But why am I talking about this. An inspiration came from two places: my probably the longest following on YT, Skallagrim, and reply to one of my discussions from BSky when I got into a talk about socmed and algorithms. The former pretty much aligns with my views on “getting big” and the latter, especially one answer, gives me an insight into how people perceive and use social media and what motivates them. Curious? Well, you know what to do.

When I started this writing endeavour, I did it to toy with just putting my thoughts out there into the “blender”. Just letting the inner workings of that sponge I carry in my head out into the wild without any broader motivation. Sure, I occasionally peek at statistics to just see the numbers, what kind of writing has what impact but in the end, it’s just numbers. What I like to observe more is who interacted with the result. Was is just my “inner circle”? Or did I somehow let out a thought that appealed to a wider audience? If so, what kind of audience and how? Did they like what I said? Did it have some impact, positive or negative? Was the impact so high that it deserves further proliferation? All these are interesting in their own way. Even more when someone who’s already more established gives my ramblings a small boost and suddenly the floodgates open. My reaction to these is always: “Oh dear, this is about to cause some shitstorm.” Luckily (seriously, I’m still shocked I haven’t got piled on due how I approach some things, but I’m absolutely on some people’s shitlists), the interactions have been good. There weren’t many, but they were largely good. And I’d like to keep it that way.

“But why, Rawi? You have all the data. You know what has the impact. You could start using it to grow, maybe even do this stuff for the living.” Woah, stop right there, buster. First off, I like having hobbies. You know, the things I do just for my own pleasure to take my head away from the serious stuff. And I’d very much like to keep these hobbies without turning them into a job. I already work mostly with my head and I’d like to have those brain cells have some time off instead of working all the time. “But Rawi, having a job that’s also your passion …” causes that passion to go away because it becomes a mechanism for survival. And do you want your entire life be in a survival mode? I highly doubt that, even if you’re into “feeling in danger”.

Secondly and this very often comes with “getting big”, your audience or customer base changes. Take “big” YouTube creators (using the term here intentionally to cover all the forms of videos they create) as an example. Thousands, sometimes millions of “subscribers”, videos coming out in a span of days … and they’re all the same. Same style of thumbnails, similar structure, same sanitised and ear-grating language (seriously, algo-speak is my pet peeve). Everything is this highly predictable, squeaky clean, reeking of the hospital disinfectant. Everything is how the customer wants it. Who’s the customer, you ask? YouTube. Yup, it’s not your community, not your subscribers. Because if they were your customers, you’d spend the effort into giving them what they want without having to bend over to rules you have no control over. Because doing so gives control to them. Remember who creates the “algorithm”. And they do so freely because they know you’ll bend over. This way they remove your freedom. This way they dehumanise your community into assets. And by the way, you can’t please them, ever. Because it’s not their goal. Do you want a historical example? Look up “Normalisation in Czechoslovakia”. It was during 1970s shortly after the USSR invasion (or as they call it, “liberation”) and it’s very much the thing that’s happening on corporate social media in the West.

How about another example, something that extremely likely affects your day-to-day life because you probably spend around eight hours there. If you work in a large company or corporate, you’ve absolutely been present at some form of meeting where the “executive” talks about how the company is doing who are they working with etc. And let me tell you something you probably already know: BULL-FUCKING-SHIT! Ok, that’s a little harsh but vast majority of that drivel is exactly that. Sure, you’re probably working on something either internally or for an external customer but I use the word customer loosely here. Why? Because they’re not a customer. They’re an asset. Just like you are an asset. Ever thought why a certain department is called “Human Resources”? How delightfully human-oriented, being called a resource. You know what else is a resource? Coal. And what do you do with coal? Or would do in the past? Throw it into the fire. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. Take a guess who’s the actual customer. That’s right, shareholders. You know, the people who do absolutely nothing for the company and only rake in the dividends. Do you know what an organism that benefits from the host is called? Parasite. But I don’t want to get into this rant. There are plenty already. The point is, they’re big so their customer base shifted.

And this is why I’m not motivated to go big and where my motivation aligns with Skall’s. I’d lose authenticity. I’d stop doing things people like (or dislike). I’d stop doing what I like. All to please someone or something that doesn’t care in the first place. This is why I don’t like algorithms and why the thought from the algorithm discussion kept lingering in my mind until today. The discussion was about how algorithms are dangerous and force on you what someone else wants to watch. One of the participants was defending the use of algorithms so things can be found and engaged with. My response to that was that people managed to do that all the time through actual contact or by actively seeking instead of being fed things, using Mastodon as the example of the algorithm-free network on which I somehow managed to build some small reach. Their response was that they tried Mastodon but could never have to pick up, no matter what they tried for promotion. The final response from them was: “But yes, if you want a social site where you’re not bothered, then Mastodon is the place.”

