fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #7021 ]

⌈ Secret Post #7021 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

All spoiler warning/content warning stuff today!

01. [SPOILERS for Star Trek: Academy]

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02. [SPOILERS for season 2 of The Night Manager]

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03. [WARNING for discussion of JKR/transphobia/etc]

[Calvin and Hobbes]

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04. [WARNING for discussion of pedophilia, CSA]

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05. [WARNING for discussion of CSAM, racism, etc]

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06. [WARNING for discussion of gender dysphoria, blood/gore]

[Blue Eye Samurai]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1001.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

05. [WARNING for discussion of CSAM, racism, etc]
https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/28fc629098ca.png

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and there is also no virtue in your suffering to do the impossible. You cannot pour from an empty cup and must take care of yourself first before you can help anyone else. You'll still save a life, even if that life is your own.

I agree with the other anon. You can’t help others by setting yourself on fire. If the game brings you joy and laughter, then it’s one of your tools and you should use it.

In the grand scheme of things, as much as the racism in heartopia is a turn-off to me personally, playing a game you already own doesn't seem bad to me! Here's the thing, it's NOT feasible to only engage with things that are unproblematic, and the whole digital-and-increasingly-real-world panopticon we live in makes every choice feel like a thing we're being judged for.

There are a lot of ways to mitigate harm while still... living in the world. We all have to eat, we all have to buy the food we eat somewhere, and all we can do is try to make the best choices we can when it comes to what we buy and where we shop.

The world increasingly demands we have smartphones-- it can be difficult to get/stay employed without one, if not downright impossible. The best thing you can do there is to just keep using the phone you already own for as long as it works and can be repaired. You don't have to feel guilty every time you use it. You're not a bad person, but you're right, the world right now is on fire and it's pulling us all in a million directions, giving us all too many things to HURT over and not enough power as individuals. There ARE ways you have power, ways you can make changes, even if they're small, but you cannot do that if you aren't being fed. Not just physically, but spiritually.

If you know people who are upset about heartopia, who have been personally hurt by the racism present in the game/the attitudes of the devs... there's no reason to bring the game up to them. Playing a game you already own, in your own home, with someone else who finds enjoyment in it, and enjoying that game with them, is not an action that is hurting people.

I agree with this. I'm not going to say that it's completely impossible to live in a way that does not somehow contribute to exploitation and harm to people somewhere in the world, but it's very very close to impossible. Any time you buy any product or service from or made by a corporation, you can be sure that there is a terrible person who financially benefits from your purchase. It's just inevitable. I think we should try to minimize the amount of harm we cause, but also like you said we still have to live in this world somehow. For most of us, it's simply not feasible to buy stuff that is 100% ethically made and has components/ingredients that are 100% ethically sourced and is sold by a company that is 100% ethical.

I think we should try to minimize the amount of harm we cause,

This is the part I think most people miss. Of course there's no way to know if something is 100% clean, and it's ridiculous to expect anyone to go without basic needs, but the number of people throwing their hands up at anything and going "tee hee oh well, might as well enjoy the thing I know actively hurts others and make no adjustments on my part" is concerning.

Take a step back, OP, take a few deep breaths, and give yourself some grace. You cannot simply cut everything out of your life that has some 'problem' attached - that would mean you'd be living in a hole somewhere. That's just not fair to yourself. You do actually get to enjoy your life, have some fun things, and for sure should do what's best for your mental health *first*.
I'm in the US, too. I limit my media of news to about 15 minutes a day and the occasional rant with a co-worker because otherwise I'd be smashing things - and people - with a baseball bat.
I still read HP fanfic. I still use my smart phone. I still drive a car. I'm just as mindful as I can be without making myself crazy. You're gonna be okay. You don't have to lose the thing(s) that really make you happy.

I feel a lot of compassion for you because it is very easy to fall into a deep depression over the state of things. I think often of the waning days of empires, especially Ottoman and British.

Yes, unfortunately, everything you can touch has the stain of these things. And worse still, you had nothing to do with it in the fist place. You did not build the structures that allow child abuse or racism. But they are what was handed to you.

But a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. The hardest thing for us who love being online is that, at some point, we have to find community IRL. We have to walk outside and say to someone these things that we can only put into text. And yet, this has been the greatest cure for my despair. It doesn't have to be the full anarchist activism living in the commune either. You can always start small by just finding people who are also scared and angry and want to do something. Helping doesn't have to be going to a protest either: it can be organizing care spaces or decompression spaces, bringing cookies to a meeting, anything small that feels manageable.

It's very human to feel these ways. But you are not dirty or wrong or powerless. The sun rises again even when it feels like the world is ending. You can still do good in the world by doing good in your neighborhood and community.

Take care of yourself, OP. Your heart is tender. This is not a weakness.

Gonna rant about the Oscars here. Tangentially related...

That opening monologue joke at the Oscars about the UK actually arresting their pedophiles and the whole room laughing and clapping really pissed me off. Motherfuckers each and every one of you in that room have partied with Epstein and Diddy. Fuck the FUCK off.

This is my way of saying I agree with you, OP. The worst people just keep gaining power and shirking consequences.

It also shows they're happy that there are any places that don't arrest pedophiles because if everywhere did, how could they have made that joke and gotten that sweet applause at the Oscars?

I didn't read your whole secret, if I'm being honest, but I'm definitely the same. It's definitely a sign of depression, and unfortunately it's hard to avoid. I wish you the best, and for laughter to return to you OP! It sucks.

I don't wanna armchair diagnose, but you may be developing moral OCD. I'd take a deep breath, step back from any "radical" content you see that moralizes everything, and focus on helping those around you than The Ethics of Entertainment.

I used to be the same way, and... after awhile, my empathy was browbeaten to the point I stopped caring. My autism gives me low empathy unfortunately. People who nitpick over how you're racist problematic transphobic for watching a Disney movie have nothing better to do than make others miserable. I pirate music, I never buy new video games, and everyone show I watch is 15+ years old, I don't stream shows. Like, I always wanna tell these moralizers, okay Mr. "You have blood on your hands" Tankie, what more can I do to be ~ethical?

[ SECRET POST #7021 ]

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Oh OP, Your Heart is Tender

I feel you OP

Re: I feel you OP

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