Tired of the Misanthropy

Humanity has never been a monolithic block of homogeneity.....there have always been many things that differentiates one human from another, and groups of humans from one another; the problem is dealing with those differences in positive ways that do least harm to humanity in general. When we deny the humanity of others "not like us", we also diminish our own humanity.

I think it comes down to relative power....which may be a majority, using their power to ill treat minorites with lesser power, or vice versa, a minority with disproportionately greater power than the majority, using that power to ill treat the majority.

I doubtsk it.....many if not most here at SM, were educated and socialised under "old school" educational and socialisation experiences. I'm not seeing many gen Y and gen Z folk swanning in here with their twitter and facebook pages tattooed onto their pre frontal cortex.

Misanthropy is perhaps somewhat less of a collective behaviour, than a cluster of behaviours that in an individual tends to treat other humans less humanely than circumstances may warrant. The antidote to misanthropy is being more humane to others, and being less concerned that others don't think or do as one might do, to be valued as human beings.

 

I have similar observations RH. What I notice is there is less discussion of actual prepping topics and off grid living which are rather politic neutral. Postings for whatever reason have become somewhat dominated with rehashed or links to other sites commenting on political current events. Then of course a few too many resulting comments are not particularly welcoming to those with differing politics and religion and they seem to drift away. Personally, I can get that stuff by perusing those sites myself. I would be happy with a return to the days of mostly prepping discussions here.

AT

 

This place is tame. There is no hate towards others, there is just dislike and thinking they are stupid. Yes, stupid is correct. Think my way or the highway, type attitude. There is no real expansion of the topics and really peeling off the layers to try and understand why people think and act as they do. Just statements and generalizations but the true discussions never takes place. There are great threads but they get little comments.

 

I only participate in 3 on-line forums, this one, one gun forum, and another larger survival site. The other survival site is full of new people (new to self-reliance) that fall into 3 groups; those that want to learn, those that want to convert you to their opinion, and those that visited youtube and know for a fact that your doing it wrong. While the election was in progress, it was a pain to go there and listen to the sheer idiocy espoused as fact.

Here, we may have had some of that spill-over. But my take is that for the most part civility is the order of the day. Everyone I've ever dealt with here has conducted themselves in an honest, straight-forward manner. Now granted, I don't feel the need to get involved in every post, but if I have something that I feel is a genuine asset or help, I add it to the conversation. No one here has ever questioned my ancestry because I prefer a Zippo over a Bic.

Point is, don't be too hard on yourselves. You run a good forum where everyone is welcome and knowledge is freely exchanged and usually correct. And the few trolls that do come along don't usually last.

Jim

 

I'm probably one of the reasons for the OP, so will throw this out. Speaking from the perspective of a neophyte at survival/self reliance I'm not as likely to engage in discussion or to add to the knowledgebase because I'm still learning, so I read a lot and ask a few questions when I need some guidance. Not talking means I'm listening.

From the political standpoint I see the political climate ( a great deal of polarization as well as out and out attempts to restrict freedom) as a threat to my safety and survival which at a minimum puts me under the gun to get my survival house in order. Politics are thus relevant. I am also more likely to make posts in political threads as I at least have an opinion to share.

I have no ill will to any monkies regardless of whether or not they agree with me on any subject be it politics, firearms, food preservation, economics or Bilderberg theories. I am here to learn and gauge how close to the edge of the cliff we are. If I learn enough or have enough knowledge on a subject I will share it, but will not cloud things up with anything where I am only half learned.

For those who don't like the political content I would suggest ignoring those threads much as you might ignore aby other subject under discussion that does not pertain to your interest.

 

I agree with Ghrit on that, that PC is a (or THE) root cause. PCism has gone too far when you can't quote the Bible because it might offend others, FBI stats or point out that some things are counter to survival because it might offend the criminal classes, or THE majority violent street crime criminal class anyway. I have negro friends who have family in East St. Louis and THEY are afraid of going there! Want to haul your lily white rear there and explain to the people beating/murdering you that they are being misanthropic while you sing "Kom by Ya"? Better to be PC and dead than face the truth and survive I guess, after all we don't want to be misanthropic and right!

