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The standard for change isn’t “is my doing this going to change the world?” The standard is “is my doing this part of the shift I want to see my community make?” And if the answer is yes, I do my best (thelemmy.club)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net
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I love that analogy. No, you're not going to personally save the world by reducing your carbon footprint. But you know what you are going to be? One leaf on a tree in a forest, making that little bit more oxygen that helps collectively make the world a better place.

And that's worth doing. Especially if you can encourage other people to be leaves too.

A screenshot of a Tumblr post. The text reads: I keep seeing posts claiming that x y or z action you can do to build a better world won’t matter. That capitalism doesn’t care, and your own actions dont amount to much. It’s so painfully individualistic. Of course me doing that thing isn’t going to save anybody or anything. Im not trying to be a superhero who personally saves the say. I am one leaf making oxygen in a massive forest of other trees making oxygen. I am doing my best and having faith that millions of others will do their best as well. Because that can and has made big changes over time. Like. That is just how change happens. Thats cultural shifts. Thats political shifts. Thats how lasting changes happen. I don’t plant milkweed because I’m personally gonna save monarch butterflies. I plant milkweed because I know thousands of us are gonna plant milkweed and send money to the people fighting horrible pesticides in court. The standard for change isn’t “is my doing this going to change the world?” The standard is “is my doing this part of the shift I want to see my community make?” And if the answer is yes, I do my best.
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[–] 2 points 4 months ago* (9 children)

Well yeah, but I don't have enough belief in others to assume they are doing their part, even in my own small limited community. Much less in rest of the world. Neither do i have social skills to convince anyone either.

So any positive action i do is just for my own good, fully knowing it's completely meaningless on almost any scale. So just out of a selfish desire to not feel like shit.

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  • [–] [S] 21 points 4 months ago

    You and I are both part of the same slrpnk community, and I'm doing my part, so that's at least one person you can believe in. Why not try believing in more of us?

    Doomerism is capitalist propaganda. They couldn't convince us that climate change was a hoax, so now they're trying to convince us that climate change is inevitable. And the point of both propaganda campaigns is the same: protect the status quo.

    Because if we really were doomed and climate change was really inevitable, they wouldn't be fighting so hard to convince you that it was.

    They want you to believe what you do is meaningless. But it's not.

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  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    @Shellofbiomatter @stabby_cicada - "I don't have enough belief in others to assume they are doing their part"

    what do you mean assume? Wouldn't you know or not know? If you are in your community doing work you would know what others are doing and what others are not doing.

    I just got out of a community meeting. Neighbor A and B continue to maintain the decentralized food distribution apparatus of free fridges. They reported that they have three more neighbors that have volunteered to take on cleaning shifts. Fridge B has an issue with one of the fridges tripping the circuit breaker and they're fixing it. Fridge A's community bulletin board is now accessible because they found the lost key for it.

    Me and Neighbor C are working on the Food Rescue side as one input into our local food apparatus. We just brought in a new contributor. A gluten free bakery that will be feeding into Fridge B.

    Spoke to a neighbor who just lost their job and needs food but has celiac. Pointed her towards fridge B and let her know the dropoff times of the GF Bakery. She is now utilizing the local communities food system and is further supported.

    Next month I'm meeting with the greater town's Hunger Action Coalition and comparing notes and collaborating with them to fill in gaps. We also just got plugged into the Food Rescue Alliance which is national and connects our town to other towns for support and education.

    I know exactly who is doing their part.

    Because I'm doing my part.

    If you get out and do something with others you won't have to assume one way or another. You won't have to believe (or not believe).

    You'll know.

    -----

    (Note to others reading this: this is directed at someone who has claimed initiative failure via vibes without demonstrating any actual experience.

    We do what part we can as and when we can. Interestingly, if you can't contribute - even receiving aid and support without currently putting back in helps the entire system of mutual aid. Drawing on the support of your neighbors is everything.)

    #solarPunk

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    Fair point, I'm not part of any organized community with the aim of helping those in need, which likely plays a role in not actually seeing others doing something.

    And on any local community meeting most of the people are just complaining and yelling at each other so we never reach to any agreements and later i just go fix and clean any shared spaces myself and oddly have become the first person to be called when any elderly person needs some help.

    Same at work, oddly I've become the first person when someone needs some aid even though it's not part of my job, while the people whos job description actually forces them to help others aren't doing it.

    Though I'm not that sure how well that fits into here. I apologize if i completely missed the mark.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    @Shellofbiomatter - It's alright and I can understand your frustration.

    If you have experienced this, then I dont understand why you used words like faith or assume. Why didn't you respond with actual examples of how things arent working out and asking for guidance on fixing them? Or at the very least pointing out the problems in your lived experiences and lamenting at feeling discouraged and beaten down without having a solution?

    Your kind of reply, while it may be cathartic to you, only serves to hurt and discourage others.

    If you would, and if you are able, either seek comfort in a way that doesn't hurt or discourage others, or seek solutions to those problems you are encountering.

    Problems within group dynamics and collaboration are known issues with known solutions - lots of books in the library addressed to it, lots of threads devoting to discussion and application of solutions, lots of mutual aid networks that serve as support for these sort of things.

    So. I hear you. And that is frustrating what you're going through. I hope are able to fix whats happening in your group activities, or join a new healthier group, or start a new group from the ground up, or contribute individually and on your own terms.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Good point.

    As i said my social and people skills are kinda bad. i didn't think that through enough and assumed it just gets buried in new, bad habit from Reddit. Lemmy has smaller userbase. I'll refrain from just venting in the future.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Oh it fits in perfectly. A solarpunk future implies a balanced approach to individual rights and community responsibilities. Things are very out of whack under late industrial capitalism.

    So your story reads like a community burdened with individualism. Trust is low because selfishness is seen as natural and expected. The culture doesn't support mutual respect much. Me first. This is widely seen as uncivilized behaviour in modern literature.

    So there you are, showing community minded acts, being a quiet leader. You are on the front lines. Be proud and oil your feathers and keep going.

    You have an affinity community here, outside your region. Maybe find other like minded folks in your area by looking into the Transition movement.

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