I've been looking for a job and jesus it's really gotten to me. Half the listed jobs are either the big tech companies like meta/aws etc. or defense contractors like lhm, northop-grummann or even dodgier glowie orgs. I'm pretty sure when such a large chunk of the economy is fucking defense contractors that it shows in the job market for something utterly unrelated (IT), that's fascism. Then I see they're selling off the UK military to palantir. Great.
It wasn't like this before. There were your goofy startups and your B2B SaaS companies, the latter I work for and it's been going under for years because it simply was never a good idea.
But that's just the straw that broke the camel's back because it was so real in a way reading news stories on the internet just isn't, it wasn't just a fact, it was an element of my life now, no different from the weather outside.
The absolute onslaught of anti-intellectualism, it's like a virus tearing through the population, a psychological blight, much worse than any coronavirus could be. The hypernormalization of it all and the sheer whiplash of the overton window has even got me shifting rightwards, through sheer osmosis and pressure.
Every time I hear my coworkers mention "grok" I get like a reaction, like "oh, that's the internet thing" and the compartmentalization of brain rot falters, I'm forced to acknowledge it is in fact - real, that what is going on is in fact real, and not just something I can laugh at. Being queer and an immigrant it's frankly shocking I've even been able to maintain this defense mechanism this long. My very future is on the chopping block, always has been, but maybe the city walls just can't stand the seige anymore.
But while I can take care of myself, I worry about the world, about others, distant and close alike. I don't need everyone to believe what I believe or align with what I think, but I feel insane at times because it seems like even the simplest rational thoughts are few and far between, everyone seems unhinged or some sort of insane grifter. It makes me want to grab the world and shake it like "why can't you just be normal".
And then there's people who plunge headfirst into the hypernormalization, realigning with the status quo, maintaining a pretense of continuity, when it is clear there's absolutely no real belief beneath. The pretense just intensifies to compensate.
Nonetheless I don't think there's much I can do, I don't know where to even start, I'd happily fight against the world that's coming but I can't do it alone, and it sure feels like I'm pretty much alone.
The burden of our time sucks, is all. Anybody got some good strategies to disconnect for a bit, so I can recuperate my psych defenses? Smell the roses and all?
EDIT: thanks everyone who responded. Think I'll check out of Lemmy for a bit, I'll make sure to read your insights and experiences when I get back. Thanks, and be well.
If you were able to work in a goofy startup, what blocks you from working for a goofy corpo? I mean, the difference between startup bullshit and corporate bullshit is minimal.
ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘢. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳.
If I were to wager a guess, not wanting to lock arms with fascism. We're all feeding into it, living in this shitty capitalist system we're forced into, but I can see wanting to minimise it. I personally wouldn't ever want to work for Amazon/Twitter/Facebook/whatever, supporting those companies means actively supporting the erosion of worker and private individual rights, we are to be commodities and resources, not people.
I work for a relatively small company. It's overall an alright experience, but our decent into AI bullshittery has me worried. We tout catchphrases like "knowledge, engagement, and responsibility" but I don't see any responsibility when it comes to AI. We talk about ethics, but don't display it in that regard.
Yeah, this tracks with my experience also.
I am sorry. I wish I had good solutions, but alas. I hope for the best, for all of us.
I know it's not as easy as just saying, but what about starting your own little thing? I keep musing about starting a co-op if only I had any management chops.
I'd need startup capital (even just for self sustainment) and a network of like-minded folks. The latter honestly more so than the former. I think I'm brave/stupid enough to try, I just need flesh and blood people I can count on who'll back me up, who I can commiserate with if it all ends up a fool's errand, who I can celebrate with if we succeed, and I just don't know if I have those connections IRL. I have friends, but we are together by experience and circumstance, not goals.
I'm in the same boat. I just don't have the capital. I'm slightly above paycheck-to-paycheck, I wouldn't lose my home if I missed a few payments because we have strong tenancy laws here in Sweden, but it'd be rough. I just don't have the connections. It's just me and my dog, man.
I don't have any illusions of securing funding. I would just be happy to crank away on some tasks in our free time until we had clients to bill or something to sell.
Has been my thinking on the topic anyway. Expecting a longshot like a dev workers' co-op to satisfy a full-time salary at its inception feels like a sure fire way to go into a lot of debt to figure out how well you work together.
I worked both in goofy startups and a goofy corpo. It's essentially the same unless you trouble yourself with moral superiority thoughts, which can disturb you in both worlds.
If we don't have much choice, why trouble yourself with an imaginary dilemma of how to pay your bills? The real choice we now have is either to work for a corpo or to work for a military corpo. We haven't chosen the time to live, but at least we can choose the lesser of two evils
ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘢. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳.
I think, speaking from personal experience outside of the U.S., working for a small company gives you greater opportunity for influencing things. In a large corporation you're lost in a sea of faces and people, and you'll more or less always be readily replaceable. In a smaller company there's a different atmosphere and culture, and your word has a higher chance of carrying weight.
Granted, I say this from a very biased (and privileged) perspective as a Swedish worker. We have fairly strong labour laws, thanks to our unions. I realise that this is obviously not the same everywhere, even within EU. I've a decent idea of what working culture is like in say, Germany, and I'd rather not work there unless I absolutely had to, much to the bafflement of some of my American friends who view German work culture very positively because of the abuse they're used to taking.
I mean I think I liked it better when the clearly bad idea corpo was just a scam, not a tool in the pocket of a very ideological, active and thus far successful bourgeoisie not merely utilizing it for petty personal gain but for shaping the world into something much more evil in a very sophisticated way than it ever really has been.
That's a very grim and ideological way of looking at things. Our world is indeed transforming into the evil mess, but the origin of forces that drive it is, well, definitely not drones working for Amazon.
ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘢. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳.
Yeah I'm not saying the drones are at all responsible, but I personally just don't have the stomach for accepting that I would facilitate it even slightly, I barely manage to shrug off the weight of guilt for not somehow stopping all this, absurd as it may sound. I can't help but feel it is my fault, not only mine of course, but that I share in the blame, I couldn't forgive myself if I did everything opposite of what I believed in even if my survival depended on it.