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Welcome again to everybody. Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is the weekly discussion thread.
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Now, I know what to buy when I go to the Chaiman Mao Memorial Hall
I've been using an MMO to help distract me from emotional eating, which as odd as it might sound, has worked so far (albeit not without some hard days). But I think the forums for the MMO are making things harder. It's sort of habitual for me to want to involve myself in forums for stuff, but the forums for the game in question are tinted by corporate bootlicking as many western forums for products are. I was thinking about it today and what a lot of the behavior there reminds me of is the Narcissist's Prayer. Somebody will post a complaint about the game, or a polite ask for something to be added to it or for something to be different about it, and the spirit of like half the replies will go something like: "That's not a valid thing to say. And if it is, it's not a big deal. And if it is a big deal, it's not the company's fault. And if it is the company's fault, it's because you deserved it. And if you didn't deserve it, well fuck you anyway for saying things about other things, I am mad at the world and hate everyone and everything."
Then these same kind of people will suddenly remember what a valid complaint or request is when they have a complaint or request of their own. It very much mimics the reactionary stuff you see in USian politics.
idk why but this reminded me of those pro gamers that ask for the games to be changed but ONLY with changes they claim as "good for all players" when in fact it helps them
like dream fortnite asking for glowing tentafish in square buildagame (i mean dream apparently making his fans vote for the glowsquid instead of anything else because it apparently hinders speedrunning less, i heard shit like this)
i feel like i am having problems in the inner self and i do not know how to react
how the fuck do i say this without breaking multiple rules? i can't afford therapy and job hunting sucked my soul out 5 years ago
At this point anyone who supports AOC is an open fascist in my view. No nuances, no buts, no ifs. Death to America and death to Israel.
Liberals don't exist. They are just self deluding fascists, or unradicalized comrades.
Social fascism in action. And people once dismissed stalin's correct assessment as "hyperbolic" and "sectarian"
"b-but the Jews need the Iron Dome defens-"
well said 👍
It bothers me how normal it is for people to advocate stuff like "fake it til you make it" on confidence. Rephrased, they're basically saying "lie about who you are until you start believing your own lies."
Like what about vulnerability and being vulnerable. Why not instead of "fake it til you make it", something more like "be real about who you are until you're okay with letting other people see you." Are people just so terrified of being real with each other, is the culture punishing that kind of honesty, I wonder.
The word "fake" is a way of validating the feeling of imposter syndrome while encouraging people to push past it. The phrase is not about tricking other people. It is about tricking yourself. You are faking away your feelings of incompetence but they are often unjustified.
Its more effective than using a positive affirmation like "you are better than you think you are" because it allows people to keep feeling what they are feeling until reality proves otherwise. "you are better than you think you are" allows people to limit how much better they are while still undervaluing their capability. "Fake it till you make it" lets people feel like they suck until they realize that they really don't and never did.
Vulnerability is nice but not if it is coming from low self esteem or unfounded emotions. If you don't tell yourself that you are capable of doing something you will never be capable of it. Pushing your boundaries is the only way to find the true extent of your capabilities.
The saying is a way of conquering imposter syndrome. The advice is that you need to practice being the person you want to be instead of allowing unfounded fears stop you from trying.
That's an interesting take on it and one that seems like overall a valid way to make use of the phrase in practice, but I've never gotten the impression that most people using the phrase are talking about overcoming imposter syndrome. I'd think if they were, they would be explaining that's what it is about and I have no recollection of any association between the two, so if people have done so explicitly before, it's probably not something I personally heard.
That said, I have to disagree on some of the specifics:
Vulnerability is nice but not if it is coming from low self esteem or unfounded emotions. If you don’t tell yourself that you are capable of doing something you will never be capable of it. Pushing your boundaries is the only way to find the true extent of your capabilities.
This seems like a confused understanding of what vulnerability is. Vulnerability isn't supposed to be pretty and cool and presented just right. The whole point of vulnerability is being real about things and that could include low self esteem, it could include worries, insecurities, or also hopes, dreams, goals, etc. It's something that some of us more than others struggle with, at least in part due to fearing being taken advantage of or used in some way, because there is a real risk with vulnerability that what you share might be used against you. This is part of what I'm touching on when I say "is the culture punishing that kind of honesty, I wonder," i.e. is the actual cultural norms encouraging people to use others' vulnerable stuff against them in one way or another.
