The pressure of the ongoing long train of personal hypocrisy is mounting towards a zenith. Standing up for what's right means going against the grain when this is necessary, and going against the grain when necessary means making a scene when this is necessary. Yet in too many situations where all due considerations call for making a scene, I fail to do so, leaving me feeling disgusted with myself, like a servile lackey who cannot withstand even the slightest bit of outside pressure. I worry what will happen, then, when the mounting pressure of my hypocrisy does meet its zenith, and in any case this situation is completely unsustainable and needs to be ended as soon as possible for my own sake and for the sake of all the creatures of the Earth.
Yet I still feel completely lost as to how to actually address this fatal character flaw, after trying to solve it for years, and so I would like anyone's advice. Others' advice probably won't be of much help, but it's still probably better than nothing.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
You have a strong insistence on decorum/propriety. Or as psychologists might measure it, a 9th decile of Agreeability. This is a good trait, but not everybody deserves it.
In my life I've found that the more genuine and supportive friends I have around me, the easier it is to chase away the constant fear of isolation.
Some of it is a matter of habituation. You won't go straight to "making a scene" without having a bit of experience contesting things and asserting yourself at lower stakes. Everything has to be built up; it's very rare that a full-fledged capacity appears out of nowhere.
At a certain point the anger makes the long-term consequences blur into the background.
same.. when people go off on screeds during lunch at work telling everyone how america is the best country on earth and how the banking system we have is the best system anyone has ever come up with i silently tune out instead of going off on them.. mostly because everyone thinks im a complete idiot, and that makes me feel like if i speak up they're only going to believe what they believe even more
Is this a pun or legitimate advice?
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
Definitely real, I was going to suggest something along these lines. The DM of my DND group is a big theater person, and through him I have gotten pulled into more activities requiring acting out a role in public. That has definitely gotten me more comfortable acting out or drawing attention to myself in public.
Real advice.
Choir kids might also work in a pinch if you don't have any local theater kids.
You feel the fear and you keep moving despite it. That's how.
Don't get me wrong, it took me a long time and the loss of a lot of fucks to be able to just say what I thought at any given moment.
This is an important question and I wish I had a good answer, because I can think of at least one occasion where I should've made a scene but was afraid to do so (although mostly for long term consequences rather than short term discomfort). For opsec reasons I won't be too specific, but some strangers came to promote an extremely ghoulish opportunity for a course I was taking, involving a live presentation and a question session. In an ideal world I would've quickly used that question session to publicly ask how the people promoting this event could sleep at night, why they felt comfortable promoting violence to a young and impressionable audience, if they understood their role in the world as oppressors, etc etc (this wasn't military recruitment but along the same vein). I didn't say anything, and I think back to the rage that I was feeling in that exact moment and I honestly really wonder what I would've said if I did commit to starting a scene. For what it's worth, I've started several scenes since that day, and have lost favor with several people over it. I've also met a handful of allies doing it, which has turned me into much more of an optimist because you never expect people to agree with you when you're the guy making a scene over stuff most people see as normal
Maybe the critical thing is to practice a bit of revolutionary (social) suicide. Knowing what we know and believing what we believe is already gonna alienate people. That's something we need to be cognizant of because it's a basic reality of being a politicized and radical individual within a complacent and stagnating society. But to start to turn the engine and turn your belief into material change, you have to accept that it comes with a cost to your own image socially, and it will make people think you're mentally ill for thinking that starving children to death is wrong, or thinking that burning down the Amazon is not an acceptable price to pay for a 2% increase in quarterly earnings for an agrobusiness corporation you've never heard of. Accept that preemptively, but also, assume that lots of people already feel just as uncomfortable with the thing you're starting a scene about, as there are people uncomfortable about the disturbance.
Very well said
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
I always look at it as taking the social brunt for the sake of other people who don't want to act up.
I'd ask questions I knew the answer to in my courses because I figure that if I found it kinda vague, there's probably at least one person who didn't follow and I'm helping them.
Likewise, if I feel the need to speak up, there's a chance there's someone like you who wants to, so I do it in their stead.
There are some situations where this would be a good thought to keep in mind, but there are also other situations where this wouldn't really be applicable.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
Look for opportunities to make a small scene or even a tiny scene, once you’ve made a million little microscopic scenes you might feel confident enough to make a moderate one. Hint: might not work (I haven’t tried).
