Is changing your local community meaningful in a world that is irrevocably evil?

[YUPPIE]

I want to know if changing your community (or local residence) in the real world or striving to, from violent racism, misogyny, and/or homophobia/transphobia is ultimately meaningful and worth it. Just because when you consider the world won't ever change and this is all in human nature, doesn't it ultimately seem hopeless and futile? Or is it still a victory worth pursuing? You may end prejudice against women somewhere, but it won't stop violent rape or slavery in daylight from being the norm somewhere else in the world.

For the people that pursue good things like this, I really wonder how they feel about this

[Gungnir]

I've come to the point where I can instantly spot a Tsugunai thread from the title alone and I don't even frequent MMO champ.

[Ghostpanther]

Where you live absolutely can make a difference in what you are referring to. Ether negatively or positively. There are places in the US I will avoid even visiting. Let alone live there.

[Shalcker]

I want to know if changing your community (or local residence) in the real world or striving to, from violent racism, misogyny, and/or homophobia/transphobia is ultimately meaningful and worth it. Just because when you consider the world won't ever change and this is all in human nature, doesn't it ultimately seem hopeless and futile? Or is it still a victory worth pursuing? You may end prejudice against women somewhere, but it won't stop violent rape or slavery in daylight from being the norm somewhere else in the world.

For the people that pursue good things like this, I really wonder how they feel about this

Why wouldn't you limit scope to within-community changes to limit violence, racism, and mysoginy/phobias against members of community itself? Small-scale is how humans work, and that should be generally doable.

Why should you care about rest of the world? Why should you even aim to get entire world be to your liking?

[Gungnir]

I've never seen the little orange dude under a profile wtf did you do

It's apparently to message my AIM account, y'know AOL Instant Messenger?
Apparently it disappeared back in 2017, didn't even know that. Think I made that account back in 1998.

[shadowmouse]

More importantly, somewhere there will be a house on fire. Is it worth trying to prevent fires in your own home in a world that is irrevocably combustible? Should you try to extinguish a fire in your home if one happens, or since somewhere someone will die in a fire should you simply break out the marshmallows and sing Light 'Em Up as long as your lungs hold out. After all fires are inevitable. /facepalm

[Independent voter]

"irrevocably evil?"



What makes you think the world is "irrevocably evil?".

[unbound]

I want to know if changing your community (or local residence) in the real world or striving to, from violent racism, misogyny, and/or homophobia/transphobia is ultimately meaningful and worth it. Just because when you consider the world won't ever change and this is all in human nature, doesn't it ultimately seem hopeless and futile? Or is it still a victory worth pursuing? You may end prejudice against women somewhere, but it won't stop violent rape or slavery in daylight from being the norm somewhere else in the world.

For the people that pursue good things like this, I really wonder how they feel about this

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the whole world will be clean." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

[voxnor]

First, and I know others have said this, but I recommend talking to someone OP - a friend, therapist, etc.

Second, don't let these fools on here get to you - they will send you lots of shiny quotes about how one person makes a difference. In rare cases, that is true. For the most part, however, everything you or I do in our lives is insignificant. This is why my Wife and I pursue a fairly selfish lifestyle - embrace the chaos of the universe and the temporary nature of your existence, and find enjoyment and comfort wherever and whenever you can.

In the end, we are just space dust.

[PC2]

In the end, we are just space dust.

Space dust with cosmic potential though. It's not what we're made of that is important, but rather what is our repertoire of options.

[voxnor]

And while this is a valid way of living, hedonism, etc, was always attractive to humanity, it should be no surprise that we come to this:

Nature crisis: Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction'
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783

I know a few hedonistis, some are self-aware enough to recognize that is what they are, and are proud of it.

I am as proud of my life philosophy as the next self-aware man or woman. Would you expect different?

That said, the article you linked is not only the result of my or other's hedonism. It may be a small factor, but as the study states, the massive increase in population is one of the largest contributors.

There are many good studies out there, which I will let you find should you wish to, but at the end of the day the problem's are systemic and corporate, and the individual's actions near meaningless (mathematically speaking).

[willtron]

The world isn't evil, it's indifferent to you. There's a big difference.

[voxnor]

Space dust with cosmic potential though. It's not what we're made of that is important, but rather what is our repertoire of options.

This is a nice and rosy way to put it, but frankly not true. Compared to all the cosmos, all that was, is, and will ever be in the known universe, how does your 'repertoire of options' stack up?

Yes, each day we face many choices and those represent free will and choice. But the end result on a large scale is insignificantly affected by most of us.

Put another way - let's imagine one more German family spoke up to try and stop the concentration camps. Would the holocaust have been prevented? No. What about 10 families? No. 100? Nope. 1000? Unlikely. 10,000? Perhaps. But you might say "if I don't, then we don't reach 10,000". Not the point - the point is that your action, by yourself, is mathematically insignificant to the outcome.

[Daws]

Just because when you consider the world won't ever change and this is all in human nature

Actually the world is constantly changing, sometimes for the better sometimes not so much. The only true problem is people who stomp there feat and demand instant gratification be paid to there own view on how the world should be. It can take decades for society to change but it does. All each generation can truly aim to do is leave society a little bit better by the time they are gone, grand sweeping change never happens without serious pain so take the small steps or be willingly to literally kill to make the world the way you demand it be.

[Unholyground]

Evil is a construct.

[PC2]

This is a nice and rosy way to put it, but frankly not true. Compared to all the cosmos, all that was, is, and will ever be in the known universe, how does your 'repertoire of options' stack up?

Yes, each day we face many choices and those represent free will and choice. But the end result on a large scale is insignificantly affected by most of us.

Put another way - let's imagine one more German family spoke up to try and stop the concentration camps. Would the holocaust have been prevented? No. What about 10 families? No. 100? Nope. 1000? Unlikely. 10,000? Perhaps. But you might say "if I don't, then we don't reach 10,000". Not the point - the point is that your action, by yourself, is mathematically insignificant to the outcome.

Our repertoire of options stack up at the highest possible level. It's called Turing completeness. Arbitrarily anything that can be done or built can be done or built by us, period.

[voxnor]

Our repertoire of options stack up at the highest possible level. It's called Turing completeness. Arbitrarily anything that can be done or built can be done or built by us, period.

Not sure if you have a different definition... but Turing Completeness is typically used to describe programming languages and architecture that are capable of constructing a universal Turing machine.

What this has to do with the meaningless of individual contribution relative to societal problems - well that escapes me.

[Frogguh]

Here I was, reading you talking about ridding a community of evil, and I was thinking murder, abuse, robbery, rape, selling meth, things like that. Yet you apparently identify evil as...racism. And sexism. Things that, at worst, make someone a jerk. Hardly evil.

And recognizing that males are not women is a virtue these days, so that should not be on the list under any circumstances.

[Elkfingers]

Yes, and this thread is ridiculous.

I'm all for taking steps that improve conditions for everyone in society, and there's shitloads to be done still, but the idea that the world is irrevocably evil and that nothing can be done to change anything is fatalistic nonesense. The idea of positive change in a community isn't even logically compatible with an irrevocably evil world. That's not what irrevocable means.

You're literally typing this on your computer, in a house, with easy access to food and other basic necessities nearby. If you go outside, I very much doubt that you're even remotely likely to be confronted with some sort unspeakable evil the minute you leave your house. If you look back at the lives of the majority of people in primitive societies, or even a couple centuries ago, you'd be hard fucking pressed to say that things aren't getting better on average.