metkis [they/them]

First, check your city’s local resources for reporting potholes. Yes, those do exist for some cities. It might be they just aren’t aware of it and hopefully someone will come out and fill the sucker, but they probably have greater priorities. This might not work though, because sometimes they suck.

Road repair is a thankless job with some unique constraints, setting aside lack of funding and return on that investment. First, It’s often seasonal work depending where you live, and blocking off roads pisses pretty much everybody off. Business owners getting blocked off by road repair introduces a political element to it as well. This is without going down the rabbit hole of privately owned roads as we all know how that goes down.

In crowded areas like big cities it can be difficult to plan around, and in less crowded areas the priority is probably going to be the highest density roads and highways.

Why? You’d think just general safety, but also consider these roads are most likely where precious commodity-carrying semi-trucks travel so the government is incentivized to keep them useful, but also those roads often require more routine maintenance because they are quickly deteriorated as trucks with trailers weigh a fuck ton and just destroy them.

So why isn’t your road fixed? It’s probably a combination of not being a busy or useful road to the local economy, combined with low resources for infrastructure, local business politics, or simply nobody knows it needs fixed. Also what /u/Uncle said.

Anyways, I’m not an expert so most of this is probably bullshit.

The important thing is getting the most mileage out of your time online to see if you’re practicing healthy habits. This takes some self-realization, but finding what parts of your experiences in life are useful is key.

Here are some ways to help:

1.) Fill your life with alternative obligations that keep you away from the internet. This can be something as simple as a basic hobby or just cleaning around your place.

Ideally this is something productive, and by that I don’t mean “generates capital”, I mean the act is beneficial for you or others. For instance, even a nap can be a productive use of time if it means you feel better afterwards. This is probably a more powerful use of your time than cruising Reddit or doom-scrolling .

2.) When you are online, ask yourself before you do something if it’s going to lead to a positive end-result for you or others. Be honest with yourself and avoid actions that are high effort or take lots of your time, but aren’t extremely meaningful to you or others.

Sometimes you might find yourself using online communities in a positive way to learn or vent. Other times you end up digging through mounds of drama with nothing to show for it. Start recognizing these wasteful moments and actively avoiding them.

3.) Limit your time online with software. Using either screen time or other similar methods have someone limit your access to problem apps that you can’t simply override. This is a definitive way to limit terminal online-ness, but even setting them yourself can act as a reminder for the online mindfulness I’ve talked about, so don’t avoid that option either.

Hope this helps!

I’m not sure if this comment is supposed to act as a refutation of what I said or not. This is a separate viewpoint that does not conflict with my initial criticism.

For many people “fighting for the person you don’t know” is not always a direct process. It’s also a process that will likely be necessary for all of humanity.

Why does this matter to your post? Lots of people have been burnt by groups or individuals that take advantage of people in poverty. And I don’t mean just material poverty, but poverty of education, poverty of healthcare, and other forms as well. This is a natural result of a system that doesn’t provide safety and security to vulnerable people. It also naturally results in the distrust of others.

This is why it’s almost necessary to form trusted institutions that one can contribute to without undermining hard work with distrust. Credibility is an important quality to helping others when you live in a system designed to promote taking advantage of people. Mutual aid and charity are very important and part of the “fight”, but have limits in both scale and impact. This is why, ultimately, the entire system has to change.

Remember, we’re not only fighting for others, against corporate interests, and against a culture of distrust, but for ourselves. The more we reduce resistance, the more we can help others both directly and indirectly. We can practice helping someone every day and that doesn’t have to translate to direct action to consider it fighting for strangers.

As an aside, I took the words to mean, “dare to sacrifice part of yourself for others.” It’s nice to have a reminder that on an individual level you can make a substantial difference in someone’s life through direct action and to carry that spirit with you out in the world.

People should not judge each other based on a socially conceived notion of a perfect mind, that I agree with, but the idea that mental illness is a healthy sign of some state of noncompliance with capitalist society is a very dangerous one.

Neurology is a complex field, but we do know at the least that the parts of your brain, much like most parts of your body, actually serve functions and can be responsible for real ailments that a change to even a conceivably perfect social environment would not affect.

We know that components, like chemical imbalances and physical irregularities in parts of the brain, contribute to actual dysfunction. It’s important to remember the brain isn’t a black box to internal issues, it is like any other organ and can become malnourished, malformed, or diseased.

While for many, depression and anxiety stem from environmental conditions that might not exist in a society with greater welfare and less stigma around mental illness, there would be a host of individuals that still suffer from these disorders because they have internal causes, not just environmental ones.

This is without consideration to many other examples of mental illness like dementia, autism, or schizophrenia, which I can assure you do not just exist as a symptom of incompatibility with a capitalist class structure.

