Struggling

[Sinister Intents]

Hello everyone.

I'm struggling to have the drive to even discuss politics with anyone, or to even attempt to tear apart arguments and the likes. I get consumed with frustration and my mind goes blank, and then I can't say a thing. I sit there typing idea after idea to go against it, but give up and delete what I was trying to say. I can't get over this feeling that many people are being completely hostile towards me. I feel very pushed away and separated from politics and the like, any advice or thoughts?

I can't put my thoughts down anymore, I can't even think of things that I read months back. It's like I'm jsut forgetting all of what I've read and I'm ready to just give up on politics, philosophy, economics, et cetera. I feel pathetic and like everything I say is shitty and never adds up to what others are saying and that everything I say is flawed idealist fucking bullshit.

[synthesis]

Hello everyone.

I'm struggling to have the drive to even discuss politics with anyone, or to even attempt to tear apart arguments and the likes. I get consumed with frustration and my mind goes blank, and then I can't say a thing. I sit there typing idea after idea to go against it, but give up and delete what I was trying to say. I can't get over this feeling that many people are being completely hostile towards me. I feel very pushed away and separated from politics and the like, any advice or thoughts?

I can't put my thoughts down anymore, I can't even think of things that I read months back. It's like I'm jsut forgetting all of what I've read and I'm ready to just give up on politics, philosophy, economics, et cetera. I feel pathetic and like everything I say is shitty and never adds up to what others are saying and that everything I say is flawed idealist fucking bullshit.

Why not just wait until you know what you want to say beforehand?

[Sinister Intents]

Why not just wait until you know what you want to say beforehand?

I know what I want to say, yet can't say it because I post bullshit. Should I just give up?

[Psycho P and the Freight Train]

Don't give up. Fuck anyone who's being hostile towards you. Call them out on their hostility instead and ask them why they have so much needless anger.

But don't mirror the anger back because it will make you lose credibility. If the other person can be made to look like an ass while you remain calm and composed, it can be quite amusing for you and embarrassing for them.:)

But yes there is a lot of needless hostility in these forums. Debating is fine, even heated debating is fine. But not childish hostility.

[Quail]

Pretty sure most people don't read political texts and suddenly become encyclopaedias of communism. Just keep up with the news, think about how things relate to your day-to-day life, etc., and continue to question and challenge yourself. Reading theory is good, but understanding and applying it is more important than being able to regurgitate it.

Hope that makes sense, I'm tired and drunk.

[slum]

i don't mean to play down the political aspect of this problem since it's important, but a lot of the things in your OP sound like standard symptoms of a depressive swing to me- inability to concentrate, sense of isolation, low self image, struggling to get fulfillment out of things that are important to you etc.

i guess my point is try not to be so hard on yourself. none of us are on top of our game 100% of the time. better to take a break and make sure you're feeling ok than decide you're burnt out and all political interaction is hopeless.

[M-L-C-F]

The others here have given good advice. But you really shouldn't let the shit here bother you. It's an insignificant forum on the internet. Cause you know, teh internets is srs bsns. Taking this place seriously is a big mistake. That being said, fuck the people that are giving you a hard time. You don't deserve to be treated badly. People think they can do whatever they wanna do. Just because they've got a computer screen protecting them. If it was a real life debate, people wouldn't act this way. If they did, they'd be put in their place pretty fucking quick by the others.

Don't give up though. As a person who has seen so many people come and go in the left. I'd hate to see someone else go. Hell, it's like Psycho P and the Freight Train said. Have a go at the people here. I pretty much do all the time. It's fun to fuck around here. But honestly, focus more on doing real life activism and learning, and less on the bullshit here. It'll do you a lotta good to do so.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

Something I've learned about internet forums over the years is that they have this seeming ability to take whatever character flaws an otherwise sane, rational human being may have and drag them before everyone to see. It's really hard to try and relate to a person over the internet, because whatever persona they portray on the internet is all you really get to see of them. You might never know about their families, their struggles, their everyday lives.

I've known people whose personalities can go from rational and easygoing to ferocious and hateful just by being exposed to the glow of a computer monitor. It's actually quite astounding.