Kurt Saxon once said (in print) when some PC idiot said that when some criminal is trying to rape/murder you that you shouldn't fight back because it might offend them or might make them angry, "Dear Heart, if they are raping or trying to murder you, don't you think they are already angry at you? Why are you worried about their feelings anyway and not your own survival?" Exactly.

Obviously this snowflake (is that PC? I mean I wouldn't want to offend the stupid and anti-survival of their species/crowd. Wait, is not wanting to offend the stupid PC or offensive? Oy!) thought it was better to die than be accused of "misanthropy", but judging by the local communist rags (OPENLY communist rags, NOT trying to hide that fact and openly proud of it) they don't have any compunction about attacking, killing (remember the guy in the ambulance they wouldn't let by who died? Why no charges in that?!), or denigrating any one else who doesn't toe the (communist) party line. No one dares accuse them of being "misanthropic", or anything else because they WILL hunt you done and kill you. Literally. Same with the back biting, dissension, feuding, and attacking of other views. They do it because they have the power to do it and can get away with it, not because they are are right, after all they know in their heart they are wrong, they just can't admit it.

Why NOT tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may? Why NOT say the survival of ourselves, of the intelligent, and the working classes are more important than the criminal classes, the non-working and the obviously idiot snowflake classes? Sorry, I have no problem "dooming" the lazy and stupid if my family survives through my hard work and provenance, and theirs doesn't, due to lack of it.

"Don't they like anyone but others who are exactly the same as they are?" You mean why DON'T we welcome the people who hate us, want to kill us, enslave us and destroy all we have built? Well I guess you got me there, I got no idea why that would offend anyone. I agree with the comment about "cultural negativity" too. I mean when some criminal is kicking down my door, they probably DO "have the same feelings" I do, that is they want the stuff I worked for and I do too. See? We already have a lot in common!

As to politics, anyone who thinks that politics and survival(ism) don't have anything to do with each other, well obviously they didn't pay any attention to the last election, and the survival of this country AS a country.

"(N)oticed that the neighborhood is a little less kind an welcoming than it used to be". True. I too have noticed that truth, intelligence, honesty, and (dare I say it? Why not.) Christian values that made this country great, and the unwillingness to back down from same is barely tolerated at best and viciously attacked at worst. Hey, if you DON'T like Christian values (sorry Chell!), WANT to live in a place where you wipe your bum with your bare left hand, don't WANT to be free, think it is OK to enslave others not of your religion and women, kill homosexuals, so on and so forth, WANT to live under communism and be told what to do every waking moment, well there is a whole world out there to chose from, just leave my little corner of it alone. When you want to come here and take it away from me and replace it with yours, yeah, I get a little less welcoming. Sorry about that.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Being a Nube here, I cannot speak to the feelings here that the OP has stated, And as such I am inclined to voice my opinion matches closely with 3M's! I am also not that long from a very structured life style, one I spent the better part of my adult life in, and so this new freedom is hitting me from many different directions. I find SM to be pretty tame and welcoming compared to many others I have visited. in fact I only participate in ONE other forum, and that one can get pretty hot at times! You speak of times back about 5 years ago, I would submit that things changed then due to a lot of political things happening in this country, and most of it decidedly not good! Like 3M pointed out, much of that IS a direct threat to us in our survival, some of it is in your face, and some isn't so out right bad! I offer an Apology to one and all if I have in any way, contributed to any of this negativity. For my self, I really dig this sight, and I love reading all the vast threads of knowledge, and for that I thank all of you! I say let it follow it's natural course now that the politics are starting to die down some, and see where things go from there. Maybe have a TOTM for several areas that have not been visited in a while, I am sure there is a wealth of new, or different ideas that we can all share, I do not see things coming to an end just because every thing has been figured out all ready, In fact, I think there is much yet to be discovered, and I for one am always excited to learn all that I can!

 

Maybe I'm the exception to that rule, apparently.

