@glyph I’ve read this three times and paradoxically I find myself unsure of what much would change should I agree with it or not, but I keep coming back to one axiom I think I can’t understand: that we “have to keep trying” to muster hope.
Why?
I don’t mean this in a doomer way, but more in the way of not understanding the purpose it plays. I’m here, now. What does my opinion of the future affect?
@glyph Great post. The footnote alone is probably something I should reread from time to time. I'm particularly susceptible to vague sentiments that software used to be better and is getting worse, particularly when it comes to bloat. Though there are problems in that area to be sure.
@glyph Just finished that YouTube video "How the Far-Right Weaponizes Nostalgia". As soon as he used the word "geek" in the part about people getting worked up about changing canonical characters, I remembered your distinction between "geek" and "nerd"(https://blog.glyph.im/2012/10/the-lexicology-of-personal-development.html). I hope I'm more nerd than geek.
@glyph Probably mostly because of my blindness, I didn't take in a lot of the usual pop culture stuff (video games, TV shows, movies) growing up, so I don't have much if any nostalgia for those. I do, from time to time, indulge a bit in the nostalgia of retro computing, in my case pulling up an Apple II emulator. But it doesn't take long to remember that newer systems actually are better, particularly in accessibility.
@matt The main rule that I think danilo proposes is "support the OP", which these comments were. When he talks about "journaling" I think he is talking about being combative in a way which is just expressing one's own anxieties rather than engaging in a real conversation
@glyph There's one thing I get nostalgic for which is possibly more dangerous, and that's the music I grew up with. Since I grew up in the American evangelical Christian subculture, I primarily listened to the genre called "contemporary Christian music". Musically, it imitated mainstream styles, but of course the lyrics carry messages I no longer believe in (I'm now an atheist). And of course, now American evangelicals are a big part of the far right.
@matt I just grew up in the regular 80s without much of a subcultural tint to it, and let me tell you, when I go back to revisit some cherished childhood media to share it with my child… woof. There's a lot of extremely problematic stuff in a lot of "harmless" kids media from back then, even from the most anodyne mainstream stuff.
@glyph thank you for writing this. I've recently been listening to a book about "Hope" by Jane Goodall and it really helped me rethink my perspective. Your post is similarly thought provoking. Thanks.
I have recently had a series of interactions where someone I really respect has posted something doomer-y, and in trying to push back I'm worried I came off as a reply guy. I usually have good luck engaging with folks (I try to do it in this spirit https://hachyderm.io/@danilo/111712288660479545 ) but this topic lends itself to coming off as "well, actually…" in a response. So hopefully this stand-alone post will get across the important idea I want to convey without being annoying in somebody's mentions.
@tef for me the main thing is listening intently for feedback. I think my replies are generally pretty good, and people seem to enjoy it when I engage, but when I get negative feedback I carefully re-read everything and try to internalize how I might have gone wrong. Like even if I think I am absolutely 100% correct and totally disagree with the OP, I still generally take negative feedback from them as a signal that their replies were the wrong place to express myself
@tef and, in the spirit of giving that sort of feedback, I can recall many times when I received a reply from you and it was a treat to read, but I can't really think of a time when I was annoyed. A+ posting, carry on
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