If you want a social site where you’re not bothered … Wait, what? You get into a social site to get bothered? Am I missing something here? I thought being in social spaces is about connecting to people that I can’t connect with easily in real life. To share my interests with those who I wouldn’t be able to normally. To be, you know, human and extending that humanity by using the online space as a form of a highway or a railway. I’m not interested in building a following. I’m not a cult leader for crying out loud. So yeah, I in fact don’t want to be bothered on social media. I don’t want to “walk on a stage and perform a sermon for my underlings, praising salvation, while considering them lesser beings”. I want my social media to be like a cosy cafe in which I sometimes get in, grab a tasty snack, maybe draw or write something and chat with cosy folks. Because such connections might one day come in handy in an unexpected way. To borrow a quote from Winnie to Pooh:

I don’t want to walk behind you for I don’t want to follow. Nor I want to walk in front of you for I don’t want to lead. I want to walk beside you and be your friend.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

“I want my neighbour’s goat to die.”

“Really? You don’t want one of your own to get a better life?”

“No, I don’t want better life. I just can’t stand them being happy.”

Above is an excerpt from a rather dark “joke” that I stumbled upon on one of my social dives. I personally wouldn’t call it a joke for not only the fun factor isn’t really there in the first place and these days it’s not even a joke by gallows humour standard anymore but more of a factual statement. It’s telling when people say satire is dead because it’s difficult to distinguish from reality. Same comes with humour when it becomes a coping mechanic instead of a “spice of life”.

But why do we continue on this path? Why do we willing remove parts of our humanity, let alone the positive ones and dive deeper into the swamp of misery? Why instead of looking for ways to brighten up the world we only looks for excuses to justify wrongs and punish those who even think about enjoying good moments that happen?

A little personal dive for starters. I didn’t use to be the “icy blue-eyed big woof brother”. In fact, I used to be very gloomy, cynical, self-deprecating and “smiling through pain” type of person. Sure, I could put on a mask of someone neat to stay around but that would eventually slip and reveal who I truly am. And in retrospect it eventually pushed people away.

Weirdly enough, it’s yet another thing where furs opened my eyes. Funny, how the people “hiding” behind their characters are actually more genuine. Sometimes in bad ways too but that’s the “occupational hazard” as my former teacher would’ve said. That said, seeing so many folks around just living and having fun despite some facing potentially life-threatening hardships. They have fun, they genuinely smile, they enjoy being in the moment.

And yet, whenever you get into the wider world, especially online, you see way more misery and hatred. And not just from the “expected” perpetrators but sometimes from the very communities that foster the positive nature of things and want to create a better world for everyone. So what is it? Is the positive look just a shell or is there an issue with people themselves. Then you start accounting for the “outsiders” and whoo boy does it escalate. The “joke” at the very beginning becomes very much a reality. Crowds of people who barely even know what they’re talking about swarm in and start tearing the community down harder than a flock of vultures picks a corpse clean. Why? See the “joke”. They can’t stand someone being happy.

But where does it come from? Were they denied their own happiness for their entire existence that they were “programmed” to hate everything that is even remotely good? But then this would for example deny the “kids rebel against their parents” principle. Taking this example, people like that would be expected to double down on the rebellious act but instead, they’d rather choose to “sink” into the proverbial swamp, be it to “deal with the issue” quickly or to “fit in” only to find out in the latter case that it’ll never work, fueling the misery even further.

But that’s on an individual level. What about groups? Entire societies? Hell, let’s just look at our world. The constant rush, the never-ending chase of something new/cool/whatever, blindly embracing trends just to make sure you don’t become ignored (sorry to break it to you, love, but you’re not doing it right, mainly because it’s not you). All this effort and no moment of stopping and just living has been creating a mindset, in which fun isn’t allowed. Because if you stop, then you’re suddenly “out”; out of “fight”, out of the “cool kids club”. Everyone seems to be in on the “grindset mindset”.

But guess what happens when you don’t allow yourself to be happy? That’s right, misery creeps in and starts growing. Suddenly, anything joyful starts turning into a distraction. Later, it becomes an obstacle; a nuissance. And once that miserable attitude settles in, all the nasty habits bubble out. Why? Because they’re an easy way to “handle” the situation; the “fan-favourite” non-solution.

Now, being a 90s kid, I went through that “edgy” and “nihilistic” era that I guess many of my peers went through. And guess what, even back then it was considered odd to be that way. So what changed? Well, Internet happened. Online social spaces became wide-spread and suddenly many people found their “tribes”. And for some reason, one of the core traits of netizens (good lord, I feel old using that word and I’m way younger than many on-line “pioneers”) has become the “Misery and hate is cool and who displays any form of fun is a brain-dead imbecile”. You’d think this stuff goes away quickly and you might be right if this was a thing recently. But this was a thing back then so it has had a lot of time to “mature”. And sadly it crept into many communities and into people’s mindsets. And Lord knows why people consider this a sign of “being a mature adult”? Really? Being a misery-craving happiness-hating sack of meat and bones is being and adult? No wonder so many look back at being kids.