So to invalidate vulnerability if it is "coming from low self esteem or unfounded emotions" is invalidating a critical part of what vulnerability is. And, in fact, I'd argue that the way you're framing use of the phrase "fake it til you make it" is an individualist solution to what could be healthier in a community capacity, if people trusted each other more and were more reliant on one another. It doesn't actually address what is causing the insecurity in the first place and it builds no bonds with other people over shared struggles.
If you don’t tell yourself that you are capable of doing something you will never be capable of it.
This sounds straight out of a motivational seminar and simply doesn't make sense. The part that follows, about pushing your boundaries, makes more sense. What you tell yourself doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. A kid learning to ride a bike doesn't need to get into mental gymnastics about telling themself they're a good bike rider in order to do it, they just need to get a feel for it until it starts building in their muscle memory. They may try to avoid doing it at all if they believe they are incapable, that much is true, limiting beliefs are a thing and can be a problem, but the belief doesn't prevent competence itself, it just is likely to get in the way of action. I've heard it's common, for example, for people in software to have imposter syndrome. This doesn't mean software is rife with incompetents because of their beliefs about themselves. They're still good programmers, many of them, they just don't see it.
And the flip side of this is that it's possible to overrate your own competence too. Sometimes this can get you far because of charisma and the like, when you aren't actually that qualified, which is counter to having reliable expertise in a field. But if things are based on a ladder of social status and needing to climb the ladder to be materially better off, some people are going to take full advantage of that.
Many people who use the phrase mean "lie about your credentials and hope you don't get caught until you are too enmeshed to easily replace." On the one hand its unfortunate that those people have been rather successful but on the other hand it seems like a capitalism problem and the enmeshed incompetence and fraud is just another part of the collapse capitalists have made for themselves. It does suck for the non fakers existing under capitalism but it is kinda fitting that incompetence would weave its way through the system.
I remember the moment where I chose to "fake it till I made it" and it was exactly in those terms.
I used to have serious self esteem issues. I was extremely bullied in school. I thought I was ugly and weird. I had major guilt complexes because of my evangelical upbringing. I was small and weedy for my age, I wore big hoodies and baggy clothes and didn't like people looking at my face. Friends and family always told me I was good looking but I assumed they were being patronizing.
I also remember few years later the moment I realized I had "made it" and that I should probably dial down the faking it because at a certain point over confidence is as off putting as low self esteem.
What I meant by "If you don’t tell yourself that you are capable of doing something you will never be capable of it." is that if you "know" you cannot do something you will not give it your best and more likely not even make an attempt because you will see it as wasted effort. Its the opposite of "you can do anything you put your mind to" its "You cant do anything unless you try to do it."
A kid learning to ride a bike doesn’t need to get into mental gymnastics about telling themself they’re a good bike rider in order to do it, they just need to get a feel for it until it starts building in their muscle memory.
A kid needs to think that riding a bike is possible not that they are good. I was bad at learning to ride a bike. I could ride a bike just fine but I couldn't believe I was capable of doing it.
I could ride when my dad was pretending to hold the seat. (I could "fake it") He'd let go and run beside me for 100m telling me he was still holding on. Then he'd stop and I'd ride alone fro 100m but the second I noticed that he wasn't running beside me, I crashed because I was so convinced that I couldn't ride a bike. He'd tell me I had been riding by myself but I was so hurt that "he let me crash" I wouldn't hear it. My self doubt would force me to disbelieve the reality that I had ridden on my own. I don't know how he eventually broke through but eventually he convinced me I had "made it."
Great comment!
It makes things difficult in IRL leftist circles where everyone has different exposure to theory and different abilities to engage with theory. Not understanding something is seen as a weakness so everyone has to pretend they understand it, and thus conversation ends up being really shallow and unproductive. The worst a person can do is say something "incorrect" and prove they're not a "real" leftist.
