SlayGuevara

So some years back I moved to the 'big' city that is Antwerp and unbeknownst to me I accidentally moved into what was an up and coming, to be gentrified area of the city. To me it was just a nice looking appartement near the city center.

The area used to be a more working class area but it was facing some upwards social mobility so to say, with lots of development going on. There were lots of artsy folks going around, there were some fun new bars and some fun old bars and the population was kind of mixed.

In the years that I lived there (I have moved to another area recently) the area changed from this mix of people into a more homogeneous crowd of upper middle class or upper class people with good incomes or parent money. Rent has skyrocketed. Non animal milk is nowhere to be found.

In Amsterdam they call these people the havermelkelite (oat milk elite), a group of people that are a part of society's elite but who also feel the need to be somewhat woke (hence the oat milk). Mind you, I'm vegan myself so I'm not shitting on the concept of oat milk.

They ride around on their electric cargo bicycles, they order a 12 euro glass of wine when going out, they take their 10k designer dog out for a walk, they fly (haha) to Cape Town several times a year to escape the 'grind'. Their clothes cost an average monthly worker's salary. Their stores and bars are funny. Want to go to the bakery to have a croissant? Well, this bakery is also a morning techno club. Want to go to the gym? Well, this gym offers classes to polyamourous couples only. They travel the world (read: yoga resorts on Bali) and feel like they know how everything works.

What's wrong with this? Nothing much. Spoiled rich people have existed for a long time now, nothing new. They drive up the rent wherever they go, they chase off the people that were already living there. They look down on working class people drinking 3 euro wine or beer, further growing the divide between the 'elite' and the other working class people.

It is hyper individualism at its finest. They can be woke and do good for the world, so why can't the peasants in the working class areas do the same? If said people vote right wing people into power instead of the Green party, they are just idiots who have worms for brains. It can't be that the Green party is secretly a neoliberal party for the elite so out of touch with reality that no single factory worker is voting for them.

It's vanity to the max. They try to be so unique that ironically they fit into an exact stereotype devoid of actual character. They became a parody of themselves.

Sorry for my negativity. I had to rant after walking through my old neighborhood the other day feeling kind of shocked at the state of the smugness I saw everywhere. Ultimately we are all on the same side and we need to unite rather than divide.

Like, I wake up and see my flowers. Some bees. It's a nice sunrise. I open the news and it's just one big collapse of the west. Fascism is rapidly coming up. I'm in the middle of it but I still need to go to work to keep the make believe that is our society going. War might be imminent. Whether that's with Russia or the US.

And yet here we are, collectively pretending everything is fine.

For today, the Christian and the Socialist Union called for a nationwide general strike to protest against the plans of the newly formed neolib government.

The plans include severe budget cuts in the public sector (health education, social security), as well as retirement funds, public transport, wages and an increase in military spending.

There have been two big strikes with rallies in Brussels yet, but this is the first general strike of the year. Picket lines throughout the country in many different sectors. Almost half of schools are closed, half of public transport is not departing, troubles in the airport and the harbors.

I'm striking myself despite working at the union and will probably visit a couple of different picket lines in the city.

Massive protests against Erdogan happening right now because of the arrest of the Istanbul mayor. Our media is pushing it relentlessly which always has me wary.

Not necessarily communist but I am interested in learning about buddhism but don't know where to start, and I think some comrades on here have mentioned it before