Preaching a bit.

I've been pretty down on, well, everything lately, talking about how our system is set up to make us lose, and how part of that set up is getting us to convince ourselves that we deserve to lose because we haven't won yet.

We have so little power to change things on a grand scale, everything we do is like a drop of water against an ocean of obstacles stacked against us, we believe, and for good reason, that real, major change is impossible for us to create. We aren't wrong, but what we often fail to realize is the systems of power are not aligned against us specifically, when shit happens to those of us at the bottom of the totem pole, there usually isn't a person up at the top cackling about how they have ruined our plans for a better life, there is usually no thought given to the powerless at all, I mean, why would those in power expend effort against us? We are powerless, by definition we aren't a threat to them, or even worthy of consideration, the systems used are against us only insomuch as they are for those at the top, rather than against us at the bottom. And certainly no one thinks about us as individuals, there isn't a politician or major corporate player somewhere with a file labelled "Logan B" which has someone review it regularly to generate ways to fuck up my life if I try to make things better, that happens or doesn't happen without anyone's input.

HP Lovecraft wrote a shitload of horror stories, and among the descriptions of mind bending horrors, descents into madness, and racist caricatures that we tend to think of about his works, we neglect to remember that the true horror of the Lovecraft cosmos is that the true powers, those for who Great Cthulhu is merely a messenger, don't actually care about humanity at all, their very presence will do the job of eliminating us, or not, it doesn't matter to them and doesn't change their plans at all. That is the horror of the setting, that the real enemies are so different that opposition to them can't really be described as a battle, or anything approaching a field of equals.

I trust my comparison is clear here, but just as in the stories, there is still hope, victories at the smallest possible scale that in aggregate add up to the continued existence of humanity and the universe in general, now, we don't exactly have the Elder Sign which can banish the inequalities of our system until the stars are right once more, but we can still fight in our small ways, we can stay checked in, educated and invested, we can't fix the system from the top down, we aren't at the top and are unlikely to find many allies there anytime soon, but there are little battles to be won.

In the workplace, you can work to avoid the stigma of talking about wages which keeps people from recognizing and fighting income inequality, those who achieve supervisory positions can work towards a culture that respects our existing labor laws and helps people feel secure enough to be able to call in sick to work, or demand to take their breaks without being thought of as some kind of wuss.

In politics we can vote, just vote, yes it will often be the lesser of two evils you vote for, but if you always pick less evil, then eventually you get, well, less evil, and it is hard to convince me that less evil is a bad thing, if you refuse to vote you are throwing away a right that people fought and died for, and all but telling our political masters that they win and don't have to think about you. The vote is the one thing we have that has a chance to actually put real change into the system or at least prevent major harm, do not throw it away.

In social life you can speak up against racism, sexism, and homophobia, or if that is unsafe, at least not contribute to it, talk to a feminist, learn how racial profiling works. This is especially important if you are a straight white male, because while you have power for now, demographics are changing faster than they ever have before, and the sooner you realize that is a good thing the better for everybody, the poor straight white male has been the base of support for every act of inequality and abuse of power in the history of the western world, we have been the tool of oppression for so long and we don't have to be anymore, all it requires is education and communication, both of which are easier than ever to do in this day and age.

In your personal life you can not abuse those who trust you, don't strike them, don't insult them. They are your family, you chose them, or created them, and either way you are responsible for them.

I realize this stuff sounds very naive, and it's true that little things don't make dramatic change, but if we refuse to do the little things, then just like with voting, we are giving up the only power we have, and just because the change isn't fast, doesn't mean it can't happen, gay marriage is the law of the land, and while that fight ended with the President of the United States, it began with individuals fighting, dying, and teaching at the personal level, alone at first, and then in groups, and eventually organizations with real power, but it started small.

Remember that those in power want nothing more than to remain in power, but that power system doesn't have to look the same at all times, those in power must answer to the tide of social change or they will lose it, and they will always choose to roll with the tide rather than give up their power. in many ways that is demoralizing, those on top may never not be on top, but the opportunity for change is still there, and their abuses can be kept at bay for a time, but it requires involvement, it requires people to stand on their rights and their pride. And it requires people to put aside the idea that they don't deserve better.

I deserve better, everyone I know deserves better than what they have, the only way we get it is by taking it, that takes time and we might not see it, but someone will eventually, and our work, small though it is, will be what starts it.