Ask Lemmy

People also sold unwanted children, we going back there too? I know a lot of Trump voters are salivating at the thought.

Nope. There's no solidarity in America anymore.

Most likely no. People nowadays have no empathy. Don't care about others. No unity.

Damn y'all are cynical. I'm on the Hurricane Coast and people come out the woodworks to help one another after storms. It's an awe inspiring thing to see so many come to mutual aid.

Two minutes after the wind dies down, dudes are roaming the streets with chainsaws, rolling in pickups, dragging trees with chains. Those that didn't get sniped are actively searching for people to help. After Hurricane Ivan, men were going door to door, cutting trees off houses and cars. Power was out so people were cooking up their food before it went bad, grills hot, signs in the yard, "Come and get it!"

Another great example is NYC after 9/11. I'd visited Manhattan in 1992 and was utterly freaked out by how unfriendly everyone was. (Yes, I know, that was partly culture shock on my part.) After 9/11 they pulled together strong.

I've written about what all went on in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Skipping that tonight as I don't want to cry, but it was awe inspiring.

And all of those events, even in your example, were before we had the organizational abilities and reach of the modern internet.

I don't think any of this is political, cultural or otherwise dependent on the times. I wouldn't spit on my MAGA neighbor if he was on fire, but I'd work by his side if shit hit the fan. The vast majority of us jump after disasters, we evolved that way, one of the finest points in our favor.

I don't think the same mechanism would work these days, but we have seen people standing up to authorities on their neighbors' behalf already; often people they don't even know. Look at all the videos of people driving ICE away.

It doesn't happen every time of course, but neither did the penny auction solidarity.

This was before the federal government formed an (unconstitutional!) standing army.

They are doing this in some areas. Little Tokyo in Los Angeles had a whole bunch of people buy out buildings so rent wouldn't go up and they could subsidiZe some of the older standing businesses. Humans are still mostly good.

Correct as all the negative comments may be, I really think we can’t know what shape it would take. Things change quickly when people get hungry. Only class consciousness can save us.

They would try but they would be prevented by lethal force.

No. The world and people are way too divided. We have litteral groups of people that life in a different reality, the conspiricy theory nut jobs.

can't hang a corporation

No chance. Everyone is "me, me, me, me!" now. Even the loudest voices around the internet, banging on about LGBT rights, and immigrants being harassed by ICE, and every other social justice issue, is only doing so for what it gives them. Worthless internet points.

And these the supposedly the very best of us. The rest? They'll be on all the auction sites, buying up foreclosed and then punting them on ebay for a massive profit. Covid showed us who most of us really are. And it wasnt pretty. Hell, some of us cant even leave kids in peace to collect pokemon cards. No, some of us have to buy them all up, and then sell them on ebay at a markup.

We are mostly, very scummy people. In order to get what we see here in these old pictures, is community. And we dont really have that anymore. We are all at each other throats over everything now. Community has become niche. Calling people cunts because you slightly disagree with them about something has become the baseline.