#Tag · Vihāra

James M Branum - יעקב מתתיהו ☮ @jmb@c.im · last month

Content Warning

“There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment we will continue to see. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

— Howard Zinn

#Hope #HowardZinn #Resist #History

Susan Kaye Quinn 🌱(she/her) @susankayequinn@wandering.shop · last month

Content Warning

"Despair is a black leather jacket that everyone looks good in. Hope is a frilly, pink dress that exposes the knees." @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social

#hope #hopepunk #solarpunk #fascism

papayajuan2019
cruelty is so easy. youre not special for choosing it

aimnothyng
“I just think goodness is more interesting,” Morrison said. “Evil is constant. You can think of different ways to murder people, but you can do that at age five. But you have to be an adult to consciously, deliberately be good - and that’s complicated.”

chilewithcarnage
"The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist; a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain." Ursula K. LeGuin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

wizardnuke
"Evil is boring. Right? | kinda believe in the banality and mundaneness of evil. Evil is just selfish impulses, which at the end of the day are really easy to understand. It’s easy to understand why people do bad things. It’s like “yeah, ok, you’re selfish and scared and cruel, | get it”. Being good is complex and beautiful and hard." Brennan Lee Mulligan — papayajuan2019 cruelty is so easy. youre not special for choosing it aimnothyng “I just think goodness is more interesting,” Morrison said. “Evil is constant. You can think of different ways to murder people, but you can do that at age five. But you have to be an adult to consciously, deliberately be good - and that’s complicated.” chilewithcarnage "The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist; a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain." Ursula K. LeGuin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas wizardnuke "Evil is boring. Right? | kinda believe in the banality and mundaneness of evil. Evil is just selfish impulses, which at the end of the day are really easy to understand. It’s easy to understand why people do bad things. It’s like “yeah, ok, you’re selfish and scared and cruel, | get it”. Being good is complex and beautiful and hard." Brennan Lee Mulligan

Pauline von Hellermann @pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green · last year

It’s been fed back to me (offline) that some of you here are finding my relentless negativity too much. I know - have been conscious of that too (i really have had a bit of a dip), and I am sorry.

So in an attempt to be more positive again: we had a lovely rainbow 🌈 here in #Eastbourne. I shared a picture on our street WhatsApp group and so many others shared theirs and we decided to see it as a sign of hope! #Community #Hope #MagicInTheCity

Pauline von Hellermann @pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green · last year

Content Warning

#Eastbourne #Community #Hope #MagicInTheCity

Honestly, the replies to this ⬆️from you: 💚💚💚💚
Feeling a lot of gratitude for this community and the potentials of what we can do here, strengthening each other in so many ways.

Pauline von Hellermann @pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green · last year

Content Warning

It’s been fed back to me (offline) that some of you here are finding my relentless negativity too much. I know - have been conscious of that too (i really have had a bit of a dip), and I am sorry.

Sky with Rainbow over a house with scaffolding