Like, to convince people of things you have to appear confident. But to learn things you have to be humble/vulnerable. And our culture makes it difficult to code switch.
Its capitalist superstructure. Social capital accumulation (prestige) by providing the desired discourse.
damn, that's deep. you have a good point! why even "fake it"? why do people even want to "make it"? very good questions to ask and think about!!
Not only is my landlord a landlord, he also works for Cargill. Talk about a double whammy aye.
I was at a pride event today, and one of the speakers was from a queer refugee help organisation. With him were some queer refugees, some of which were from the USA. And yet the USA is seen as a safe country by the Dutch government.
Went to take care of my sis in laws garden as she is on holiday. Beautiful garden with native plants and edible things.
I was scraping weeds from between the tiles when her MIL walked in (husbands mother). When she saw me doing that she said her husband had some Roundup I could use so it would be quicker.
Nearly threw a spade at her head. Fucking Roundup lmao. Yes let me use fucking poison in an edible garden where a cat and a child chill in a regular basis. For some weeds.
I swear to God some people just want to see the world burn.
I kindly explained why that would be a bad idea and she could see my point.
Also saw an Asian Hornet for the first time. Things are huge.
lol found out a new yeonmi park, dont wanna link her videos but her youtube channel is hanaya, it's exactly what you expect "north korean goes to supermarket 1st time" and that sort of stuff 😂 can these people get creative ffs?
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it" also works on propaganda
Wisconcom is back again 🙄 http://archive.today/2025.07.19-035527/https://lemmy.world/u/Saulw
He’s technically not on Lemmygrad, so I guess he hasn’t broken the deal that @CriticalResist8@lemmygrad.ml proposed.
We managed to stop a weapons shipment going through our port. Even a judge has now ruled it illegal. A while ago one did go through and we increased pressure, with success.
Shipment to Israel* forgot to add
Thank you so much.
Austrian neo nazi Felix Baumgartner, famous for jumping from high altitudes, died today doing what he loved. Jumping from high altitudes.
Rest in piss.
leave paragliders to the pros Felix
Wait he was a nazi?
Yeah he as a misogystic shit who simped for dictators and endorsed neo nazi orgs
heh heh heh. Stupid games stupid prizes.
So the main stage of a festival nearby burned down just now (Tomorrowland, huge festival). Not only are people treating it like some 9/11 (festival didn't start, nobody hurt), the media were spreading fake AI images of a burned down stage as well. Scary stuff. Guess that happens when you need to be the first to get the clicks.
hello comrades. i got laid off from my job. i have about a year of free money from the government coming. i would love your suggestions on how to spend this time
currently my plans are:
learning french
reading das kapital along with david harvey lectures
putting a lot of effort in to making nice food
I'm gonna keep plugging the recent Reitter translation of capital 1 lol, it's much more clear than earlier translations.
Blackshirts and Reds from Michael Parenti is a good book to include in your plans!
Also, I am sorry for your loss in your job. Hope this opens a door for a better future for you.
thank you, to be honest i'm glad to see the back of it
If you have the space plant a herb garden. Once established herbs are generally low maintenance and fresh herbs are an easy +10% bonus to your cooking skills.
🇰🇵 DPRK bank’s official exchange rates for foreign currencies.
Image -> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gv--YMdWQAAiYRM.jpg?name=orig
BTW do you have official DPRK sources on what their GDP for 2023 or 2024 is ? All I can find are Bank of Korea (i.e. South Korea) estimates and I have absolutely no reason to trust these.
There is a book that have plenty of sources from the DPRK in regard to their GDP and other economic indicators:
Phillip H. Park, History of Economic Management in North Korea, Routledge, London & New York 2025 -> https://1lib.sk/book/116565577/4da96d/history-of-economic-management-in-north-korea-from-planned-economy-to-socialist-enterprise-system.html
That makes approximatively 10% growth a year, which is strong but not too surprising when compared with typical USSR (under Stalin) or chinese growth figures. Also the reference year is a covid year, in which I expect production was slightly lower, which could make for slightly stronger growth figures (but still very impressive).
It's really great to see the DPRK growing this fast, especially when compared with the failing economy of the south.
