Saw an op-ed that was on the surface a complaint about kids not wanting to take on family heirlooms but read like an elegy to dying traditions. The hardest part was the anxiety without recognizing that they didn’t pave the way for the decisions they assumed their kids would make.
(This is written entirely within the dominant white/western culture - about traditions that have neglectful stewardship rather than those actively suppressed)
The anxiety makes sense. You’re seeing, too late to do anything about it, that there’s no foundation - no space - for the traditions you expected to pass on. Your kids _can’t_ take your mom’s fine china. So now instead of enjoying what you have you worry about its future.
I see a pattern in these op-eds though - a pattern in what’s left unsaid. There were responsibilities tied to these traditions. You collectively assumed they _would_ be passed along. So collectively, what did you do to ensure those traditions _could_ be passed along?
Op-eds never speak for everyone, but it’s worth acknowledging the pattern in what speech is deemed worth sharing widely. And in this particular pattern, there’s an answer: that answer looks like “nothing.”
You want the china passed down but your kids have no room in their rentals. You want grandkids but your kids don’t have the financial stability. You want that cross-country RV neverending road trip but you’ve had decades of wanting lower taxes more than you wanted infrastructure.
The bleak outlook for traditions is a direct result of the unmaintained foundations for them.
The second best time is always now - if it’s important enough to op-ed about, what are you willing to change to get it back? What will you give up or re-prioritize?
I kinda think that world-defining assumptions are always gonna break without maintenance. So rather than getting mad at whoever’s next for not carrying on the norms we didn’t do upkeep on, when it’s my turn, I hope I’m introspective enough to help instead of externalize & blame.
i love the ‘im a little shit’ heroes who act like they dont have a care in the world when faced with evil but for once i want a hero whos just, fucking tired. and doesnt hide it, ever, from anyone.
*cuts the line at applebees, visibly bleeding through their shirt, some lady gives them a disapproving look* “what? i fucking saved the world three times now i can be a bit of a meanie sometimes”
“(at bad guy) just shut the fuck up, already? ive heard this same story about seven times before you even got inspired by some 4chan post to be like this just, do something so i can legally beat you into fucking pulp, jesus”
“theyre building me a statue? sure. how nice. can they maybe invest some of that spare money into better cheaper education and psychologists so i dont have to fight the monsters this shit system keeps producing? call me when they do that, then *hangs up*”
“this is where you will meet your end, [heroes name]!” - the hero, monotonously: “ive been let down so many times please dont give me false hope”
reporter: why dont you have a secret identity sir?
this motherfucker: you think we have the right to secrets, to privacy, today? with every government having a hard on for civillian surveillance and every company willing to sell everything they know about you to them? *snorts*
reporter: sir what do you say on the us police force giving you a honorary badge of approval?
this motherfucker: i must be doing something horribly wrong then
this post is now legally an exhibit refrain from adding anything on it past this point
honestly this extremely unbalanced likes/reblogs ratio is a problem on pretty much every post on this site now and while i’m not trying to say that a 10-second shitpost is worth the same as a piece of art that the OP spent hours of their free time creating for no financial gain what i am saying is that it’s a widespread and generalised problem and it really is killing all your favorite content creators, regardless of the type of content they create
like i’m not trying to say “you should reblog every single post that appeals to you” but it would be nice if people were a bit more liberal with the reblog button and more reserved with likes rather than the other way around, because at the end of the day likes do nothing because most people have their likes hidden anyway and it doesn’t show up on anyone’s dash.
if you don’t want a post on your dash or your blog for whatever reason but you want op to know that you appreciate it then sure, tap that heart button, but if you genuinely like a post then please reblog it, especially if the post in question is something that requires a lot of time and effort to make, like an art, fanfic or gifset.