Want an example? How about Gamers ™? One of the candidates for the most insufferable and immature communities. If you’ve ever been in any community focused around a video game, especially big and/or competitive ones, whoo boy, my condolences to your braincells. Like, the level of absence of any level of basic humanity is insane. The “people” (I really struggle with relating to humanity here) are so depraved of it that if you killed a baby in their presence they’d happily piss on their dead body. Sorry for a really harsh analogy but especially these days I’d be surprised if I was far from truth. Hell, just look at any online forum related to games. Or you know what, don’t. Save your sanity.

Want something more generalised so I’m not scapegoating a group? Not that it’s going to get that much better but there’s a reason I personally consider Reddit a cesspit. Because good lord almighty is that place more pretenetions and snobbish than the most stereotypical depicition of “royalty” in a sloppy TV show.

Speaking of furs, the fandom for some reason attracts so much hatred from outsiders. Why? Is it because it’s weird? How come other fandoms at the same level of establishment don’t suffer from the same? Sure, furs are a bit more explicit (sometimes to a point where it might be advisable to do a good level of personal risk assesment before sharing something because you don’t live in a vacuum and being inclusive doesn’t necessarily mean having no boundaries at all) but

A) vast majority of things you heard are pure bullshit

B) this slander ironically often comes from people who are even more “deviant” and not-so-rarely in ways that would have them end up with a knife to their throats.

In an overwhelming majority of cases, whenever you see a fur, it’s just someone having silly, sometimes cheeky, fun with who they are and who they want to be. Is that too much to ask for? Oh, right, fun not allowed. Only misery.

Ok, enough poking at “fun police”. Let’s look on a different side of this “battlefield”; those who actually fight for the betterment of humanity. Or at least they claim to do so. Because this area has been infected by the misery virus as well. Tell me, how many times have you encountered someone with whom you agreed in principle but their approach pushed you away? Maybe you got a step further and you were acquainted to someone or cooperated with someonelike this and eventually your paths diverged only for your “now former” colleague acuse you of the very thing you were “fighting” against. These instances are honestly even more infuriating to me personally because it kicks the usually good goal right in the face.

But why? Is it because your ideas were different? Is it because one of you decided to lower their efforts due to not being able to work at the 100% anymore, be it because of health or other circumstances? If so, how does that make one fight for better world when they do so using the very same methods that already forster one hell of a miserable atmosphere. To borrow a part of a quote from K. Marx (yes, that K. Marx): “From each one according to their abilities …” and under those abilites aren’t only the physical ones but also mental ones. Not everyone has the same level resilience or ability to commit and pushing them past their human limits only fuels the already inhuman world we live in. And guess what that would make you; the very same thing you’re trying to fix, except you have the right “excuse”. But let me give you a piece of advice: Not even frontline soldiers in active conflicts are fighting 24/7. They too get moments of respite during which they want to take time to live instead of fight. And these people are specially trained to have huge physical and mental resilience. So what makes you think you can one-up them?

“So, wise guy, what do you want to do with all this?” you’re probaby asking with a noticeable snark in your voice. Well, let’s take a peek into my self-mentoring and take few lessons

• Don’t feed the troll. Or someone with an overblown ego. Same goes for idiots. Instead, show a better way in a manner that clearly displays that things are good and the “bad side” is the one fear-mongering, not you. Furthermore, “Eat their frame”. This is from a post I stumbled upon during my BlueSky ventures and it’s really important piece of advice when “fighting bullshit”. In essence, if you want to get rid of bullshit, make sure you don’t help with spreading it with your correction.
• Don’t punish the expected behaviour. I’ve stumbled upon this one more recently and it fits so much. Treating those who don’t give their 100% all the time but are trying is hurting your cause massively. Remember, you don’t need to blow up an entire building to take it down. You just need to “damage” the right places and it falls apart on its own. Not to mention that not everyone has to be a demolition expert. Sometimes you just need someone to “open the door for you”.
• Focus your anger, shout when you need to, live and laugh whenever you can. Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of misery. Yes, the world will try to do it in many ways but genuine happiness is one of the best shields. And what’s even better that it’s also contagious.

And most importantly, NEVER throw away any portion of humanity (or whatever your species equivalent of it you follow :3) just because it makes your job easier. Or the cycle of cruelty will never be broken. I’m sure you’re aware that there are philosophies and ideologies that were created in good faith. At the same time, our history shows how easy it is to turn them into a tool of cruelty and oppression as well. Trust me, I know. Or more precisely, my predecessors do.

So, don’t just set things on fire. Build brigdes for those who need help to cross the river. Help those trapped in the swamp to get out instead of waiting for them to crawl out.

And as always, remember to smile. For a smile is beacon of light telling everyone that your heart is home. So make sure that beacon shines bright to make it easy for everyone to follow it.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

Some of you already know where I’m from (hell, some folks on Fedi even know my real name). And you might also know that the country I live in has a rather infamous reputation to a certain group of people, namely Romani. They were frankly never treated well and while it’s hard to balance out their usual lifestyle with ours, the effort was never really made. These days I’m observing that the things have settled, at least on the outside but I’m not that well versed in things “behind the scenes” so I can’t judge.

