this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2025
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Asklemmy

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There's a lot of people on here who are part of what I'd call losing causes, causes that run counter to the consumerist capitalist mono-culture, I.e. socialism, veganism, FOSS, anti-car urbanism, even lemmy and the fediverse.

I want to know what made you switch from being a sympathizer to an active participant. I believe it's important for us to understand what methods work in getting people involved in a movement that may not have any immediate wins to motivate people to join.

EDIT: A lot of people objecting to my use of losing so I'll explain more, all of these causes benefit from popularity and are weakened by there lack of adoption and are thus in direct competition with the capitalist consumerist mono-culture, a competition which they are currently losing.

  • Socialism on a small scale cannot solve the inherent issues of a capitalism that surrounds it.

  • Veganism benefits from more people becoming vegan and restaurants and grocery stores providing vegan options.

  • FOSS, or more specifically desktop Linux, benefits from more people being on it and software developers designing for and maintaining applications for it.

  • The more people that use transit, the more funding it gets and the better it gets.

  • the fediverse benefits from more people veing on it and more diverse communities so those with niche interests besides the above causes can find community here.

On the flip side the capitalist consumerist alternatives to all of these benefit from there popularity and thus offer a better value to most people. The question is about what made you defer that better immediate material value in favor of something else.

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[โ€“] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's not a losing cause if it's growing

[โ€“] chobeat@lemmy.ml 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The last 30 years of activism prove you quite wrong

[โ€“] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 2 points 5 days ago

But those are all growing. Get out of the corpo mindset where you have to dominate in X years or run out of runway or crash

[โ€“] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Maybe I wouldn't consider them losing causes, since we have our small wins here and there. Every positive difference you make, is rewarding when it amounts even to the tiniest win. You posting this question and other Lemmings like me answering is itself a little Lemmy W.

But yeah, things for me don't have value only because they are popular. Yes, popularity can affect that I get recommended stuff that I end up liking, but I consciously reject being told to like something without being aware of the full details.

Here's some contrasting examples: PEAK is a game I got on the bandwagon for, after seeing it posted on GamingOnLinux via !pcgaming@lemmy.ca . Seeing the gameplay, it looked like fun, and I had friends to play it with so it was worthwhile. On the other hand, trends like Stanley Cup, blindbox toys like Labubu, "Dubai Chocolate", I'm not going to get any of those, despite their explosive popularity, unless I see a legitimate use for my own needs.

Also, my values are set towards lasting ownership of stuff then renting/BNPL schemes.

[โ€“] dil@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 days ago

I learned about them, liked them, changed my views (if I had to) to reflect what I've learned.

[โ€“] kyub@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

At this point, being on this planet is a losing cause.

I strongly disagree that unpopular things are automatically a losing cause though. I use and do some unpopular things because it's more ethical or more beneficial overall, but I'm not at all troubled with it. I just try to be a somewhat decent citizen where many others would just be like "lol I don't care about any consequences, just give me the cheapest or most convenient option". I'm not like that. And I think more people shouldn't be. But, again, at this point... it's definitely a losing battle. But I still do it because then I can tell myself that I at least tried to do the somewhat right thing. It's kind of just to have a clean conscience, whereas some others are completely fine burning the world for their own short-term gain. That's basically the difference.

[โ€“] ComradeMiao@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Most of the causes you list are not defined by losing so idek what this is asking

[โ€“] m532@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 4 days ago

Let's see... a few capitalists and their horde of miseducated lackeys vs 1400000000 socialists + lots of other people around the world. What's the losing cause here?

[โ€“] breadguy@kbin.earth 5 points 6 days ago

somebody gotta do it

[โ€“] AnotherUsername@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 days ago

I'm adopting FOSS because commercial products are inevitably enshitified for profit. Fuck the billionaires, I like my money and my personal data and I am not ok with them putting their grubby, sticky little fingers in my personal shit. I was raised a private person and I like my privacy.

