Welcome Back! I missed you. Excited to get to unleash my boomer perspective onto you ❤ hehe
I have already noted it but I am of the opinion Student Politics + Activists are particularly guilty of the previously mentioned (pg 2) LilyUniverse Sins so I am going to spend some of our upcoming time together dedicated to my lifelong archnemsis of mobile cellular devices and 24/7 social media access!
Heard of the lonliness epidemic?
It’s the latest social media moral panic and it’s literally 100% your own fault. Stand the fuck up and go outside! Let me elaborate.
Since the end of COVID-19 lockdowns (COVID-19 itself has not ended) I have been hearing constant complaints of lonliness from every corner, yet I am not seeing anyone do anything about a resolution for their feelings.
I have a few theories (find something lily doesn’t have theories on challenge) surrounding why but my primary two are:
- Capitialism + Neocolonialsim in their true ruining everything fashion genuinely have White and Western people so disconnected from the processes of how things actually come to be, it has worked to convince them of the possibilty of a completely isolated yet somehow functioning and sustainable lifestyle, which could not be any further from actual reality and truth.
- On the whole humanity has just been a bit slow with realising digital interaction will never be able to fully replace physical, personal interactions no matter how much we try and sometimes you just have to put some pants on and make the zoom meeting happen in the office for the sake of your own sanity.
I have seen a lot more speculative conversation around the topic in the direction of solution over complaint recently than in the past, though. I have seen books, essays, films, docos, political campaigns and other various mediums advocating for the changes they believe necessary to solve the ‘loneliness epidemic’.
I have never identified with these feelings that are supposedly strongest felt amongst people in my age demographic (have fun figuring out what demographic that is LOL) and I do feel like a lot of that is owed to not giving a flying fuck about conforming to unnecessary peer pressure + social trends and also the fact I am not White.
I knew from a very young age I was destined to be one of those people that you love or hate and there is never going to be any point in adjusting myself for social status – I am too extreme in my opinions and in love with myself to waste time and energy like that. The people who love me will and have stayed. That is good enough for me and gives me the chance to observe the rest of you people pleasing mob.
A lot of these recent conversations have a tendency to feel like White people discovering community.
That is not neccessarily a bad thing – it’s just frustrating they (White Academia) are once again trying to pass it off as their own wonderful and scientific discovery – rather than acknowledge this is what they have been trying to genocide out of First Nations people across the globe since at least the 15th Century.
Something I was talking about recently with a beloved friend Mr. Josh Yeah-all-good-and-you-can-say-my-name-idc Hutchinson was the infiltration of USA centric media onto the Australian Gen Z and Alphas youths being simultaneously one of the worst things to ever happen to this country and potentially the catalyst for progressing the nation to finally stop being politically placid and unaware.
My biggest grievance with USA centric media shaping Australian culture is the fact that (African) Americans expect First Nations people from Australia to work the same as they do genetically and culturally which has resulted in White Australians somehow becoming even more ignorant about the past of their country in favour of American history and politics which in turn is exposing our younger generation of Blak Babies/Children/Teens to a whole new styles of racism (online and offline) based off this fact.
Australia is an extremely young nation (comparatively to the rest of the globe) and I think we are yet to develop any signifcant ‘post-colonial’ culture of our own. I don’t think colonialism is done by any means, and I know for a fact we have culture waiting for us to return to when everyone is ready for Treaty. If I had a gun to my head and you asked me “What is the culture of the Australian Nation?” and for some reason I couldn’t answer with the fact that the Australian Nation shouldn’t exist and you mutt dogs need to stop genociding my people, I would recite this poem:
The chapter of the book I memorised that from has a bunch of great poems by Sydney teens about how Australia makes them feel based off of the song and music video of Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ that one is just easiest and quickest to make flow off the tongue.
Yeah-all-good-and-you-can-say-my-name-idc has his own grievances with American centric media that came accompanied with a silver-lining I had been yet to consider:
Americans are fucking stupid but they will die before they have what they percieve as their ‘freedom’ (however abstract of a concept) taken away from them. That is a skill Australian Citizens could bear to learn. Quickly.
I have written many an essay on how we as Australian Citizens do not have the legal protection of Civil Protest like we are led to believe – so it would be smarter to spit on cops now than when we have armed them with machine guns and riot control squads transition into just being controlled under Martial Law.
Australians do not protest enough; Americans could be argued as protesting too much.
I was an extremely politically active adolescent until I got caught up in my transition to adulthood, my first introduction to City People and their Dog Attitudes, and briefly paying attention to how other people are perceiving my autism. That last one is a scary one and I don’t do that anymore; I stay in my bubble of AuDHD it’s less mentally damaging to direct my brain energy elsewhere.
I am back into my political activism and now some of my friends who couldn’t have given less of a fuck if you paid them to about the political and economical state of the world are full of questions, ideas and passions for political progression. It has been invigorating and kind of beautiful to witness from people I previously assumed I would drift apart from due to a lack of interest in their own Human Rights.