But why am I talking about this; I’m not here to put myself into some sort of a victim position or patronise them instead. What I intend to illustrate here is how the prejudices, xenophobic or any other, fuel the exact thing people are “afraid of”. How? Let’s take an example. Imagine you’re of a Romani descent but you want to make the effort to bridge the gap between your cultures. To do so, you need to understand the “other side”. So you put in the effort, integrating into the system of the majority and you manage to succeed. But do you? Are you treated like an equal? No, you’re not. Because you’re not them. “But I did everything I was expected to do,” you ask. No, you didn’t. You weren’t born right. Demotivated and defeated, you come “back home”. Home? You have no home. You’re already tainted by the “superior”. You don’t belong here, outsider.

You weren’t born right. You don’t belong here, outsider.

Two sentences. Both can be said by either side. The reasons may be different but the pain is equal. And that pain needs relief and it can be motivating to action. What action? Well, keep in mind that the same person that was shunned has the knowledge of both.

In the best case scenario, they’ll use their “power” to educate others and use their experience to potentially create a wave for the change of the better. If this happens, then the person has an incredibly strong sense of honour and an unwavering will to create a truly better world for everyone. Such task requires massive amounts of resolve and will to go on despite all the pain thrown right back at them.

More often than not however, these people “give up” go back to what they know. Except they’re richer with the knowledge of “your side”. This means they know where to prod so it hurts the most. Ever wondered why expats vote for nationalists despite knowing better? Sometimes it’s greed and arrogance but other times it’s exactly the “they know better”. They know they had the rug pulled from under them despite the effort they made. Why? Because the other side didn’t put in enough effort. So their action is a warning for the others that there’s no “promised land”.

Now, why am I talking about this when I myself am so white on the outside that I can be used as a mirror? Well, my dear reader, especially if you’re PoC by any definition, because I too experience that. Remember, I’m Eastern European. I’m from the “occupied side” of the Iron Curtain. People here know quite well what it means to be a colony. And they’re extremely sensitive to being treated as such by those who promise equity. In case you’re wondering what I mean, look at some demographic maps of the EU. The East/West divide is extremely clear. The result? Populism, nationalism, going back to the “good old days” … sounds familiar?

Now do you understand the title? By either not putting enough effort to create a good intersection of cultures or by displaying “benign superiority”, one creates a perfect breeding ground for polarisation and thus creating their “dream enemy”. Is there a cure, at least in Europe? Yes, there is. The West needs to sit down and listen to the Easterners, understand our past and our worries and be the “mentor” to our fledgeling and fragile democracies. They need to teach that accountability and responsibility are good things. The East at the same time needs to open their minds and learn to trust. We need to learn that not everyone means us harm and that the horrors of the past are exactly what they are, the past. And only by treading the path together we can find the way forward that serves everyone. Can this work for everyone else? I’m going to be optimistic and I’ll say yes. But the effort needed is going to be that much bigger. Because this time it’ll require to face much stronger prejudices and likely some very uncomfortable chapters of one’s past. And as we all know, nobody likes to go back to their mistakes. But without admitting them, one can’t learn from them.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

Let me start the direct quote from Soatok’s post:

The first time I flew first class (which was due to the kindness of another technologist who wanted to help me land a job by flying me to DEFCON), the way the other passengers treated the flight attendants disgusted me so much that I felt guilty sharing space with them. I tried to be kind and respectful in spite of the jerks, but it never sat right with me.

A few months later, another friend pointed out to me, if I hadn't been there, they would have had to deal with yet another rude, dehumanizing customer. It helps a bit.

What catches your attention first? The fact that he got into a first class on a flight? Getting into a place of “privilege” or “royalty” sounds like a dream, right? And for quite a lot of people it would be. Then you read further and see the other side of the experience. The arrogance of others in the same space. The self-perceived supremacy of the “higher class” people. Our dhole friend here manages to preserve his integrity regardless of the general feel of the place and the mental scar he gets from the toxicity of the place. And it bears fruit. The employees that were present on said flight have had the experience made a little bit easier to handle just by this simple act of kindness. Just by one single person (or floof :P) treating them like a human beings and not just tools.

But how does the quote link to this? Well, my dear reader, tell me how do you imagine the “royalty” or “higher class” people? Do you look into the fairy tales too? The nobility, the presentation … everything looks so great and perfect. And then you face the reality like our friend here. Wouldn’t that align more with the poor? How they’re usually presented as barbarians? Barely functioning parasites robbing the “supreme” of their privileges? See what I wrote here? Did you shiver? I know I did and I’m going to need some decontamination after that.

