jewishatheist:

The humanity of a system is better judged by the criticisms of the disaffected than by the praise of the satisfied.

The other day I read the xojane article “What women’s media needs to know about chassidic women” and it got me musing. There’s a lot to say, and perhaps I will in later posts, but I wanted to focus on one idea it inspired:

I really question the perspective of people already in a movement. I hesitate to accept their opinions as being truly informed or completely rational. The fact is, people defend and rationalize even terrible situations - if it’s their own. Of course, some people may enjoy or at least be satisfied with a given system. They focus on the stuff they like, or simply convince themselves they’re happy with it. I say this because you can find people in all sorts of horrible and oppressive situations which they rationalize as being ok. Abusive relationships, stockholm syndrome {x}, or just think of some of the dangerous cults/religions which have unquestionably harmed their members physically, psychologically, or sexually. {Well, at least it’s unquestionable to those outside the cult.} Outsiders readily recognize the problems when they’re not their own. 

Additionally, people often don’t consider or even realize that things could be different. They may literally not know of any other way of life, or it may be so beyond them that’s it’s simply unthinkable. Kinda like that d’var torah about “not coveting your neighbor’s wife” {or other property} being comparable to a peasant who wouldn’t even dream of marrying the princess. It’s just not in his realm of possibilities. Similarly, how many kids raised (ultra-)orthodox even consider the possibility that they could leave and live happily? How many women even question the fairness of religious laws and customs? and so on.

In contrast, a member who’s become disillusioned is in a better position to judge the system since they understand the system’s mentality but can also recognize the problems. I’m not saying they’re objective or unbiased, but they can consider it from more than one angle.

The fact is, it’s difficult to criticize a system we’re in. Some of us may genuinely enjoy it; some may convince themselves they do; and some may simply feel unenthusiastic. Their praise for the system - and this isn’t merely religion, btw, it applies to government and culture as well - doesn’t mean as much to me as the criticism of those former or current members who can see the problems.

I’m sure a lot of you will jump on me over this idea, and probably say that it applies equally to me or that BTs {‘born-agains’~, like the article author} are in a position to judge fairly. I’m not convinced, but feel free to fill up my inbox with your objections.

Cheers.

{Full Resolution Link}

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Followup #1: Got a message “suggesting” that I remove savage since he’s considered trans-unfriendly. Two points: a. I’m not equating everyone in the photo. They’re just interesting examples of the point I’m trying to make. b. I’m not against swapping savage for someone else.. but it’s gonna be a huge pain in the ass, so it might take some time.

#2: Frederick Douglass; Susan B. Anthony; Martin Luther King Jr.; Wafa Sultan; Ai Weiwei; Dan Savage; The Unknown Rebel.

"Right now we’re living in what Carl Sagan correctly termed a demon-haunted world. We have created a Star Wars civilisation but we have Palaeolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. That’s dangerous."

E. O. Wilson, New Scientist 21 April 2012 (via cuttlephilia)

"You can either have one guy lifting a billion pounds by himself, and it takes many years of planning and preparation - or you can have a billion people, each lifting one pound, and it takes a mere moment. This is the power of unity."

Jacque Fresco (via kaapvaal)

I Lost My Job

- “I Lost My Job” is a short documentary film which sets out to explore the phenomenon which is affecting and due to affect many people’s lives - namely, technological unemployment. The documentary also examines what we can do about it as a society through the analysis of a transitional direction.

(Source: youtube.com)

kikhettoh:

Open your eyes.

feeeeeooonah:

Chernobyl Heart 

This is one of the most heart wrenching documentaries I’ve watched so far. Looking at how grateful the parents are over a heart surgery for their child makes me more grateful than ever for my fortunate life. 

Transcendence Through Technology

“The Lights in the Tunnel” by Martin Ford explores the implications of the increasing automation of labor. It begins by visualizing the world economy, and how it will change as automation increasingly eliminates labor. Many commonly held beliefs are dispelled throughout the book with convincing logic and some unquestionable evidence. This is not something we can afford to ignore. Even without the current rapid advances in technology or full artificial general intelligence, automation is going to have some significant effects on society, and it is going to happen sooner than you think.

The entire system of consumerism depends on the majority having jobs. There is in fact a tipping point, a point where there are not enough people earning an income to sustain our current system.

"The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale and in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter."

Bill Mollison (via appletonpermaculture)

(Source: cerasi)

Fukushima to Burn Highly-Radioactive Debris

Fukushima will start burning radioactive debris containing up to 100,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram.

How much radiation is that? It is a lot. Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen has said that much lower levels of cesium - 5,000-8,000 bq/kg (20 times lower than what will be allowed to be burned at Fukushima) - would be sent to a special facility in the United States and buried underground for thousands of year. It is comparable to the levels of radioactivity found within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Source