ID: photo of Martin Luther King Jr. waving at the crowd during the March on Washington, on it is his quote: “He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
ID: photo of Martin Luther King Jr. waving at the crowd during the March on Washington, on it is his quote: “He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
“You shouldn’t pay attention to politics it’s unhealthy.” - My “liberal” “centrist” family. “You should focus on yourself” they say, “It is what it is, can’t do anything to change it, work on yourself” they say, as if the most enlightened and reasonable perspective is to put a blanket over your head and pretend that the monsters don’t exist. They’d say “It’s hard to take you seriously, maybe become a politician or economist” but when you give them reading material written by economists, politicians, as well as lauded minds like MLK Jr or Einstein, they roll their eyes and go “You shouldn’t pay attention to politics it’s unhealthy, focus on yourself.”
I’m not American so I’m not in as desperate a situation as you might be. That said, I have had the same discussions with many people and I’ve learned a few things.
One, ignoring a problem and hoping that it goes away is a totally natural coping strategy that works more often than we care to admit. It’s a perfectly appropriate coping strategy when you’re waiting out winter, but it’s maladapted to stopping fascists from knocking on your door.
Two, people only have so much bandwidth. Their jobs, kids, school work, and just existing takes up that bandwidth. When someone’s bandwidth is maxed out the only time I’ve been able to reach them is when they’re already thinking about something I have a very strong argument that aligns with their goals. Otherwise it’s a waste of time, they’re worried about getting their kids fed and in bed, they don’t have the brain power to think about how they could help overthrow the oligarchy.
Three, when those opportunities arise patience is key. Listen way more than than I speak, always keep the conversation focused on what they’re concerned about.
‘Know when to hold em, know when to fold them. Know when to walk away, know when to run.’