And it’s weird too because part of being the “high society” is, you know, etiquette. You’re literally being taught how to behave so you’re presenting yourself properly. And I ask you, my dear reader, shouldn’t kindness be part of that presentation? Yes, you may be fortunate in achieving your status but of course you want to maintain that status. And since it’s difficult to do so alone, you will of course employ others to help you with your task. And here comes the most difficult test of your own status. Do you treat those who help you maintain your status kindly or like tools? Because it’s also indicative of how you’ll treat your peers. There’s a piece of advice that is given in relationships and I believe it applies here too:

If your date treats you nice but treats others like lesser beings, it’s only matter of time when they’ll treat you the same.

Makes sense, right? How long until that “royal friend” becomes “royal enemy”? And if you keep going, how long until your status inevitably falls apart? Your “friends” will start moving away, those who help you will do “just enough” or even quit outright. See? All this arrogance and self-perceived supremacy made you inferior and poorer in the end and took everyone align with you along. Maybe not in material sense but definitely in human sense for it eroded your identity, changing you into nothing more than an empty husk, shaped like a human being. And all that because you were unkind.

That’s why you should be kind to those providing you the service. Because by being kind you make them feel respected and give them sense of belonging, even if they’re in a position which could be regarded as “lower”. Because they’re not in a lower position. They’re in the same space as you and it’s thanks to them the space is what it is. Make them feel respected and you’ll get the respect you think you “deserve”. And you don’t even need to try hard if at all.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

Universal Basic Income, UBI for short, is in the simplest terms “you get paid for existing”. Sounds neat on paper, right? Like, you appear into this world and you’re already getting salary! Only one small issue, you’re probably too young to even understand what money is, let alone salary. Still, you’re being provided resources that can be exchanged for your sustenance in the time you have allocated in this world. And all you have to do for them is to remember to breathe, eat, drink, occasionally remove body waste and of course sleep. Sounds easy enough, right? But also a little boring. There’s so much free time between these which could be filled with other things. Maybe something creative? Or maybe helping someone? You might have a set skills that you can, you know, trade. What kind of skills? Whatever skill you want to pursue. And the nice thing is you can change your mind and try to learn a new one without the risk of losing your well-being because you know, you still get the “existence salary”. Anything above is a bonus for your own incentive.

“But Rawi, who will work when everyone is a free-loader?” My dear reader, and how in your enlightened wisdom do you think all the facilities are going to work in this system? Magic? Unicorn farts? Believe it or not, my dear, someone has to make this thing running. And guess who it is. That’s right! PEOPLE! The very same people who are making the current system running. You know, all the services, shops, factories, cool IT thingies. People also known as workers, employees, citizens etc. Also, free-loaders? Care to tell me what was so exceptional in your life that you deserve special treatment? And no, finishing school and/or university doesn’t count because that’s just something that’s expected of you to be a productive member of society. Doesn’t matter how much money you threw into the fire under the promise of being “someone special”.

Anyway, I’m not here to rant about snowflakes with skin so soft that they accept any bullshit thrown at them. We’re here now to talk about the system that’s been proven to work through so many studies. So many times it was shown that people didn’t in fact stop doing what they’re doing. Instead, they were even more motivated because it’s easier to do your work when it’s not a mean of survival but a way to feel like you’re doing something right. And yet, we’re still stubborn or possibly too stupid to see it. Or are we?

Each time I was presented with this discussion, three questions popped in my head:

1. How do you set up the UBI so it provides to everyone’s needs properly?

2. How do you sustain the system?

3. How do you make sure it doesn’t get abused like the welfare systems of today?

In every discussion I asked these, I wasn’t able to obtain a satisfactory answer. There was no shortage of ideas but none of them made me feel that they’re close to the solution since I couldn’t help but try and pick it apart. And each time I found something that instantly made my brain go “nope, this isn’t going to work”. But in past few days these questions crossed my mind again and suddenly, an epiphany. I got the answers right under my nose.

Answer 1: This is a technical question and the answer lies in setting up the system itself. Keep in mind that shift to UBI can be done so subtly that you won’t notice it at all. Or it can be such a huge shift that’s not compatible with how the things are going now so it has to be build from the ground up. And when you have clean slate, you can do whatever you want and it’s you who sets the constraints, making any worries in relation to the previous state of things irrelevant.

Answer 2: *points to the rant above* Here’s the answer. People will do extra things to make their standard of living just that little bit better. Wait, that sounds selfish. Personal, that’s the word. And remember, you don’t have to worry about losing your well-being because you’re still provided enough to sustain yourself. And if you can safely keep yourself afloat, you have the room to help someone else. There you go. There’s the answer.

Answer 3: This one requires a bit of backstory first. My country has quite a significant Roma population. And as you may know, they’re not treated exactly well. On one hand, their previously nomadic culture isn’t exactly 100% compatible with the more settled way of life we have. At the same time however, any attempt at integration is lukewarm at best and the level of prejudice doesn’t help either. I grew up during the early 2000s where Roma people were considered “lesser people”. Usually pushed to the edges of cities, away from the centres. You’d say it’s for safety. But how does “sweeping the issues under the carpet” contribute to safety? But this is a conversation for another time.