You are so welcome. Good on you for taking that step, it’s one of the toughest. So glad you’re on your way and wishing you a wondering life ahead.

You gotta try.

I’m terribly sorry. Wishing you all the strength possible to navigate this loss. You both deserve a better world that can help you avoid or navigate tragedies like this. I’m certain she was thankful to have raised someone dedicated to that better world. All the best.

Your potential is important to the world, you are capable of amazing things, and your life has immense value. I’m sorry you experienced things that sent you into a state of traumatization. That is not fair to you, nor the experience you deserve.

Take a moment to remember that your brain isn’t simply “you”, it’s an organ. When you have a kidney infection and experience pain, you go to the doctor, get a diagnosis, and get treatment. Mental health is no different. You’re probably living in great anguish that it feels like few or no people understand, but it’s as much your reality as it is also a symptom. Only through active treatment and work will this disorder get better or manageable.

If your current treatment isn’t working, try exploring other treatments. I encourage you to be brave enough to save yourself, to help yourself, and to love yourself. You have so much to gain by doing so. Wishing you the best.

You reminded me of this woke-ish liberal essay about a philosophy built off how you treat pizza delivery guys. Here it is, Be Cool to the Pizza Dude by Sarah Adams.

This website isn’t the world. These users aren’t professionals. You’re allowed to make mistakes. You haven’t ruined anything. Everything is going to be okay.

You deserve not to torture yourself over trivialities like a handful of shitty posts on a bad week and to live a life that’s meaningful and full of both love and acceptance. There’s no path forward for leftism in a world that doesn’t include forgiveness, redemption, and understanding.

You have a lot of passion. Aim that in the service of fighting injustice, but don’t forget to fight for yourself too.

This is a tangent, but it might be helpful.

I remember watching a video about mental illness and specifically depression. Depression acts like a disease but we don’t treat it societally like other diseases. With things like cancer there are communities and a spirit built around “beating cancer” and finding resolve with others in fighting it.

Unfortunately, by its very nature, Depression inhibits this and instead creates the most difficult conditions that allow your mind to suffer. You may desire to be alone than enjoy time with friends, you may not feel up to doing things that improve your situation. Your hygiene, regimen, and mood are directly inhibited. This means every action that normally would help keep depression at bay also becomes more difficult to achieve.

More than that, as you decline in each of these areas there’s very little understanding or patience from others. Often, it creates a situation where you find yourself pushing others away or being pushed away instead of encouraged to get help and given good advice.

Hopefully what you can take from this is that maybe if we try hard for ourselves and each other we can break that cycle, become better, and “beat depression”. Just like any other disease, that’s going to take a combination of medical treatment, understanding, and love. But you deserve all these things, and I hope you continuing fighting depression and find the support you deserve.

It may be of little help, but I can assure you many others feel the same way at times. With any mental illness, trying to stay on the same baseline as a more normative individual can be very difficult and stressful. It can also be difficult to mesh well with other mentally ill people even if you understand what they’re going through.

I encourage you not to give up, to continue trying to seek online communities that accept you and try and find ways to interact with places where you feel appreciated for your effort and not simply expected to navigate a maze of social land mines. Look into using or maybe even volunteering for services like 7 Cups where you can literally learn how to talk to (and help!) people that feel the same way.

Also, look into therapy. As scary as it is, therapy is probably the most productive way to find someone to talk to without judgement. Weekly sessions could have you feeling less misunderstood and neglected, but you’ll have to make the effort. Due to COVID, finding a therapist with open slots might be difficult, but even an appointment month(s) out is better than none.

If you want some distractions I could suggest Libby if you have access to a library card, and you can get audio books and regular books. If you feel like working towards something direct, but want to start simple, you can look into guerrilla gardening and try to transform some of the spaces around you. Even just starting your own little spice garden might help make your days feel more fulfilling.

Maybe look into your local DSA and see if they need anybody if you have time. I know they’re not perfect, but it’s how Amber got started, and it’s something to put your mind to. I hope your knees feel better, I just want to instill opportunities are around you.

Hope you feel better soon.

If you're posting here you already have the strength to be brave. Check and see if your pharmacy offers deliveries. Many, like CVS in the US, can do so for free. You can also have your prescription moved to a different pharmacy if need be. I encourage you to do the hard part of caring about yourself. Go for a walk, get yourself some food, some water, stay away from news for a while. Right now it's about you. Happy belated birthday.

We must be as radical as the world to change it. Every day is a razorblade for someone out there. Dare to be brave, get up in the morning, and make the most of it.

Much luck, love, and solidarity your way.

It's tough for a lot of people right now, and there's no shame in that. It's by design. Never forget you deserve a better world, and take care.