quasi-normalcy:

I don’t know; I kind of think that our culture is based around systematic denial of human limitations. I mean, there’s the eight-hour work day (which is about 4 hours longer than most people are consistently able to remain productive); buffing your qualifications on job applications (which everyone needs to do to some extent, because everyone else is doing it); the expectation of multitasking, even though it’s not really possible; academics are running around with impostor syndrome, ultimately because there’s only so many books that an individual is capable of reading, while a bunch of liars and grifters pretend that they’re experts at *everything* and are held up as thought leaders. Billionaires are held up as if they’re just incredibly hard workers, photoshopped movie stars held up as if they’re just incredibly beautiful. We feel guilty for not being something that never has and can never exist.

     
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langernameohnebedeutung:

official-rolli-und-rita:

Just tried eating an orange like an appl. I see why we don’t do this

I had a friend who did this on a bus one time when we were still teens and after chewing out my friend for that, the bus driver turned to me and said “I don’t understand why you spend time with someone like that. You seem like a decent girl.”

     
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labelleizzy:

feuervogel:

roach-works:

darthflake:

daitoshi:

a-gremlin-for-my-thoughts:

rthko:

The pastoralist fantasy of “modern life is too stressful so I should move to a remote area and do hard labor” is so funny

I have a theory about that.

I think that what people want, when they talk about a pastoralist fantasy is actually an anti-capitalistic fantasy: i noticed, even from my experience, that most people don’t mind phisical labour if it gives them results: actual, tangible, results.

Once my boss asked me to copy every article from a website and paste them in the new one. It took me roughly four hours for three days to do and my soul was slowly leaving my body. It was easy work, i mean who wouldnt want to earn money to just click here and click there, rinse and repeat? But it was boring, ripetitive and basically useless.

But when I take some time and clean my house, i sweat, i am tired but… satisfied. I see in front of me the result of my hard labour and I am happy, or at least i don’t think i wasted my time.

So the fantasy of working hard but at least getting something out of it is appealing: why do people work in kitchens? Or bakeries and wake up at dawn to make bread? Or any hard job like that? I knew a guy that had the possibility of having every job he wanted, but he opened a bar and couldnt be happier.

This is my idea, i’m not a student in sociology or anything but I hope i made a point.

I have two degrees, and my previous job was the marketing department head for an international biotech company. I was well-paid, but dreaded work every morning. The endless cycle of low-grade manipulation and feeling like “making money for someone else to pocket, HELPING no one else” felt miserable.

I left and now work at a garden center. I haul around plants and educate people about them, so they can make informed choices. I help people, and seeing the plants grow under my care is wonderful. My soul is flourishing, my heart is at peace. My coworkers are all honest (as far as I can tell), and there’s no push for upselling or pushing people to buy stuff if it’s not very suited for their landscape.

Even if my wallet is a lot lighter these days, so too are my worries!

I worked IT in a city and fuck. People try to controll your every second. Faster! More efficient! You took a second too long to type that. You drove 56 kmh but could have gone 58 without getting caught. I messaged you a minute ago but you didn’t reply so I walked to your cubicle to ask you. Also let’s have an efficiency meeting. You are too slow. That’s your feedback. How long will that task take? Can we somehow shorten that?

And all for what? To manipulate the user to buy product. Not to improve the website mind you. Whenever I suggested: hey, our website is not useable for the visually impaired/people with motor problems. I got back an: we don’t care they’re too small of a market value

So can you really blame me for fantasizing about a life where I can just plant flowers and vegetables and walk everywhere without the need of manipulating people and mikromanage my every second

my current job is managing a plasma cutting machine, so i have to spend a lot of time dragging big chunks of iron on and off conveyor belts and i end up sore and filthy at the end of every shift, and usually a bit scratched up.

but it’s third shift and there’s no supervision whatsoever, so while the machine is running, i can type on my phone. i’ve written most of a novel so far with my thumbs, covered in grease and iron dust. and i also produced a lot of construction materials for bridges, dams, warehouses, and skyscrapers.

i really like my job.

This is Marx’s theory of alienation.

When people are removed from the tangible results of their labor, they become distressed and dissatisfied - and this is the result of capitalist profit-focused processes.

This is exactly why animal crossing was so popular during the pandemic. You cut down trees, you harvest fruit, you plant flowers, you build your house. Yeah that’s all there on the screen but you have tangible results to what you do. It’s the same satisfaction as building a real garden but faster! :-)

     
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emma-dennehy-presents:

Just heard Wake Me Up When September Ends on the radio and realized August is almost over. Time to schedule some “please dont be weird to Billie Joe Armstrong about his grieving song” posts.

     
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petricorah:

Having icons on the dashboard increases community. I don’t take the time to read every username, but with a quick glance, I know who posted something. It means I can associate what they posted with them. Otherwise it’s just Stuff. (It’s also fun to see the icons. It’s a unique personalization that makes people happy, and their prominence makes tumblr unique.) It doesn’t take up space. Why take that away?

it’s honestly alarming that they’re making this shift to depersonalize and disintegrate community.

part of me feels like this is the progression they want:

can’t tell who posts -> don’t care who posts -> no connection to who is on your dash -> FYP/algorithm

and it’s horrible that they seem to be taking such a beloved website and sending it in these directions. probably overreacting but it’s sad and frustrating to watch it go

anyway. it’s a good reminder to reblog the posts you love, because that’s how the website can keep functioning like it does

     
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