The reason I put this story here is that the same people are being viewed as “welfare queens”. And while they do get significant support, let me ask you this question: How come the system allows this? How come the system is fine with not only negative racism/xenophobia by making them “lesser people” but at the same time positive racism/xenophobia (yes, positive discrimination is a thing and it has the same roots as the negative one) by allowing them to exploit this loophole? Can you answer?

Let’s do some perspective-taking. Imagine you’re in a situation they experience. You’re considered “lesser being” thus by default excluded from many things due to prejudice. At this point your options are either to turn criminal or find a questionable loophole. In either case however, you’re not viewed favourably. But what if there was no incentive because you’d always have at the very leas the basic support? Imagine you didn’t need to do this because you’re already given all the sustenance you need from the start and you’re free to pursue whatever you want? And there you have it. There’s your answer to the last question from my list. The abuse issue resolves itself by making the abuse not worth the effort. Why abuse something when I don’t get any benefit from it? Keep in mind that humans are to a certain extent benefit-driven beings. And if there’s no benefit, why do it in the first place?

Wow, did I just solve the issues here? Well, no. In fact, I haven’t addressed the second part of the title. And it’s not going to be a cheery story. How come? Read the end of the previous paragraph; benefit-driven beings. Now look at what people are capable of doing to squeeze any tiny profit for themselves. How easily people abandon any ethical and moral boundaries or any boundaries in general. Not to mention that the system will need some way of arbitration. And who do you give this to? Some representatives? Then it’s not much different than what we have now and it takes only one person clever and insane enough to turn this into hell. Some form of anarchy? How do you enforce any form of rules in such a system? Remember, rules not enforced are rules non-existent. It’s quite disheartening to have the solution to many issues of current world right in front of you only to realise that the final few steps are the ones where something can pull the rug from under your feet and not only have you fall but also break your legs in such a way that you won’t be able to move anymore.

So, is UBI the next step in our life? I cautiously lean towards “yes”. Are we ready for this life? No. No, we’re not. Not until we at the very least stop painting slavery rosy pink and call it “dedication”.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

I don't like being a centre of attention. Now, before you scratch a bald spot on your head from trying to figure out what the hell am I blabbering about, I don't mean as in I hate being in a spotlight. I'm not exactly comfortable in such situations but I've learnt to handle myself over the course of time. What I mean by my distaste towards being the centre of attention is having it all the time. You know, being popular. Why? Because I'm just a human being which happens to do something that people like and happen to share it with others. I don't intend to create a cult of personality. Like, fuck no. And believe me when I tell you that the fuzzy folks suffer from this quite a bit. The term “popufur” (portmonteau of “popular furry”) exists for a reason and it makes my skin crawl and my ears curl into my head. But this could be a whole another rant and not only I'm not in a ranty mood but also don't really want to dive into this topic. That said, it loosely links to what I hinted to at the beginning and to a later part of the post.

Now, to roll back to Soatok's thread, he's been talking about his feelings towards the so called “wine and dine” events or you could say culture; shortly what they are, how they make him feel and that sort of thing. This led me to an answer which pretty much aligns with such events. To quote the relevant part:

Overly megalomaniacal, sterile, awkward and “classy”. I never understood what's the point of such events? Build up some weird sense of superiority? A show off thing?

You can probably see where I’m going with this. The fake aristocratic feeling of the event. The sanity and sterility of all interactions. It’s as if everything you say and do is so meticulously crafted to the last detail. As if you were a perfectly trained dog being led on a leash, being fed every single action like a command. It’s all “precise and perfect”.

And FAKE AS FUCK. You see all those “happy smiles” masking the awkward internal screaming. Or hiding the mildly deragned person. This applies especially when you’re among the people from “higher places”. I can vouch for this experience not just during events but somewhat during my everyday life. As you may know or have figured out, I’m an IT tech during the day. Specifically SW/HW engineer but that’s just a detail. However, the office space I’m in is mostly populated by various managerial folks. And whoo boy is it an experience. We usually tend to meet up during lunch time and sometimes the conversations are just … disconnected. It’s amazing how absolutely oblivious and detached these people are. And they aren’t even anywhere high in the “chain of leadership”. They’re just PMs, LMs etc. But scratch the surface and you’ll see the real person. Usually emotionally immature, mildly self-centred and about as empathetic as a run-of-the-mill serial killer. Now imagine spending an evening with these folks. It’s this just ten times worse. It’s like being an Ace person that has been invited to an orgy (would very much relate since I’m an Ace myself). Pardon me the mildy distasteful analogy. There’s a reason I tend to avoid any form of “team-building” (trust me, you don’t build a team over these things) or company events.

