this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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I realized the other day about how much I’ve internalized the violence of capitalism. I was driving down the road and there was a man with a sign that said he was hungry and needed help and my first reflexive feeling was annoyance.
That’s insane, that’s monstrous, that made me stop.
Here is a human being, standing there just holding a sign and I’m annoyed, even angry at them. The system is set up so that there will be people that can’t be exploited by capital and that’s their lot, to stand on the side of the road begging for scraps.
You see it so frequently in capitalism that your choices are to be sad for them, be angry at them, or ignore them entirely.
Maybe I wasn’t annoyed or angry at that man, but at myself for hardening my heart to his plight, and at the system we are stuck in that put him there.
Same thoughts over here, friend. The thing keeping me sane is that I started volunteering. Look for the helpers, an all that (Mr Rogers). Shit is fucked and food scarcity is a thing for a lot of people in our immediate vicinity. I found a weekly breakfast through a local political org, but find something that speaks to you. Mutual aid groups, or do a shoe drive with your parish, or hell - one lady just collects bags of clothes donations from offerup and shows up when we're serving bfast with a folding table and people can grab what they need.
I carry a lot of rage at "the system" and helping my neighbors goes a very long way in keeping it focused where it might make some change for the better.