A friend of mine had a partner accidentally draw blood when he (consensually) bit them. It got infected and they needed quite serious hospital care. I suppose that counts.
Oh, I love the vicarious enjoyment from introducing a friend to something I love. It feels like the closest I can get to re-experiencing something afresh without losing my memory. I am envious of Drag for this opportunity.
I don't know how much the UK collectively regrets Brexit yet. I come from a heavily Leave voting area and it was depressing as hell being a part of the vote count. Leave, Leave, Leave, Remain, Leave, Leave, Remain. Now in the most recent election, Farage's Reform party got a concerningly high vote share, especially in areas like where I come from.
I was glad to see the Tories go, but I can't be too happy about the UK election when I consider Reform. I think back to how UKIP were like at local government level. They'd campaign on absurd promises like "we'll slash council tax and increase public services funding. Lots of things are possible if we get rid of those fat-cat Labour councillors". Then they'd get enough councillors that they could cause real harm to their constituents by obstructing progress; it helped their cause to make the Labour majority council look bad. They could promise the world because they knew that they were never going to get enough councillors to change much, so they could blame their utter failure to do anything useful once elected on Labour (in my area at least. Apparently the same playbook works in Conservative majority areas too)
Brexit was unambiguously a political disaster. Many of the people who voted Leave have been actively harmed and I can't even feel any schadenfreude at them because they haven't connected the dots there. Like, I see people having their faces eaten off by the leopards they voted for, and they're going "this is really hurting. See, this is why we needed the leopards eating faces party". It's honestly heartbreaking to witness.
You're right, and thanks for checking me on that. On reflection, I said it was trite because I think I felt uncomfortable with the level of vulnerability I was feeling when writing that comment, so I tacked that onto the end. The vulnerability came from a place of "who am I to give advice when the advice I'm giving myself hardly feels sufficient, because my inner monologue is basically a screaming possum most of the time". Lots of people are feeling similar, which is why I made my original comment in the first place.
I think a lot of us are struggling under the pressure about not knowing how to cope with this dreadful situation, and for me, that meant feeling like I needed to come up with the perfect words that would be useful for everyone who is struggling. It is sufficient for me to go "for me, this is a useful way to think (and other people may do also)". It's silly for me to dismiss myself as trite just because I feel like I am only valid if I have a Solution. As you highlight, this is a collaborative process, so muddling along together is how this goes.
My occult phase was from a different angle: I really enjoyed immersing myself in something I didn't have to explain or justify objectively, where I could just enjoy the vibes and not think too hard.
I think of it as analogous to how some of the people who are most into being submissive in a BDSM/sex context are people who seem the opposite of that in their careers/regular life. The contrast is a relief.
My PI: "Oh, we don't use that microcentrifuge, it will ruin your results"
Me: "Oh damn, how long has it been broken for?"
PI: "No, it's not broken. It's cursed "
I thought this was just exasperated hyperbole, but nah, there's a lot of superstition here.
Yeah, that kind of mocking is a direct attack at me, and I honestly like it because I feel like my weird achievement hunting is definitely mockable (especially because I already know how ridiculous I am and thus will not change in this respect)
That's interesting, I hadn't thought about things in those terms before. I am wondering whether part of why the right seem to be so good at recuperation is that the right (in particular, fascists) benefit from capitalist support. Money and media have a lot of power; I weep for the people who were indoctrinated to hatred to the extent that they voted against their own interests. The scales are tipped in the right's favour in that regard. What do you think?
(I haven't read Society of the Spectacle yet, in case that addresses some of what I'm saying)
Tangentially related, but I'm reminded of this quote from Disco Elysium:
"Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who critique capital end up reinforcing it instead."
Not so much advice as a selfish request: please try to stay with us. I mean that both figuratively (i.e. mentally checking out and becoming hollow) and literally (i.e. existing in this world). It's a selfish request because though I'm not even American, I am one of the countless people who are scared shitless today. I don't know how we will make it through this, but I know I can't do this on my own.
If you're here, scared with me, then I am not alone, and neither are you. It's a bit trite, but it helps me somewhat.
I have to believe in a future where people look back on this from a world with less hatred in it than it currently has. I want to give the perpetrators of hate as little plausible deniability as possible.
I have to believe that even though looking back on history didn't seem to help us avoid this situation, that there will be people in the future who are wiser and empowered to make better choices for them and their communities.
It's a fantasy, and I honestly don't care if it's unrealistic. It's what I need to believe to keep going. I need to believe there can be something better after this, regardless of whether I'll get to experience it.
I wonder if it's a case of trying to make a habit of good practice. I've gotten into the habit of citing stuff when writing online, even if the context wouldn't really demand that (or slapping a [citation needed] onto the end of stuff I know I could cite, but I'm too lazy to do and I want it known that lack of sources mean my assertions are questionable)
I am perplexed by you, but I am glad that you have something that makes you happy.