“But Rawi, you need to build connections!” Connections with who? People who are about as reliable as a used Cybertruck (if it lasts long enough and in good enough state that it has any resale value)? People that are about as sincere about their actions as populist politician is about raising pensions? Like, what kind of skills can I learn from these folks? How to be an insufferable arrogant dick? How to parade my self-perceived supremacy?

Alright, I’ll cut the list here before I start chewing my desk from frustration. But you probably get my point. Trust me, if I’m to suffer through such thing, someone with a pet will be my saviour. I’ll happily spend time playing with someone’s fluffy companion if I’m allowed to rather than listen to another “business conversation”. Or I’ll “escape” for a while to decompress. Or, if there’s someone who happens to be a genuinely decent person, it’s likely we’ll manage to find some cosier corner away from the crowd and have some quality time of our own. Now now, keep your mind out of the gutter.

Now, how does this link to the popularity thing? Well, kind of does because some of these events will be combined with meeting some guest of honour or some in general someone famous. And as you may know, people tend to go head over heels to be on these. They’ll spend their hard-earned resources to be there. And then what? An autograph? Few minutes of awkward silence mixed with fawning?

Like seriously, what were you expecting? These folks are just people like everyone else. They have their lives, their friends, their own plans of spending time and their own schedules in some cases. Don’t get me wrong it’s not like they aren’t interested but they’re not going to go head over heels. For them it’s just an event like any other and like for many.

“Rawi, why are you such a downer?” you may ask. My dear reader, I’m not. And it’s not like I haven’t got the experience or that there aren’t well-known people I had a chance to meet wouldn’t like to stumble upon. For example, as a kid I spent some time with some of the most famous NHL players from my country (yes, there were and still probably are quite a few). Mind you, I was twelve and already didn’t really care. At NFC, I stumbled upon Fluke and Tirox, both quite famous furs. And while I did have a chance to say hello to Fluke, that was it. No need to hound him around and go crazy. If someone told me I could get to an Aviators’ concert (the furry musician from US, might know him as his fox fursona Sky), I’d take the chance (but only in Europe and easy to access location). But still, I’m there for the music and the experience. I still wouldn’t go insane over Avi and would let him have his time first and foremost. Because, as mentioned before, all of them are people like everyone else and share their hobby like many others. The only difference is that they commited a lot of time and passion and happened to make it into something that makes them earn their living.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

A bit of context since this is related to this woof’s backstory. When I finally embraced my fuzzy side for reals, it was during the pandemic times. The isolation eventually led me to the very place which connected me to my SO and my closest friends. But what happened with others? Well, this is where the story comes in. Back in the “isolation days” the place was one of the sources of sanity. Yes, I know I have a rather odd definition of what keeps me sane but trust me, it helped a lot. The place felt like a cosy refuge from the craziness of the real world and helped forge my initial feeling about my fuzzy peers. Somehow I managed to build up a pleasant image which made me quite welcome in the place.

This however wasn’t meant to last. Once life returned into the “usual”, the cosiness of the place began to erode. Sure, real life has been a mess (and is going to be for quite some time) but none of that felt like it validated the raise in tension and sometimes hostility. More and more the place felt like it pushed folks away which eventually resulted in the departure; sudden, quiet and unknown to anyone aside from the very closest people (who already left the place before).

Fast forward few years and we’re here now. First experience of being the fur for real and with it the chance to meet some familiar faces, which I did. And among them were people from the past, who I haven’t talked to for quite a while. And of course the news of me being around for reals have spread among the folks. Now, don’t take this the wrong way as if suddenly crowds have appeared around me. Good lord, no. I’d be utterly terrified of such experience if it ever happened. Woof likes his cosy corner far too much for this. The thought that started coursing in my neurons after all this is more along these lines; I’ve known these people for years. We’ve had a lot of pretty good moments and barely if any clashes. Yet I’ve just disappeared without saying a word, leaving the folks wondering what happened. On one hand, I don’t owe any explanation. On the other, it feels weird just going poof like this. It doesn’t help that there’s not in insignificant chance of encountering people that actually made me leave in the first place. Do I want to take the risk?

So yeah, this is a situation that has been just sitting in my head recently. Normally I’d just move on, being the “professional renegade” but this time around it doesn’t feel right. Not without giving some form of closure at least.

What would you do in this situation? Would you mend the withered bridges? Even if it meant crossing them just once and moving on anyway?

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

“Does anyone truly earn billions of dollars?” If someone claims so, a nice follow-up question would be: “At whose expense?” Sadly we can often figure out the disturbing answer.

“Can we even hope to rely on their altruism?” I'd dare to go as far as saying that being a billionaire and being altruistic are mutually exclusive. If you desire to hoard, you can't give honestly. More often than not altruistic people have barely anything (sometimes to their own detriment but that's a different story). The “generous” gestures of the wealthy are just that; a hollow gesture designed to gain some surface level sympathy and to “appease the masses”. See every single present populist.