[DigitalBluster]

It sounds like you're burned out. When I'm burned out on something, I take a break. That doesn't mean quitting, just stepping back a while, doing something else with your time. Eventually you'll get the itch again and you can come back fresh and on top of your game.

Also, don't be afraid to use the ignore feature. People tend to be bigger dicks online than off, but that doesn't mean you have to tolerate it. You can use the tools at your disposal to make the Internet reflect face-to-face interaction as closely as possible. If someone spoke to me in person the way people sometimes do online, I'd walk away, because fuck them. I don't need that shit. Life is too short. That's what the ignore feature represents: walking away.

[synthesis]

People think they can do whatever they wanna do. Just because they've got a computer screen protecting them. If it was a real life debate, people wouldn't act this way. If they did, they'd be put in their place pretty fucking quick by the others.


I've known people whose personalities can go from rational and easygoing to ferocious and hateful just by being exposed to the glow of a computer monitor. It's actually quite astounding.


People tend to be bigger dicks online than off, but that doesn't mean you have to tolerate it.

I hear this a lot but honestly I think I'm more of a dick in real life than I am here or any other anonymous/pseudonymous venue on the internets. I say things to people face-to-face I'd keep to myself on the internet because there's a record of it and anyone can point to it and say "God, look at this asshole," which is different from "God, remember what that asshole said three weeks ago?" I've been holding back on some pretty quality disrespect here, just because I think making a pattern of it would detract from whatever points I'm trying to make in "seriousness."

But this:


Also, don't be afraid to use the ignore feature... I'd walk away, because fuck them. I don't need that shit. Life is too short. That's what the ignore feature represents: walking away.

Is pretty good advice. I've just recently started using this feature and it's magnificent. My formula is that if I have a suspicion that my time on the forum will be more enjoyable without having to read or scroll past that person's posts, I'll mute them and then still click on "view post" every time I see them for about a week. If it's more trouble than it's worth, meaning if I get less out of it than the half-second it takes to click it, they stay on it for good. And half the time it's someone who probably wouldn't mind me ignoring them either.


Debating is fine, even heated debating is fine. But not childish hostility.

Thank God we have someone to tell us what's acceptable and what isn't. I'm not sure what we'd do without you.

[Red Economist]

Hello everyone.

I'm struggling to have the drive to even discuss politics with anyone, or to even attempt to tear apart arguments and the likes. I get consumed with frustration and my mind goes blank, and then I can't say a thing. I sit there typing idea after idea to go against it, but give up and delete what I was trying to say. I can't get over this feeling that many people are being completely hostile towards me. I feel very pushed away and separated from politics and the like, any advice or thoughts?

I can't put my thoughts down anymore, I can't even think of things that I read months back. It's like I'm jsut forgetting all of what I've read and I'm ready to just give up on politics, philosophy, economics, et cetera. I feel pathetic and like everything I say is shitty and never adds up to what others are saying and that everything I say is flawed idealist fucking bullshit.

I feel like this all the time, and I am looking over my shoulder remembering how little I know and then finding myself debating with people who are much more confident than me- even though 8 or 9 times out of 10, they are probably less well informed. In real life 'they' have that unthinking 'blank stare' and repeat whatever they've been told as fact, and it's kind of creepy when you can't find someone who is willing to open up and express doubts about their own beliefs and it really wears you down. it illustrates the extent to which fascism is the norm in our society, whatever mask it wear. Online, you can spot it too, but it's much harder.
I think in all probability your looking for acceptance and recognition (and I say this from personal experience). there's no shame in that as we all need friends, especially if we're drawn to the left because we have personal problems. debating politics with 'ideological adversaries' both outside and within the left is not the place to achieve that as politics is about conflict (and no matter how you put it, it sucks).
you're not pathetic, you're a regular poster on this forum (more so than me), but you may be putting yourself in a situation which deep down you don't really want to be in and are getting hurt.


It sounds like you're burned out. When I'm burned out on something, I take a break. That doesn't mean quitting, just stepping back a while, doing something else with your time. Eventually you'll get the itch again and you can come back fresh and on top of your game.