 

Just to be clear, I certainly and I suspect most people do not believe politics is irrelevant to survival. The point is discussion and focus on that does little to make my homestead a better location for survival. It doesn't increase my knowledge or skills or equipment selections or stores I may need to weather those threats. That plus the much higher level of prepping sophistication (not the basic stuff seen elsewhere) was the primary attraction of this site for me. And while there is a ton of info in the archives, I am not ready to think that most that can be written about prepping has been. The political stuff is fine, I just don't want that to be mostly all there is anymore as I can easily find that elsewhere.

I also want to note that I think the admins/moderators do a superb job keeping this place reasonably civil. Thank you.

AT

 

Well I guess I should back off the pot stirring I do due to news from various sources. I got what I wanted from the election so far and should mostly be in a happy wait and see mode there. For the most part the snow flakes, cup cakes, big mouth celebrities have quit their shrill screaming, and SJW (social justice warriors) have worn down and pretty much ceased threatening damaging riots. I guess I should concentrate my efforts on what immediately around me needs attention at let the rest take care of itself. The War on Cops that seems to be going on full steam ahead still angers me, that and the ignorance that any confrontation between BLM (and folks that blindly lean that way over all truth and common sense) and any whites or Cops of any color is an anti black racial matter with the blacks being in the right always, upsets me greatly. It just ain't so. In hindsight I have never been mishandled by police officers of any form except when I was clearly out of line, and even then it wasn't all that bad. But all those incidents were 30 to 40 years ago.
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@RightHand , we seldom hear from you, and I for one listen closely when you do speak up. Many of us yes could adjust our attitudes and probably everyone would be better off if we held some of our thoughts to ourselves. That is what I took from what you said whether or not that was the intent. I will tone it back a good bit.

 

This is an odd thread. We had a lovely thread posted the other day- A simple Thank You | Survival Monkey Forums one of our members was spreading good will and thanks. I know this year Vhestin started a Thanksgiving thread hoping people would put what they are grateful/ thankful for.

Thank you @tacmotusn RH does not post enough. I have encouraged her to but she chooses to read. I personally have expressed to friends here that I wish there was more activity in the Green room because I really enjoy gardening and homesteading topics. Well no use complaining. If I want discussion on some issue that deal with the overall topic of the forum, then it is up to me to start the threads. Tac I do not mind your posts. It is what you do, it is what you post. Some people write more about one subject then others. I feel that is fine.

The forum is what you make it.

 

I also think that politics is related to survivial. I am not saying that all preppers share one political views. That is definitely not the case . What I am saying is that certian political decisions can influence survival probablitities and steps that we need to take as preppers. If a certain political party got their way and banned firearms I think that most of us agree that it would seriously change our prepping strategy. If politicians make rules that restrict water rights, installation of solar or wind or other similr things, that will impact our prepping behavior. I am not what one would call very socially conservative. I don't care who marries whom or who has abortions as long as I am not forced to pay for it. I don't hate entire groups of people as a rule. I have found that people are individuals and should be treated as such. Now, if someone goes calling everyone who voted for Trump racists, sexists, homophobes, bigots etc just because of their vote then I do have a serious problem with that person. I really dislike being judged by folks I have never had any dealings with. I think considering most other sites this one is pretty tame. RH is correct though in that we should all try to be civil to everyone we meet at least until they deserve otherwise because of their actions.

 

Frankly, I would not change anything on this forum. I have found it to truly be fair and a place where one can have intelligent conversation. Perhaps it has evolved, changed but, to me, it's a place of good, a community where I can ask my 'dumb questions' without fear of ridicule, a place of knowledge, a place of maturity which I believe is the major ingredient what makes this forum different, that and hard won experience. I would bet the average age on this forum would surprise most of us. And, it's this that makes it accepting and different.

I agree with @3M-TA3 completely concerning the relevancy of politics. Understanding politics is as much a part of survival as building a fire, perhaps more so, because building a fire is quite simple compared to the complex world of politics. I consider politics to be more like the study of health and/or disease for politics surely can make me ill, incapacitate or even kill me.

This is the only forum in which I participate.