Yeah, it’s kinda like… the only song from them that I ever clicked with to be frank. And even that one has its own aspects to it that make me squint. Metal in general has long had an issue with people co-opting it. Keeps that “consumerism isn’t my jam” thing in my mind at the very least…

Fear Inoculum, by Tool. I could point at pretty much anything by them but that song speaks to me the most of their entire discography

Cheerleader and Russian Roulette by Porter Robinson too!

Uhhh. An Ember’s Arc by Be’lakor, and Falling by Staind. I could keep going but that’s more than plenty for now. :)

I used to (and sometimes relapse) struggle a lot with always wanting to be liked by everyone. Like, to a really bad extent. A huge bunch of reasons for it, too, and just as many if not more reasons as to why that effort didn’t work out (and instead got me very disliked).

To speak anecdotally… As I’ve gotten older (and I mean legitimately older, not just “internet older”), I’ve had to accept the bitter truth that I can’t just ask to sit at every one else’s table all the time. I didn’t ask for my existence to be approved by other people. Instead, I’ve had to adopt the mindset of setting up my own table and being strict about who I allow to sit with me. It gets easier as you get older, not to assume too much here. Just… IDK a lot of the time this kind of worry stems from people who are younger.

You are you (and that’s the most awesome thing you can be regardless and including of everything that entails), and people are going to have to take it or leave it. The trash takes itself out at that point. The important thing is not letting this be an excuse to not look inwards and try to heal what can be healed. Many have used this logic to instead eternally cope rather than working with what they have going on.

Oh, well uh, thank you! Sometimes it’s hard not to feel like I’m typing like Strong Bad in one of those Spemail episodes of Homestar Runner. Do you know what model typewriter you got?! That sounds exciting!

My husband says congrats on your vintage find! :) Have you been enjoying it?

As the other user said, yes, there is a whiteout ribbon. I’m pointing at the lever that lets you pick between the three selections here in this photo!

What I aim to do with the third reel, eventually, is to ink my own ribbon with a rainbow pattern. :3 That way we have Business Color, we have Oops I Kinda Screwed Up, and Whimsy

I think we have to observe what is actively happening in real time if we are to apply our science to the current time. Otherwise, we won’t be able to form strategy or adapt tactics appropriately.

Simply put, it does matter! But it matters in the sense that people in general (not just socialists) are aware that something is very very wrong and that something has to be done about it. People aren’t widely aware that there even is an alternative to capitalism (according to my talks with today’s youth, the common belief is that there will just be collapse or total annihilation…a lot of them don’t even know what communism actually is), and if they are they’re programmed to immediately identify certain shibboleths that socialists and communists use (as I’ve noted with my conversations with people older than myself who believe that this is “just how it is” and shrug, or the youth who are funneled the mental equivalent of hydrochloric acid directly into their brains by said older people). Right now is a key point in time to start actually trying to educate people in earnest, as now people’s minds are more open to “something has to change”.

Cuz everyone knows. It’s only getting more expensive to live. We all, regardless of where we are on the political map, have to stare at the same ridiculous fuel prices and the same equally ridiculous posts being made on Twitter/X that all sound exactly like the very things once only said in satire. Denial isn’t working like it used to; we can and should take advantage of this!

Only no backspace out of technicality. :) There is a backspace key, I just don’t have any whiteout to use with it. So uh, using that key just makes things mush together. You can see that on the page, actually! I make that exact mistake multiple times. x) Def its own skill ceiling though!

Focus on your immediate surroundings and use your knowledge of theory to subtly drop hints to people around you. Take advantage of the spaces you are forced to cohabitate with people to get the discussions going. Get people thinking and asking questions themselves. “What is all of this for?” in the break room at work. “I don’t feel like this is really giving me much helpful information for later in life, shouldn’t we be thinking and learning about this other thing instead?” in the school lunch room. “It would be kind of nice to be able to take a bus if my car breaks down, don’t you agree?” Talking to people on their level is key, and anyone can learn how to do this.

When I was working as a volunteer with Standards Not Force, something we were encouraged to do was something called “Gift Giving Mondays”. Where people were meant to do something small, the example Dr. Dillard gave was a gift card for neighbors that basically said something along the lines of “Hello neighbor, I hope this finds you well and I hope you have a great week. You are loved, you are seen, please remember that”. And the idea behind this gesture was to start cultivating a community back into neighborhoods be it suburban, rural or urban. I have since stopped working with them, but the practice I carry on into my own org as it stuck with me enough. It does work. This in itself may seem silly and small, but in fact nurturing your community into an interconnected health instead of the hyper-individualistic nature so many are in is in fact one the most important first steps to a revolution. This works in tandem with my previous paragraph to start unlearning the capitalist programming in people, without the use of the scary buzzwords that set people off. These two notes are key to any successful movement, and they are so easy that you can do these things from your very own living room.

When you focus on the area you can immediately influence, you may find yourself more powerful than you think. From there, once you get enough support, you can start talking about how you as a community can host a community center if your community lacks one. It’s all about seeing to people’s needs in your area. Giving a safety net where people obviously are truly lacking. Giving relief from the parasitic system that oppresses us now is how we give people the energy to start working together for a better tomorrow.

Edit: I know this is long, I kind of just got carried away! Hopefully this is helpful to anyone that wants to start making a difference in more than just posts on the internet. :) I’m of the belief that the sooner we abandon the internet for our cause, the better. We are surveilled here, after all, and the first rule of security culture is to be wary of any and all electronic communications. The internet is full of a lot of noise and pollution, trying to organize on it is like trying to set up a meetup in a mosh pit. Sure, you can probably do it, but most of the time there’s so much noise and bumping around that you’re more likely to drop your phone! Hence my focus on the local and in-person stuff a person can do!

Oh! Universal disarmament, when you say that do you mean globally? If so, what do you think the enforcement of the dictatorship of the proletariat would look like instead? Hopefully my questions don’t come across as nitpicking, I just like hearing the thought process behind what people have to say! :)

Unfortunately it’s to be expected, fascism tends to prey on the vulnerable and the isolated! It’s what the entirety of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” is about, in fact. It’s understandable why some people would pick it up, they’re told it would ease their pain and get them on their feet again. That’s where it’s our job to help them see it, and to give the support necessary for the trap to stop working.

I like this perspective the most! A lot of people CAN think about these things more critically and in-depth, the main thing is in letting people feel like they’ve figured it out on their own. The good ol’ Socratic method of teaching! :) Applies to inspiring people to action just as much as it does learning a song or algebra!