This is exactly what I'd recommend; take a break, sit back and think about how you feel and if you still feel like walking away- there is no shame in doing so. The left is about freedom right? so it's your decision. ;)

You may well be expecting yourself to be an expert on everything and always come up with great posts, replies or rebuttals to arguments (I know I feel this way and I always fall short and feel like sh*t for a few minutes as I think of ways someone else can shoot me down). If this is the case, it admittedly takes time to let go.
We watch TV and are fed images of experts etc giving views on any number of topics, whilst in reality they were just pulled on to the set at the last minute and had to scramble a few pieces of information together. This can be pretty intimidating, but people just don't have the time to know 'everything'.

all of us go through this 'burnt out' phase because we get past the point where we think we can change the world overnight and know it's much harder and more complicated. People don't hear the truth and suddenly think "wow, my eyes have been opened"; They'll sit their and keep repeating the same bullsh*t as before because they're too afraid to admit their wrong or concede that they might be wrong. What you have to decide is whether you think it's still worth doing in light of this.

In the end, just chose to do what makes you happy and be honest with yourself about what you want and can do. no-one deserves to feel like cr*p. ultimately, that's the reason I keep coming back to the left even though it can be really hard because there are so few people covering your back. Then there is that voice in the back of your head saying "that's precisely the reason you need to do it because no-one else will; F**K you conformity!":grin:


I know what I want to say, yet can't say it because I post bullshit. Should I just give up?

No. Admitting you don't know enough to be sure about what your saying does not make it bullshit. It's free thought and doubting yourself makes you a better thinker.

[M-L-C-F]

You can always just not bother getting involved in certain things as well. Arguing the same points over and over again gets old fast. For me, I just don't bother with debating some subjects anymore. Because it isn't worth my time. I just state my point, and leave the topic. As I've already debated it so many times in the past. In the past dozen years of being politically active. I've seen the same shit over and over again so many times, that I just shake my head and laugh. The ignore feature might help you, but you don't even need use it, to not bother with the assholes.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

This probably is one of the most hostile forums I've ever seen, there are clearly people on here that have had rivalries with one another for years and it spills over into every thread they participate in, and very few people interact with others as if they're real people rather than amalgamations of everything they hate at any given time. It's frustrating to make a post and rather than have someone respond to it's content, they focus on the misuse of a word or the lack of another word to show that you're secretly a fascist/zionist/rape apologist/whatever but all that being said the level of discussion here is generally higher than elsewhere. It's not easy to discuss radical politics on the internet without a shitload of reactionaries descending on the participants and fucking it all up, so revleft actually feels like a safe place in that regard.

All the nasty shit people write on here can't follow you into the real world, you gotta just ignore it. The people hurling insults at you know jack shit about your life, and honestly I'm under the impression that a good 60-70% of people on this site lie about everything anyway. Don't take this site too seriously, if all posting here does is piss you off, just take a break for a few weeks. If you come back and it still sucks just find somewhere else to waste time

[Red Economist]

This probably is one of the most hostile forums I've ever seen

You do get the feeling it's a bit like a saloon bar in the wild west. one wrong word and the piano stops playing, five seconds of silence and then everyone gets up to shoot one another.

[Ele'ill]

Hello everyone.

I'm struggling to have the drive to even discuss politics with anyone, or to even attempt to tear apart arguments and the likes. I get consumed with frustration and my mind goes blank, and then I can't say a thing. I sit there typing idea after idea to go against it, but give up and delete what I was trying to say. I can't get over this feeling that many people are being completely hostile towards me. I feel very pushed away and separated from politics and the like, any advice or thoughts?

I can't put my thoughts down anymore, I can't even think of things that I read months back. It's like I'm jsut forgetting all of what I've read and I'm ready to just give up on politics, philosophy, economics, et cetera. I feel pathetic and like everything I say is shitty and never adds up to what others are saying and that everything I say is flawed idealist fucking bullshit.

Instead of trying to post with statements as a reply, try asking questions. You don't have to reply to anything.

[The Intransigent Faction]

Am I right, OP, in thinking that this feeling of hostility toward you isn't limited just to interactions on this forum?

