have hope
this is really long.. it'll make up for my lack of updates in the past 3 years or so xD
These few days, I’ve heard a lot comments about how retarded this world and everyone in it is.. well I mean, it’s not a new phenomenon. Japan's situation is scary, the whole "feel better about the earthquake in Japan, and google ‘Pearl Harbor death toll" thing is ridiculous, and the Friday song has made me a little less excited about Fridays in general (in fact, excited level for weekends have decreased by a solid 1), and my hope for this world continue to decrease at a relatively slow, but steady pace. Comments like "You die a bit every time you find a new low," (mrawrrr ) or "Every time I read about sustainability I want to cry, the world is so awful and unjust" (ischkabibble ) are understandable, and it’s almost depressing how common they are.
I’ve gotten rid of everything I can possibly procrastinate with (other than food, so I’ve been eating a lot lately xD), so atm, staring at maps and daydreaming about nothing is all I got left, when I’m full. In one of those moments, I thought, “Everyone seems to have a limit, a point where their hope for humanity goes into the negative, even temporarily. Where is mine?”
This is the way I see it:
For every video on youtube dedicated to helping Japan, like this one:
the ratio of likes to dislikes is about the same. This video has approx. 136,383 likes, 1,350 dislikes, at 2865050 views when I saw it. So for every 1350+ people making some effort to help, 13.5 people are trolling/actively not helping, and like 25,000 people who don’t care enough to even make a decision about whether or not they like others helping. Considering the internets, out of those 13.5, 10.5 of those are probably trolls, and 3 of them actually reject the idea of helping people/hate japan. Of those 3, 2 of them will forever remain anonymous, and 1 of them will be messed up/hate japan enough to make a video/tweet about it.. and then proceed to be flamed by the 1350 who thinks he/she’s a racist asshole. I can live with that.
The problem, of course, isn’t the 13.5 haters, or even the extreme/stupid/extremely stupid ways the 1350 people try to force those 13.5 into being anything other than trolls, and be persuaded. The problem is the 25,000 people that don’t care enough to do anything, about anything. “There are too many things to care about,” “nothing I do will make a difference anyway,” “I don’t have the resources,” “I have enough to worry about,” “Why bother?” Whatever their reason/excuse, it’s not up to us to judge that they’re wrong.
The things that we believe in and care about and advocate for, we have not always believed in, cared about, or advocated for. The challenge is to influence the collective conscience to desire change. And you know what? It’ll happen. And the process will also be faster. It used to be that it took generations for peasants to be pissed off enough to risk a season of harvest to travel 2 days to go kick their landlord’s ass…and possibly die. By the Reformation, it only took about half a century for every major city in Europe to set up full elementary-university school systems with scholarship programs, because reformed values convinced enough citizens that their children need education to read the bible, in order to decide for themselves what is right and wrong, instead of trusting what a corrupt authority tells them about the most important aspect of their lives (wow long sentence). The response to aid Japan was faster and louder than it was for Haiti, because more people are getting it. but more importantly, not every farmer left to kick their landlord’s ass, and not every parent sent their children to school. Even up to this day, a lot of people don’t understand the value of education. We don’t need them.
People who are passionate about cancer research probably aren’t as involved in treating autism. Those who advocate for victims rights probably aren’t the same guys trying to help an ex-convict get a job. Architects who want to design green spaces in the most crowded cities aren’t the ones developing biodegradable paints for artists. They’re right, there are too many things to care about, and we probably won’t even make a dent. Not yet. But when they find something that’s worth it to them, they’ll get it. You’re responsible for being a part of those 1350, or even the guy that did the video. As long as you’re able to do that, at this society’s current state, there are at least 1349 others supporting you. Until that number reaches 0, I’ll continue to have hope. Don’t deny my math =P
These few days, I’ve heard a lot comments about how retarded this world and everyone in it is.. well I mean, it’s not a new phenomenon. Japan's situation is scary, the whole "feel better about the earthquake in Japan, and google ‘Pearl Harbor death toll" thing is ridiculous, and the Friday song has made me a little less excited about Fridays in general (in fact, excited level for weekends have decreased by a solid 1), and my hope for this world continue to decrease at a relatively slow, but steady pace. Comments like "You die a bit every time you find a new low," (mrawrrr ) or "Every time I read about sustainability I want to cry, the world is so awful and unjust" (ischkabibble ) are understandable, and it’s almost depressing how common they are.
I’ve gotten rid of everything I can possibly procrastinate with (other than food, so I’ve been eating a lot lately xD), so atm, staring at maps and daydreaming about nothing is all I got left, when I’m full. In one of those moments, I thought, “Everyone seems to have a limit, a point where their hope for humanity goes into the negative, even temporarily. Where is mine?”
This is the way I see it:
For every video on youtube dedicated to helping Japan, like this one:
Click to viewthe ratio of likes to dislikes is about the same. This video has approx. 136,383 likes, 1,350 dislikes, at 2865050 views when I saw it. So for every 1350+ people making some effort to help, 13.5 people are trolling/actively not helping, and like 25,000 people who don’t care enough to even make a decision about whether or not they like others helping. Considering the internets, out of those 13.5, 10.5 of those are probably trolls, and 3 of them actually reject the idea of helping people/hate japan. Of those 3, 2 of them will forever remain anonymous, and 1 of them will be messed up/hate japan enough to make a video/tweet about it.. and then proceed to be flamed by the 1350 who thinks he/she’s a racist asshole. I can live with that.
The problem, of course, isn’t the 13.5 haters, or even the extreme/stupid/extremely stupid ways the 1350 people try to force those 13.5 into being anything other than trolls, and be persuaded. The problem is the 25,000 people that don’t care enough to do anything, about anything. “There are too many things to care about,” “nothing I do will make a difference anyway,” “I don’t have the resources,” “I have enough to worry about,” “Why bother?” Whatever their reason/excuse, it’s not up to us to judge that they’re wrong.
The things that we believe in and care about and advocate for, we have not always believed in, cared about, or advocated for. The challenge is to influence the collective conscience to desire change. And you know what? It’ll happen. And the process will also be faster. It used to be that it took generations for peasants to be pissed off enough to risk a season of harvest to travel 2 days to go kick their landlord’s ass…and possibly die. By the Reformation, it only took about half a century for every major city in Europe to set up full elementary-university school systems with scholarship programs, because reformed values convinced enough citizens that their children need education to read the bible, in order to decide for themselves what is right and wrong, instead of trusting what a corrupt authority tells them about the most important aspect of their lives (wow long sentence). The response to aid Japan was faster and louder than it was for Haiti, because more people are getting it. but more importantly, not every farmer left to kick their landlord’s ass, and not every parent sent their children to school. Even up to this day, a lot of people don’t understand the value of education. We don’t need them.
People who are passionate about cancer research probably aren’t as involved in treating autism. Those who advocate for victims rights probably aren’t the same guys trying to help an ex-convict get a job. Architects who want to design green spaces in the most crowded cities aren’t the ones developing biodegradable paints for artists. They’re right, there are too many things to care about, and we probably won’t even make a dent. Not yet. But when they find something that’s worth it to them, they’ll get it. You’re responsible for being a part of those 1350, or even the guy that did the video. As long as you’re able to do that, at this society’s current state, there are at least 1349 others supporting you. Until that number reaches 0, I’ll continue to have hope. Don’t deny my math =P