I'm not vegan but I reduced my red and pork to 0 because it's unhealthy and I don't really like eating things for breakfast that are as smart as small children. Ew.

I fucking hate cars and always have. They smell bad, they're expensive, they take up huge amounts of time, and idiots on a power trip are always being assholes in them. Coal rolling trucks make me want to puke in disgust. It's always a guy and he's always a dropout moron on a power trip who's gonna die of lung cancer at 56 while complaining about chemtrails.

Socialism is necessary because capitalism promotes the tragedy of the commons and I like my clean air and drinkable water. I grew up on stories about the wilderness, I lived running around in the woods, I value a healthy ecosystem rich in genetic diversity. I am also an absolutely enormous asshole at heart who is cheap as fuck and who hates litter, and homeless people are untidy, expensive, and dangerous. Sticking them in apartments to keep their shitty decisions out of my view is cheaper than cleaning up their feces all the time and dealing with begging and grabbing and crime, and it makes me able to ignore them more easily. Out of sight, out of mind, I get to live my life in peace knowing they're not homeless anymore. Also their kids don't deserve that shit even if their parents are depressed abusive junkie trash who couldn't keep a job if it was "lay here all day long".

Well, I was born here and it seemed like the thing to do.

I have kids... so clearly yes.

[โ€“] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 4 points 6 days ago

Knowing something's right - yet dying/loosing - doesn't make it not worth it. You might just end up without the thing. But at least you weren't part of its downfall nor responsible. Quite the contrary.

I guess it's that simple. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

[โ€“] sad_detective_man@leminal.space 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I think I was broke at a young age to stand by things I think are true even if I'm liked less. There's definitely something to be said for social cohesion but I already have a lot of issues with hating myself and a lot of things that American society demands of me for social cohesion involve hating myself for more things that are less and less problematic.

So eventually it's just easier to identify with being a "principled" pariah. And then all the pro-social concessions I actually do make are things I can keep to myself to preserve that identity.

[โ€“] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)
  • FOSS - Because I have been in it since almost the beginning of my tech career (first Linux was Red Hat Halloween) and in a tangential manner have helped it along in many ways. It's my default.
  • Veganism - Technically I am an inveg (involuntary vegan). I was pushed into a whole food plant based diet because it turns out I am genetically predisposed to coronary disease and absurdly high levels of cholesterol, arterial plaque, and inflammation. Built to run hard and die young, and I'm all out of young.
  • Fediverse - I am old enough to remember the old Internet and the Fediverse has a bit of that vibe. This is probably Lemmy leans more Gen-X/Xennial than other platforms.
  • UBI and other Socialist safeguards - I am a capitalist but I am more so a pragmatist. If we do not ensure the survival, viability of the population and access to the means of success to majority, then the system will collapse and we will all be fucked. Rich, poor and everyone in between. It's just common sense. Rich fucks and politicians are always focused on fast, short term gains and never in longevity and sustained success.
  • Netrunner CCG - Because it's just the best card game ever made (sorry MtG, but it's true). I buy every new set, even if I don't have anyone to play with anymore.

I have no doubt there are many other lost causes I support or follow that I am blissfully ignorant of their niche status.

EDIT:

  • Final Space - I pre-ordered the book so I can find out how it ends.
[โ€“] jet@hackertalks.com 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I was pushed into a whole food plant based diet because it turns out I am genetically predisposed to coronary disease and absurdly high levels of cholesterol, arterial plaque, and inflammation. Built to run hard and die young, and Iโ€™m all out of young.

Have you been keeping a eye on atherosclerosis with imaging like CAC scores?

[โ€“] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Oh yes. I even do a full body Pernuvo scan every other year.

[โ€“] jet@hackertalks.com 2 points 5 days ago

Wow, that is awesome. your the first person I've seen be so proactive!

[โ€“] solidsnake@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago

Education. Good luck

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