I wonder how much of this stuff is just anticipation porn. Like there's a certain exciting feeling that people get when anticipating certain things. You see it a lot in right wing groups because there's a perpetual "happening" coming at any moment. It may be a week from now. A month from now. Or it could happen tomorrow. But there is always something comping. You should always be ready and be actively waiting for it. Log in to your favorite right wing hangout to get updates on the happening. Buy stuff for the happening. Talk about what you're going to do during the happening and afterwards.

It's sort like fantasizing about winning the lottery. You buy a ticket and spend a couple of days imagining all you'll do with the money, how your world will change. It feels good to imagine something else and to ignore reality for a little while.

There's also something like this in leftist spaces, though it's more grounded, and that's the fall of capital and the revolution. Bernie was sort of that kind of anticipation porn. Everyone was crackling with excitement over what would happen if he won. I think that was the draw more than faith in electoralism. Then we had covid and not long after we had leftists projecting the end of capital. But then that didn't happen last year. Then it was the Floyd protests. I myself thought "This is it. This is the beginning." Again, getting excited about a new future and a new world. But I think it goes beyond simple optimism and hope.

We know on some level there is no better future. We know the grim reality. The world could limp on like this for the next century, and limp a little harder once climate change sets in. No new future or change is guaranteed. We all want the be the last ones, the ones to see the change. And thinking about it distracts us from the present world. So I think there is possibly some commonality rooted in material conditions. And it's a common response to react to that with anticipation fetish.

Or I'm just too high and over-analyzing it.