this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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Fear and Anxiety Drive Conservative Decisions (www.psychologytoday.com)
submitted 8 months ago by elfpie@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org
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I was watching a video by Georgia Dow in which she talked about a study showing how fear drives people to be more conservative. What that reminded me of was the rationalization I keep stumbling upon almost every day lately: "the alternative is worse".

We are mostly not revolutionaries willing to die for a cause. We just want to live our quiet lives, so we pay the thugs that offer us protection from themselves. The alternative is worse.

I can't criticise people for trying to survive, but I think it's important to be honest with ourselves. It's all bad and the good option is really hard and a scary risk with too many sacrifices.

And let me get personal to drive the point home. Anxiety and depression are just my reality. I'm very isolated and avoid interactions as much as I can. I'm in a bad place and would totally tell you with great conviction that out there somewhere is worse. I also believe it could be amazing, but the chances of me suffering, actually, the certainty, makes me think it's not worth it even trying.

Anyway. Be kind kind to yourselves, be kind to all the others, but be honest.

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[โ€“] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Rejecting someone else's reality is an important skill for establishing boundaries, but it's also critical to remember that it's still real to them.

While this is, by most measures, objectively the best era to live in for humanity, the orphan grinding machines are still grinding along. There's plenty to fear.

[โ€“] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

There's certainly plenty to fear but none the stuff those people choose to fear because of their wilful ingnorance is actually real..