this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2025
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If people don't want others to be Doomers, why arent they doing something about all the doom in the world? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 6 days ago by cm0002 to c/comicstrips
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[–] [email protected] 43 points 6 days ago (3 children)

It's hard to know what to do.

I'm concerned about climate change. I spent 20 years not driving, buying locally, going to protests, organizing my local political party, avoiding flights, and trying to work for NGOs.

It kinda sucked. I missed out on things. I didn't have much money. I spent time trying to figure out how to do the right thing. I didn't have a car, so getting around sucked. My stuff sucked because I thrifted.

When I had kids, I went mainstream. I got a car. Started traveling on my vacations. Bought stuff new. Got a job with a corporation. Life is so much easier. The only thing I miss is volunteering.

I still vote my conscience, and try to buy sustainably, but I did my time. I'm done sacrificing my quality of life while assholes are living it up.

[–] Wizard_Pope 34 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Yeah that is the thing. Even if everyone did what you were doing, the main pollution is still not coming from people but large companies and the like. It's like recycling. Make your life shittier but nothing really changes. Your life just sucks and you feel better about the environment even though no noticeable change happens but you did your part.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

Spot on...

Time for Eco-sabotage to become mainstream.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Those companies polluting are making products that people are buying, they don't just pollute for the hell of it. If everyone actually changed their buying habits these companies (and most of the global economy) would collapse.

[–] RageAgainstTheRich 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

But how am i able to stop people from buying boxes full of random shit from shein and amazon? That is the problem. I have no impact on other peoples spending choices.

Take for example video games. I don't preorder and i don't buy microtransactions. Vote with your wallet right? But then there are people spending all their money on it and it just gets worse.

The only thing i can think of that i can have a tiny impact on is being vegan. Cooking vegan for people so they see its tasty and hopefully they replace their meat based dinner with a vegan one every few days.

But besides that i don't know what to do to stop people from feeding bad things in the world.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

You can't, and that's irrelevant to what I was responding to.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

There is definitely a middle ground between trying to do every possible thing you can and saying fuck it I've gone corporate. And regardless of the truth of the matter, there is also a compromise in thinking between every little thing I do matters and nothing I do matters. If you do it and it makes you feel a tiny bit better then that's another thing you are doing for the environment and for your own sanity. You've been at the far end of the spectrum doing a lot to help, it's unlikely you have actually hit the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe the best you can hope for is that some of your history and small actions rub off on your kids and people around you, and the next generations will be ready to fight harder, because they are going to need it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Im doing the sacrifice thing but not really. I don't like cars to begin with and live near transit, new things suck and I can find quality thrift stuff, the not traveling I can get but I have a lot of nice things to appreciate in my area. I don't organize or protest though and work based on pay and perks. I have a sick wife so I have enough on my plate and if someone thinks im not doing enough they can walk a mile in my shoes and then tell me what they think. Of course I vote though as your nuts to not in a democracy. Like many things its nice to experience them while you can. ("you guys remember federal parks. oh yeah those were great. and voting. that was so cool.")

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I hope things work out with your wife.

Do what works for you and what feels right. When my kids are older, I'm going to get back into volunteering. I miss the people and shared goal - that was easily the best part of that lifestyle.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

Thanks. She has a lot of things that are just not going to get better so its mostly a mitigation strategy as well as a prioritizing of medical issues. Mostly we are just appreciating the heck out of the simple things while we got them. Roof over head, food in belly, bills paid, its the bomb. Im almost glad about enshitification in the sense it makes it so easy to do this stuff. I mean I tell you im not super tempted to take a vacation involving a flight right now.

[–] surph_ninja 14 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I’m convinced most of the accounts accusing people of being “doomers” are astroturfers trying to gaslight people into complacency.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

No it just doesn't get you anywhere being a doomer. I grew out of it

We're all living and we all know things are fucked. Just some people are better at dealing with it than others. Doomers can't deal with it

Recommended movie viewing: Everything Everywhere All At Once. Might snap you out of it if you go in with the right mind set.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Everything Everywhere All At Once was about appreciating what you have in life and the people around you and not giving into hopelessness because you can't attain some romanticized perfect life. It's not about ignoring the horrible things going on in the world for the sake of your own peace of mind.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

My take from it is that any life can be enjoyable. Joyce was the doomer who just brought everyone down around her.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

She was obsessed with trying to pursue all these different skills and obsessed over all of the opportunities she made throughout her life and what she lost by not making certain choices. She overloads her daughter by trying to make her "everything" which drives her into a pit of nihilism and drives them apart. She only saves the day by realizing that she would have missed out on just as much that is good in her life by making other choices and by giving up trying to be "everything" to just love and accept her daughter--and by extension her life.