Ive made small scenes where it is inconsequential, where i dont know anyone involved, but i still cant bring myself to make a scene where it would/may have direct social consequences
That strategy has made it easier for me to draw attention to myself in some circumstances, I would just like for the problem to entirely disappear right now.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
I would like for the problem to entirely disappear right now.
Yeah, me too
Dunno really, the only time I've ever successfully made a scene was when i prepared mentally and studied for it.
had the caring what other people think bullied out of me. was not worth do not recommend
What are you thinking of when you say, "make a scene"? Is it you as an individual doing something alone or are you thinking of organizing a collective action? I would recommend doing the latter. And of you're doing the latter, you just need one person to be comfortable with a megaphone, it doesn't need to be you. Disruption is mostly about physically blocking something, too, and less about the speech. It's okay to focus on speech, but that part of an event is more of a rally than a disruption. Organization is the real ticket, you will want to line up friendly media, be prepared with talking points, etc. Also consider starting small so you can get practice with lower stakes.
Well, I mean things like saying I don't want to eat chicken, or asking strangers for spare masks, or calling out transphobia, or not letting someone use my card when I find out that the store we're in donates its proceeds to a ghoul cause.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
Oh sorry I totally misunderstood. I try to be careful with advice on direct interpersonal interactions because I prefer to first validate what you're experiencing and also because it often depends on the person.
Would you say that experiences like this give you anxiety, so you avoid them? If so, is it the anticipation of experience itself that induces anxiety or is it concern over negative outcome? Or is it more about preferring to avoid any kind of confrontation?
One thing that can help in general is to take small steps to get to your goal. Spend some time thinking about what situations like this would only be a little uncomfortable, but not a lot, and that you can have control over initiating. And plan out how you want to approach the situation. In all situations, I recommend projecting the emotion of the response you want to receive. For example, smiling can help when asking for something and many people will reflexively smile in response and assume this will be a friendly interaction.
But I might be getting ahead of myself again and I should really wait for your response.
I think it would be concern over a negative outcome first and foremost. In any case, thank you for your advice.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837
It might help to break the possibility of a negative outcome down into pieces and process them a bit in advance, too.
Most of the time it will probably go fine and even if you perceive negativity it might not really be there. In other words, you might be prematurely catastrophizing, which is no fun at all for you. Just thinking about and recognizing and reflecting on this possibility can be helpful, and so can verbalizing it. Even just to yourself!So you say you don't want chicken and someone replies, "why, not, it's so good!?" like you're being weird. That's probably okay, they're probably just socializing a little awkwardly and it doesn't reflect on you even though it feels negative. "Not feeling it" with a smile probably diffuses the situation and you can begin to relax. Think of the relaxation part of that fake conversation and replay it a few times in your mind. This can help you out when something real happens, it can turn a social pothole into a minor bump that you can easily roll past (over time!).
But let's say it isn't just catastrophizing, sometimes an outcome is actually negative and you're not in a place to deal with it. That is also valid, and also not fun at all. People try to deal with this in various ways. Sometimes they get aggressive and pick at people defensively, though it sounds like this isn't what you're doing. Would you say it is accurate to describe it as withdrawing or trying to roll with uncomfortable situations, to "put up" with them to avoid potentially negative outcomes? Are you feeling frustration or other negative feelings because you feel a little like a doormat? I'm just guessing, asking questions, because not all of this may apply. And again, it is valid to feel or not feel these ways and I am only giving suggestions because it's something bothering you. If some of these things apply, you might be interested in looking into the psychology of "people pleasing", as it probably overlaps with some of what you are experiencing. I would summarize it as trying to make do and adapt to others and their perspectives and needs to a point where it boomerangs back to bite us. And again, this is valid and not a negative epithet even though it has a name! You may find that at least some of the concept resonates with you and just finding compatriots that experience the same thing can be invaluable for finding strategies that work for you to feel better or more comfortable in the situations you want to tackle.
Or maybe it won't resonate completely! That's also cool. If it doesn't, identifying what doesn't fit is also useful
Would you say it is accurate to describe it as withdrawing or trying to roll with uncomfortable situations, to "put up" with them to avoid potentially negative outcomes? Are you feeling frustration or other negative feelings because you feel a little like a doormat?
Pretty much, yeah.
Sent from Mdewakanton Dakota lands / Sept. 29 1837
Treaty with the Sioux of September 29th, 1837
"We Will Talk of Nothing Else": Dakota Interpretations of the Treaty of 1837