this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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We're born slaves to society. We are not free. Everything in the end has the threat of violence if you don't do what society wants you to do.
Best case you can go forage in the "wild", but its claimed wild. There is no free land. The freest people are perhaps homeless people, because there is almost nothing you can threaten them with, they have nothing to lose, in a way, its the only freedom that exists.
If you stop paying rent or your mortgage, you will be forcibly removed by a trainer killer. If you resist, you may be killed in an altercation and become a statistic. If you don't pay taxes, you may end up in a cage, or perhaps killed by another trainer killer in a mishap.
When you "buy" a house, you are renting the land, sure it temporarily has your name on the deed, and you own the house itself, until you stop paying property taxes, then another trainer killed will come take it from you, perhaps put you in a cage. Don't even get me started on HOAs, the wrong color paint could cause you to lose your life's savings because a Karen thinks it might lower her property value.
If you don't raise your kids perfectly, a trainer killer can come take them away from you. Even someone falsely reporting you for improperly raising your kids can cause you to end up losing them. Your kids don't belong to you, they're your cute little liabilities, one misstep and the most important thing in your life is taken away from you.
What if I just want to do nothing? Where can I go and just chill, and eat berries, and like the occasional squirrel or whatever? Society won't permit it, you might end up in a cage, or again killed by a trained killer. Those are someone's berries, those squirrels are probably a protected species.
Freedom is an illusion.
This is one of the most ridiculously privileged things I've ever read
It's the correct take if...
You think freedom is not having anyone tell you what you can't do.
You think homeless people don't constantly get told what they can't do
You don't think freedom is being free to live the life you want.
In other words, someone dumped in the middle of the Sahara without food or water, and a pair of broken legs will just love being the freest person on earth until their death in a few hours.
I think homeless people feel free because they are unburdened by the pressures that society puts on all of us. You're probably just so used to the burden, having never lived without it, it would be unfamiliar to not carry that weight.
I did not propose an alternative, just that, we are not free. Its a lie we tell ourselves.
Freedom to die, suffering while there's (as far as you claim - I disagree) no-one to tell you what to do isn't freedom. Freedom to live the way you want is freedom.
I'm well aware of the pressures that have been put upon me, but ignoring them and suffering the incredible, myriad of consequences for doing so simply isn't freedom (not in any worthwhile sense) - if it were, why aren't you homeless? I'm not suggesting for a moment that we're all free.
It's the difference between largely pointless negative freedoms, and meaningful positive freedoms.
Yea, I mean you're not particularly free if you can't sleep anywhere without either drunk people assaulting you or a land owner kicking you out, or if you need to constantly worry about finding electrical outlets just to keep your phone charged or worry about finding a tap or water fountain to get water. And you're never able to eat actually pleasant food because you can't even access a cooker or even a microwave/toaster and you almost certainly can't afford food that is prepared for you.
I can only imagine their image of being homeless is having one of those vans that cost like $40k USD to kit out with pretty much everything you would have in a house... in which case yea I guess that would be pretty liberating but you should probably specify that if it's what you mean.
Not all homeless people live on the sidewalk of SF, some live in the woods in a tent somewhat content just out of society's way to try to deal with shit. Source: done that.
I've been homeless, and they're completely wrong
So have I, so I guess we can agree to disagree
Your experience is not the norm. Poverty is not freeing, it's strangling.
Oh god you 100% watch Rick and Morty
I sure do, but not sure I recall the reference. This was not inspired by R&M, at least not consciously. Episode?
I'm with you for most of this, but children should never be property
most astut short narrative desribing the current police state of The United States of America 🇺🇸 🦅👯👮