There has been a key difference, however, in the way I observe organising and protesting in 2024 than I remember doing during 2015-2019…
Social Media was not where I hosted my rallies and movements.
Does anyone remember those stupid Black Squares from 2020?
The ones that were supposedly representative of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement; but ended up doing nothing more than sensationalising (even duhaminsing) the very real and very brutal death of George Floyd?
My two most distinct memories from that trend both surround the sheer level of shameless performative support and extremely minuscule amounts of meaningless + barely even tangible change that resulted from the influx of posts in America or elsewhere. I had people I have witnessed having zero second thoughts being racist then OR now – posting that stupid black square and coming at me and other blakfullas for opting out of the charade.
If you were a square poster I would be genuinely interested in hearing IF and HOW you followed up on your involvement in the BLM movement afterwards…
Did you dedicate any of your grid posts to elevating black voices? Did you donate to any mutual aid funds? Did you take the time to look into First Nations incarceration and re-contextualise the situation to here in Australia?
Exactly, didn’t think so.
It is very easy to fool yourself into thinking you have done something genuinely impactful through the lens of social media deception.
Especially when you haven’t.
What did this AI post achieve other than taking platform away from non-AI content and stalling the realisation from the wider general public of the full extent of the genocide currently taking place against Palestinians?
Have you seen any Kamala BRAT posts actually urging anyone to go place a vote or reach an audience that wasn’t majority underneath legal voting age?
This is not to entirely discredit the digital landscape as an important part of modern politics. Much like my grievances with Student Activism, TikTok Activism could benefit from a more nuanced and informed standpoint; rather than function from the opinion they are the be and all and end all of forward movement.
There is a time and a place for violent protest just like there is a time and place for digital protest.
I am a huge fan of the capacity the internet and social media hold for education and connection you would otherwise be unable to access in analogue circumstances! When I was 13ish I created a discord server for WLW under the age of 18 as I was the only visible lesbian in my area at the time – it ended up amassing thousands of members and a few smaller offshoot servers before I aged out and handed over ownership or they fizzled out. It was the first of it’s kind and opened myself and countless other baby dykes up to the possibility of a bright and visible future.
I also think that the rise of online activism DOES have something to do with the fact we all refuse to admit we are disabled; either because we are so wrapped up in capitalism we don’t realise or it was acquired via COVID-19 and you are ashamed at your loss of ability.
There is a lot of fear and paranoia in global circulation (that ironically we could repair by going outside more but i digress) that once you pile it on top of everyday survival and add meeting up with a bunch of (potentially strangers to you) people to go to a forum or a rally or an event it all becomes a bit overwhelming; crashing into bed and posting a filter that claims to donate profits to a cause you support becomes a far more appealing option.
It is far from enough in the long-term, though, I’m sorry to tell you.
It is also not enough to only be dedicating yourself to one singular issue like housing, education, justice reform etc. everything is connected (see: capitalism + neocolonialism) and the more you allow the cognitive dissonance that they are separable to affect your ideologies – the easier you become for governments to manipulate and utilise for their own agendas.
I have a video I plan on publishing under my Let’s Unpack That series about the concept of homonationalism which is basically an example of exactly that – western governments pinning their superior morality over other nations on their supposedly progressive LGBTQ+ policies while ignoring the fact that as colonisers they are often the reasons Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation was ever introduced to begin with (or that they don’t even have LGBTQ+ legislation themselves).
Governments do not fucking care if you are a Brown Queer, A Purple Queer, Or a Poor White CisHet – they would kill you all the same for money and power. Do not be mistaken. You are ALWAYS expendable and that is why it is in your best interests to be working arm in arm with people and causes you don’t support over sucking hole of a singular politician who will be more than happy to throw you away based on current trends and personal whims.
Lily this is all well and good to be saying but what about DOING?
Like did you forget all of us (you included) are disabled, Diva?
No. I didn’t.
You’re gonna wanna punch me in the face for this one but you just have to bite the bullet and DO THINGS TIRED! It gets easier, you will find that having a strong social network and sense of purpose outside of paid work will give you more energy once you get into the swing of it, and you will be grateful you did when WWIII starts and you aren’t alone, uneducated and afraid in the midst of it.
You need to do your readings and go to libraries, tiktok and ChatGPT are not reliable sources.
You posted a tweet about your local council today, great! Now write a letter to them or see if there are any local movements worried about the content of your tweet alongside you.
There are always more steps to be taking and the most daunting part is taking those first few – but the grass is greener down the track and I promise it is much more fulfilling and enjoyable in the long run.
MWAH!
See you soon and I am excited to hear all about the things you get up to in the meantime my deadly little changemakers!
I have also launched a substack recently under the @LilyInteractive – it features more creative and short-form writing if thats your style – I will eventually be uploading to them my Late Night W/ Lil but there will be a delay to keep them special for the Substack crew 🙂
Head on over and check it out so you don’t get fomo!
LilyInteractive 
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