Benny took a bit of a deeper look into the first part of the response so I’ll refer to his post linked above. I’d like to look at the second part. I’m sure everyone has heard *insert your “favourite” populist “leader” here* scream about how they’re doing things for people. How they’re going to hand out all these resources. Uh huh, sure. How did you earn those in the first place? Who did you screw over so you can now play this “benevolent god”?

See where I’m going? Why I’m not considering their acts altruistic? Like, it’s really easy to give when you already effectively robbed someone else. Or even worse when you exploited the very “base” you’re now pandering to. But who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him? Because there are almost overwhelming numbers of followers, “grateful” for the bone thrown by their “merciful” leader, “wisely” leading them towards better times. Good lord, I’m just typing this and it makes my skin crawl.

But it is what it is. A cheap trick, playing on the most basic feelings and weaponising act of generosity for evil purposes. And you know what’s worse? That all these acts of false or transactional generosity undermine the original value of said virtue. Because why be generous when you eventually get cheated? So you start expecting an act of reciprocity. And it doesn’t come, it erodes your trust in others further, eventually isolating you. But generosity isn’t necessarily a one for one exchange, especially in altruistic sense. So coming back to the original context, an act of altruism motivated by personal gain isn’t altruistic at all. Because a selfless act can’t be motivated by selfish reasons. Otherwise you’re still acting selfishly, just with an “acceptable” excuse.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts

Now, I’m not going to paint some utopian idealistic image of some “knight in a shining armour”. For one, I don’t possess nearly enough knowledge on the subject (remember, you’re reading ramblings of some rando on the Interwebs who has too many thoughts in his head) nor do I want to compare myself to likes of Machiavelli. And let’s be honest, his image of “The Ruler” isn’t exactly something anyone these days would like. Well, maybe except those ignorantly incompetent. What I’d like to ponder on however is how some quite freqeuent ideas are and the caveats of them.

Let’s start with the idea of a “People’s leader”. More often than not we hear that “the one’s on top are so detached from reality of the common citizen”. And it’s not difficult to find many examples of being right. This makes the desire for the so called “Leader from the People” quite high. Because hey, who better to understand the needs of the many than someone who’s part of the many, right? Well, I invite you to take a look at the manifestations of these leaders. And take a good look not only on the leader but their “subjects”. Now ask yourself: Are these people competent in terms of leadership? Or are they just an angry mob operating on the premise: “Me see suit = Me bash. Me put meself in suit = me good.” Pardon my mocking language but I’m exaggerating on purpose. Well, only partly because it’s staggeringly common to see such image. Besides, I’m sure you’re familiar with the small country called Slovakia and who their PM is. Or if you want a historical example, look at former Eastern Bloc during the height of the “Red Overlords” era. The level of incompentence among the “leadership” is staggeringly high (not the highest though because recent events made them look actually decent at their job … “well done”, UnSA). So, before you start calling for a “Leader from the People”, make sure they have at least some basic intelligence, both intellectual AND emotional.

Speaking of intelligence, previous paragraph may sound as if only highly educated people should be leaders. Yeah, let me stop you right there. I wouldn’t advocate for anything like this. Why? Let’s look a little bit into history again. More specifically into a country which in 1940s had some “purity-obsessed” (as in let’s kill anyone who doesn’t breathe with the correct nostril first) leadership. With some archival research you might be able to find psychological assessments of the prominents of the regime. And what a surprise, they would be scoring quite high when it comes to intelligence (if we use IQ as measurement). Still want someone in the lead just because they’re intelligent? Keep in mind that these people can also learn easily not only academic knowledge but likely some rather unsavoury psychological methods; manipulation, coercion, controlling the crowds to do their bidding etc. “But why would they do this?” you might ask. Ever heard of greed? Lust for power? Selfishness? They are the intelligent, the superior, the “chosen”. For them, you’re lesser beings. Cattle to herd. Sub-human existences to abuse and exterminate once no longer useful. Good lord, I’m going to need a decontamination bath after writing this. It reminded me yet again why I never want to get into a position where I would be an unrestrained authoritarian. Because I’d make the most cruel monsters of the previous century look like kittens. Anyway, let’s not ponder this dreadfully dark path.

So, now what? “Leader of the People” will probably be a dangerous idiot and likely surrounded by yes-people (aka even worse idiots). Highly educated leader poses risk of becoming a supremacist monster. So who’s the ideal leader? Well, weirdly enough, often times they’re the people you wouldn’t notice until the time is right. Because such people come in situations that calls for them. They often become the motivators for broader action. A seed of change that sooner or later blooms. And once the change bears fruit, such leader is no longer needed for their responsibility pulls them back into their mundane lives. “Wait, so you’re telling me there’s no such thing as an ideal leader?” There is, my dear reader. But that leader is not universal. Who’s good for one era wouldn’t fare well in a different one. And those who try and break this rule often fall on their face. In better cases, they only fall themselves. In worse cases, they take many innocent lives with them.

R.R.A.

#InTheMazeOfThoughts