Hope probably requires action too, otherwise nothing backs it up and grounds it into reality.
Thanks for chatting, sorry it wasn’t worthwhile for you - it was worth it for me.
I’ll keep working on myself, and when I am the shining beacon that even you could stand beside, maybe we could have another chat about caring and action.
You’re saying you don’t do anything to help them but you want to seem like you do.
I am not doing well. It’s not an excuse and it doesn’t make me lesser. I am working to be healthy. You are free to perceive reality however you wish, I choose to believe the world is a friendly place. If I was healthy, I would be able to do more for myself as well as others.
I have experienced some pretty terrible things. I know very well that life can be unkind, but I still persevere and I’m working towards healing. Thanks for your feedback, not everybody is the saint you expect them to be, but it doesn’t make them lesser or bad.
Considering that I have volunteered my time to help and feed the homeless when I was healthy, and have volunteered a significant amount of time in my life, I’d be willing to if I had an organization alongside me.
Why do you feel the need to purity test me?
Well considering that a lot of people suffering are experiencing economic problems in my country or problems with their environment; like not being able to receive health care and suffering from treatable physical illness, or not being able to get out of sticky situations with abusive people or dynamics, or having employment issues, or being homeless/in debt and so forth - I can’t exactly give them a place to live or give them money because I really have none to give.
In those cases, what can I personally do for them? Of course I can listen, I can give solicited advice, and I can point them to the resources they have access to.
I advocate for those resources to be more accessible for all. Health-allowing, I want to volunteer my time and become more politically active.
For me, I have a stigma to medication because the side effects are terrifying. I almost died from SSRIs, I got very ill and also suicidal. On benzos, I got paradoxically anxious and angry after cessation/when I wasn’t taking them (I am not an angry person). I took them as prescribed - always.
I only got more and more unstable after taking various psychiatric drugs, and everyone in my family who has taken psychiatric drugs was not better off for it. Seems like suicidal ideation is a common reaction for those in my family. Perhaps there is a genetic cause for it, like how we metabolize drugs.
I don’t know a single person in my life who has had a good experience, but if you or someone you know has had a good experience, I’m happy for you. It’s just unfair to say it’s magical thinking when there are real life reasons why people are hesitant.
See Soteria Houses. Schizophrenia or psychosis is not always a permanent state that requires medication for the rest of the patient’s life. Soteria Houses achieve remission in individuals with little to no psychiatric medication. They use antipsychotics for stabilization, in controlled doses, and usually (to the best of my knowledge) only for a few months - though every case is different.
I care, and I know a lot of other people do as well.
I read enough of OP’s comments and looked at their past commenting/post history and it was pretty clear that it was a cry for help. It wasn’t for karma - they deleted their account. OP was nothing but polite and responded to many comments.
Of course, I do realize that there is a lot of junk, especially on the front page.
It’s not hard to give somebody the benefit of the doubt, be compassionate, and direct them to services and resources that can help them. It takes much more effort to be hateful, doubtful, and judgemental.
OP’s last comment was them admitting that they should be institutionalized, they also admitted that they were probably being lazy given the massive amounts of comments accusing them of such behavior.
OP didn’t give off the air of being unable to live independently, they just couldn’t do physical chores, like taking out the garbage, because their heart rate would go up to 200~ upon standing.
If OP just hired a cleaning service - problem solved.
Everybody deserves kindness, compassion, and empathy.
Ableist people also include people that idealize not being ableist. They come up with excuses like, “I’m not being ableist, I’m just giving you hard love!”, or, “You need to do what I say and do it exactly how I say because I care about you!”.
There was a reddit thread on the frontpage recently where many people were dog-piling on a severely disabled person. The person was diagnosed with moderate autism with intellectual disability, a severe heart condition, severe PTSD, and ADHD.
Many people came into the thread to say that OP was making up their disability, that OP should be institutionalized if they can’t comply with the unreasonable (and harmful to OP’s health) demands from their relative, they accused OP of being a troll because their doctor wouldn’t give them bad advice (OP bought $30 dollars worth of alcohol every couple months to entertain with friends with their doctor’s blessing), they shamed OP for not getting a job when they can barely stand up on their own two feet (and OP’s doctor/therapist/psychiatrist say OP can’t work), and so forth.
OP’s aunt was fining OP (who is on a limited income of $1000 a month and charging OP $500 a month for rent) $200 dollars for every instance of them not doing their chores exactly how their aunt wanted and behaving in the way that the aunt wanted. OP was a formal tenant, and living in a split unit and was mostly independent, though unable to do things like take out the trash. If OP reached fines totaling $2000 dollars, OP’s aunt threatened them with institutionalization and/or homelessness.
Commenters said how sick OP’s story made them (the sickness being directed towards OP), how bad they felt for OP’s aunt, they commented how OP’s aunt’s demands were completely justified because her resentment built for many years from “putting up” with OP, they said how disgusted they are were at OP’s “laziness”, and many chimed into to say how they are also disabled and OP doesn’t deserve special attention or care because OP is a grown adult. Most repeating constantly that they weren’t being ableist.
Some people even coaxed OP into detailing their sexual relations with others, while questioning OP about their heart condition.
It was truly heartbreaking to witness an incredibly vulnerable person being abused to that degree by their relative and hundreds, if not thousands, of redditors. OP eventually deleted their reddit account.
Can you please just apologize to those who were offended and promise to be more sensitive moving forward? That’s the sure-fire way to defuse the allegations accusing you of being a transphobe and put everybody at ease.
Refraining to comment further on the topic is smart until you learn more about the dynamics at hand. Transgender individuals face an unprecedented amount of discrimination and vitriol.
If anything, the bourgeoisie are generally polarizing people against each other, particularly pitting people against others who are different or who are in vulnerable positions.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/30/tyson-foods-toxic-pollutants-lakes-rivers
Don’t forget the massive amounts of toxic dumping they engage in, which to the best of my knowledge, has not been remediated.
I believe action can come in a lot of different forms. I very often give advice online, barring my ability to do anything in the real world - due to my body not cooperating. There’s a lot on my list for myself, the people I love, and the community around me.
Advice still isn’t the same thing as direct support and intervention, despite giving helpful tips and (hopefully) life-changing advice to probably hundreds of people by now.
If I was pretending, I would’ve already deleted my account. I don’t choose to lie. I recently moved to a new area and I have checked out my opportunities for volunteering, but unless I travel to a major city (which I am unable to currently do), my impact will be minimal unless I spearhead an organization or group myself. I live in a very rural area with relatively few homeless or overtly disadvantaged people.
But, of course, it’s okay to disagree. And, it isn’t a big deal at all. I chimed in to not virtue signal, but to be the person that I am, and to show that the world may not be as cold as your (valid) perspective sheds light to.
I believe your experience is what you make it. I could easily fall into doom and gloom and let that be my reality, or I can open myself up to the idea that people who care are limited by their reality, but given the time, opportunity, and means would help others out.
A vulnerable person could read your perspective and hurt themselves or worse. That was my specific reasoning for response. Hope that makes sense.