per candidate) ... I have so much trouble deciding on primary elections. There are often 5 primary candidates, and 10 seats to decide upon. And I've found no good tool to help evaluate their policy and record. I want some sort of score board website that tracks their political and public behaviors towards various policies.

Esophagus4 1y ago
I’ve found sites like Balletopedia to be good starting points when I do my research. Then I generally go to the candidates individual websites or see what their main talking points are. You don’t always get a sense for everything, but you kind of figure out who they are in general. From an actual example of a candidate’s official Facebook page in my state, if you see them post something like “how come the MAINSTREAM media isn’t covering the BLACK on WHITE crime?!” you generally don’t need to do much research on them after that.
- waltbosz 1y ago
  That's my standard process too, ballotpedia > candidate website. But campaign websites often feel like general bland taking points repeated by all the primary candidates.