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the trouble with anarchism is all that liberty (quokk.au)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/mop
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[–] 8 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Ngl, the bit about making decisions for myself is a part of anarchism I really struggle with. But that is precisely why I'm an anarchist — I understand that I struggle with this because I have been systemically deprived of the opportunity to develop my capacity to make decisions for myself, and I see the continuous practice of anarchism as something that can help me to improve that (as well as supporting others to do the same).

Freedom is haaaaaaaaard. It's probably worth it though. I'll let you know when I'm free.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago* (1 child)

    I wonder how old you are. Gen X was raised, rather uniquely, to make our own decisions. Schools allowed even kindergartners to make simple decisions, and we had to deal with it if we fucked up. Same for being latchkey kids. We were alone after school, had to decide what to do for ourselves and live with the consequences.

    Had a stepson in elementary 20 years ago; my own kids are now 11 and 13. Schools are a fucking horror show. Kids don't even get a locker! We had to be responsible for getting books and whatever else was needed between classes. In 2nd grade, once that final bell rang, we were on our own. We could play in the creek, walk, skate or bike home, whatever. Now you're not leaving without a parent the teacher recognizes or on a bus. In high school we could leave campus at lunch, but you better be back on time, no excuses for poor decisions. You could light up with your teacher in the smoke hole. (An example of allowing bad decisions! Lord.)

    Kids are no longer taught to think and solve problems. They are taught to pass standardized tests. Teachers are culled if they don't toe the party line, so the best are mostly gone. Neither the kids nor the teachers get to make decisions any longer. It's like the meat grinder from The Wall.

    No rose colored glasses here! Teachers could beat the shit out of us. The number of pedophile teachers in my middle school was horrifying once we hit college and looked back. Hell, pedophiles were tolerated as mere weirdos!

    But at least we were trained, perhaps inadvertently, to make decisions.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    I'm a Millennial, and whilst I can't comment for my entire generation, I can certainly say that I was raised to make my own decisions. I think my sense of overwhelm is likely because of an excess of making decisions for myself — but most of the decisions that I have to hand don't really matter. No matter how hard I work or how wisely I spend my time, I can't work my way out or late stage capitalism.

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