The message was essentially to appreciate the choices you've made and how they shaped the life you live, to appreciate the people around you, and to not obsess over missed opportunities and the pursuit of an impossible "perfect."

[–] surph_ninja 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Simply being a doomer doesn’t accomplish anything on its own. You have to translate it into meaningful action.

You don’t “grow out of it.” You just decided to put your head back in the sand.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Well I stopped acting like the person in the comic more like. I still pay attention to what's going on. I just don't bring up those topics at the lunch table at work for example, you know?

[–] surph_ninja 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I think it’s ok to bring it up as a call to action, so long as you’re not just wallowing in the despair.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Yup. But you have to be careful with when you do it. I lost quite a bit of friends in my doomer phase because they just couldn't handle talking to me

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Being a doomer makes you complacent though?

If you think we're doomed, (like I kind of do) you lose motivation to do anything.

I don't want to be a fucking doomer I want people to convince me to stop being one and no one seems able.

[–] surph_ninja 3 points 5 days ago

You have to use the doom & gloom to motivate you into action. It’s a useful piece to differentiate between performative and productive actions.

[–] FlashMobOfOne 22 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Unless you're a billionaire or willing to shoot someone vigilante-style, there's nothing you can do that's going to impact anyone outside of your own neighborhood.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

But if everyone brings positive effects their own neighborhood

...it'll probably be out done 1000x by the negative effects of an industrial plant or something....

but it will still make your part of the world a nicer place to be!

[–] some_designer_dude 7 points 5 days ago

But if everyone goes hunting for just one billionaire…

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's okay to make your own neighborhood a little bit better though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

What if I don't like my neighborhood because its full of backwards morons?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That's kind of tautological, isn't it? "Unless you're willing to make the world better, there's nothing you can do that's going to make the world better"

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion but I think the idea that shooting people is the main positive contribution to be made to the world is unimaginative and incorrect

[–] [email protected] -2 points 5 days ago

Yeah, It's a fantasy in the same vein as punching your boss. It's not a solution to your problems, just an end to one or two, at best. At worst it just makes everything worse.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Fuck it, Dude. Let's go bowling.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Hey cousin, let's go bowling

[–] ZoopZeZoop 1 points 5 days ago

It does seem like a happy-go-lucky activity.

[–] Dorkyd68 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I was having a great morning until I remembered how broke i am and that I have to go to the pawn shop after work to pawn something for gas money. But hey the economy is doing great

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Pawn your car. That'll get you hella gas money.

Wait... 🤔

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

The fuel of the Magi

[–] Dorkyd68 4 points 6 days ago

3 more years on the note then it's mine. I won't finance another vehicle for as long as it runs

[–] ultrahamster64 11 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Please unplug from the news, at least sometimes. For you own mental wellbeing

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I unplugged a year ago and it has been great. Highly recommended.

[–] Stegget 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I largely have as well, but I fucking hate that forced ignorance is my only path to mental and emotional regulation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

It doesn't have to be forced ignorance. I still follow the TLDR news and sister channels. They present a summary of a few key issues quite well. I know about the political parties I support and will vote in an election. I have an app for breaking news headlines (I just look at the headlines for just urgent breaking news.....but I've uninstalled this recently).

Mainstream news I have no interest in following anymore. Especially since they've pivoted to reporting on "this person said this dumb thing on social media" and "royal family/celebrity does some dumb shit".

I would also recommend using RSS for news if you have to. Subscribe to only what you want. Get news in chronological order rather than their bullshit prioritisation. Set blacklist filter words (I used to have a news RSS with a blocklist as long as my arm.....Trump, Gaza, COVID, Ukraine, Musk, Twitter, Facebook, etc etc). But now I've uninstalled this too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

The dread builds up anyway. Imagination takes over.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

I am not following. It is not my job to change how other people feel, is it? Of course we should try to change the world, but that's different from people feeling down.

[–] Sam_Bass 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

If you don't want to be a doomer, do something about the doom in the world

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

I did, before November 5th. A ton of shit. Didn't fucking matter.