I tend to discuss politics either with close friends or through offering some thoughts if somebody is genuinely curious about what I have to say. I've also known people who might agree with me but who have felt pressured by others into not speaking up.

I would suggest you not try to compare yourself to others posting here or speaking to you. If you can set reasonable goals for yourself and meet them, that's more important.

I used to be heavily involved in debates, but those debates were timed and judged. The purpose was never to "convince your opponent" because, as often happens in everyday life, they are set in their ways and see it as their mission to 'convert' others. The purpose was to convince the judge, an observer who might be biased one way or another but sets aside that bias and offers constructive criticism and support to help you improve your arguments. The judge gives both sides limited time to express themselves and then settles on a decision.

In short, you'll probably find it a lot less exhausting to be like the "judge" or to talk to someone like the "judge", rather than setting out to convince those who enter discussions with the goal of convincing you (or outright 'tearing you down') and refusing to be convinced themselves.

Online discussions in which it seems like everybody wants the last word just become a time sink. I wouldn't spend too much time on that at all.

[Sabot Cat]

You do get the feeling it's a bit like a saloon bar in the wild west. one wrong word and the piano stops playing, five seconds of silence and then everyone gets up to shoot one another.

[indignant response to perceived insult or doctrinal heresy, questions to your commitment to the cause]

[lengthy barrage of loquacious theoretical discussion peppered with words like "fuck", "shit", edgy violent acts I have no intention to do, and links to even longer diatribes by obscure intellectuals that no one wants to read]

[Red Economist]

[indignant response to perceived insult or doctrinal heresy, questions to your commitment to the cause]

[lengthy barrage of loquacious theoretical discussion peppered with words like "fuck", "shit", edgy violent acts I have no intention to do, and links to even longer diatribes by obscure intellectuals that no one wants to read]

[Avoids discussing topic, insults everyone and proclaims the victory of socialism at your expense. replies with Stalin Meme, Making your argument invalid.]

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/01/01dd958173f049e5f55e0a980d71505f3ac7c3bb6f600457cd 6a9a760f13059b.jpg

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

This might sound harsh but my advice to you would be to really stop focusing on yourself. Your OP, to me, came across as self-indulgent and a bit pathetic. I say this from a position of experience. It's quite easy to want to cave in, play the sympathy card, but there are normally a couple of things you can do to get over this quite easily:

a) why are you really upset? Normally, when someone says they are upset with people's reactions to their own politics, it points to a fundamental problem they have with their own politics or ideas. You may find, particularly if you are having trouble even typing your ideas down (which is hardly difficult!), that you are really struggling to reconcile one or more contrasting ideas you are having in relation to your own philosophy

b) what do you want to get out of this? Whingeing is kinda easy to do. It also shows that you don't totally have 'writers' block' - you can type out a whingey thread like this, but you say you are having trouble when it comes to typing out a serious political thread (if I follow you correctly?)? So it strikes me that your problem isn't that you can't actually bring yourself to interact with the social world as it exists on Revleft. Rather, as I said above, it points to you yourself struggling with one or more aspects of your own political/world outlook.

My advice would be a period of introspection based on the above questions - find out what is really troubling you, and what you want to achieve. Then think about ways you can remedy the situation - do you need to spend more time offline? Do you need to think about altering the way you interact socially either online or in the real world? Do you need to take some time out from keyboard bashing? Is there a particular issue that you could get involved with in your local community that might help clarify some of the confusion you are having about your politics at the moment?

I hope this post doesn't sound harsh or belittling, because it is intended to be constructive. In my own experience, I have had bouts of mild depression, self-doubt, self-loathing and confusion about my own politics, and my own social position. I used to whinge a lot about this and protect myself by putting up a 'victim' shield, y'know, "why always me? why is everything so unfair?"

It's easier to work through your problems, though, from a position of strength and knowledge, which only come from (respectively) confidence and self-reflection. You have many strengths, i'm sure you know more than anyone here what they are, so start with them, then think about areas you can develop personally, socially, and politically and work on how you can do that.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

/tl:dr - you're awesome have confidence in yourself be whoever you want to be.