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1. Embed this notice
   Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 21:55:41 JST Wladimir Palant

   Content warnings serve a purpose. Yes, that includes politics.

   You may feel that a topic is too important to “hide” it. But please understand that people are currently getting bombarded by horrible politics news from all directions. This is not sustainable, and it’s often a choice between muting this at least temporarily or burning out.

   So: please don’t be an asshole and use content warnings. Get down from your privileged horse. People ask for them for a reason, not to annoy you or to downplay the importance.

   (I fully acknowledge that I don’t always think about this. But I try.)

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 21:55:41 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     @WPalant

     It’s not the ones posting about politics here, who are the assholes. The assholes are the ones who make/ have made the world what it is today - and that’s why, unfortunately, it’s hard to find any other topic worth talking about.

     Sure, you can bury your head in the sand out of fear of burning out, only to wake up in a world that’s burned to the ground.

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 22:04:11 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     @WPalant

     There is no such thing as "a break from politics". Everything is politics. Everything! Because humans are social beings. This is a community, for example. It has rules. People argue. Pure politics.

     The word "politics" is derived from the term "polis". Look it up!

   • Embed this notice
     Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 22:04:12 JST Wladimir Palant

     in reply to

     • es0mhi

     @es0mhi I assure you, people who need a break from politics know very well what is going on. And you can still write about politics even when using CW.

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 22:24:06 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     @WPalant

     Oh, and those CWs - as this was the point of your post. Im suffering having to keep up with all the news every day. I'm really suffering. So I know what you are talking about. But what makes me angry is this decision to back out simply for the sake of convenience. E.g. the 50% of the non-Trump voters who want to quickly roll over in bed and snooze a little longer until after the midterms. By then, the world will surely look a lot brighter again. CW, the snooze button for the ignorantly blissful.

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 22:48:36 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     @WPalant

     I've never seen anyone change the world who puts themselves first and focuses on managing their energy. But I hope you'll be the first!

   • Embed this notice
     Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 22:48:37 JST Wladimir Palant

     in reply to

     • es0mhi

     @es0mhi Here is your medal for suffering and wanting others to suffer in the same way. 🏅

     It may come as a surprise but ignoring your own and other people’s boundaries is neither necessary to stay informed nor is it helping to change the current situation. These boundaries exist for a reason, respecting them and giving yourself a break from time to time is generally a good strategy to have the energy to actually do something.

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 23:02:14 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     • ww

     @WPalant
     @ww

     I've thought a lot about these things. And I've come to the conclusion that living a healthy life within a sick society ultimately makes no sense. I am as far from being an American as one can possibly imagine.

     We all have to try our best, to make the world a better place. Everyone has to do it the way that seems to promise them the most success.

   • Embed this notice
     Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 23:02:15 JST Wladimir Palant

     in reply to

     • es0mhi

     @es0mhi That’s a very unhealthy and an extremely American attitude. Are you interested in book suggestions?

   • Embed this notice
     simsa03 (simsa03@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 23:22:29 JST simsa03

     in reply to
     And I get "bombarded" with cat videos. Shall we have a CW for that too?
     
     You don't argue in favor of CWs but in favor of people being entitled to be cuddled, and having that entitlement naturally without asking or overtly claiming. That is: You reframe in terms and as a problem of mental health something that is a topic of personal responsibility of what everyone on his own is willing to tolerate in one's own timeline.
     
     As the standard user, foolish as he is, doesn't give shit about how his cat posts annoy me, I surely will not give shit about the annoyance he experiences when stumbling across my posts on politics. If people don't like them: block me, mute me, block keywords, etc. It's their choice. Don't make that responsibility for a healthy use of one's social feeds an issue of mine. Fricking kindergarten.
   • Embed this notice
     Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 23:48:46 JST Wladimir Palant

     in reply to

     • simsa03

     @simsa03 Is your mental health affected by cat videos?

   • Embed this notice
     es0mhi (es0mhi@tilde.zone)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jul-2026 00:47:42 JST es0mhi

     in reply to

     • ww

     @ww

     Thank you for your detailed reply. As you know, one important thing about social media is that you really need to be patient and explain yourself, because the lack of bodily information doesn't make things easier here.

     I agree with a lot of what you say, and you have some wise words, too. However, there is one point on which I strongly disagree. It's related to the core of the original @WPalant post.

     I think it's an exaggeration to say that people's first reaction when you talk to them is emotional. I would say, emotion is always involved, but the civilisation process was quite successfull in teaching us to control our emotions and not let them interfere with rationality all the time. Unfortunately, we've taken a few steps backwards in that area in recent years.

     In any case, starting a conversation by manipulating people with 'fake respect' is not a good idea. "Respect" seems to be one of those ideas of our time, as if it were the most important thing. But that's not enough. It's also about 'honesty' and 'sincerity'. We can’t always talk to each other as equals, and in this sense, the CW function touches a sore spot.

     I also don't think life is about using your energy as 'efficiently' as possible (even though e.g. Tai Chi,, aims to teach the opposite). Biological life is a waste of energy, and fundamentally, I think we should embrace that.

     What you say about the Fediverse is true: 'One more political post is not going to change anyone's mind here'. However, I wouldn't want to be here if it were a political-free zone. I enjoy talking to people about what I think is important in life, and I like hearing the same from them. (Then there are posts that are more like me talking to myself, so I can easily look back and see what was on my mind at a certain time.) I'm generally also good at ignoring things I don't care about, and I wonder why this ability seems to have been lost by so many people.

   • Embed this notice
     ww (ww@xyzzy.link)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jul-2026 00:47:44 JST ww

     in reply to

     • es0mhi
     @es0mhi @WPalant eh, everyone in the activist circles (like, the ones that go outside and try to change things) that i've seen, talks about the importance of self-care (and mutual care as well), cause otherwise those organizations fall apart.
     
     the other thing is, when you talk to people, their first reaction is always emotional. if you want to get people to think, you have to make them feel like you respect them. as in, whatever it takes, even if you actually don't. otherwise you're wasting energy. and it's really hard to appear respectful if you're exhausted and don't let yourself rest? tired people are easily irritated and can't think rationally.
     
     and the last thing, on fedi, you're preaching to the choir, one more political post is not going to change anyone's mind here or cause them to act—especially if the first thing they notice is the lack of a cw. not following community guidelines kind of overshadows whatever you're trying to say (like it would in any other community).
     
     saying this as someone who used to have CWs auto-expand cause i don't like them or having to click on every post (but phanpy doesn't have this feature). just, like, what's the point in wasting your energy on this. social media in general is kind of a trap where it can feel like you're doing something to change the world, while having literally no actual effect on it. and the cw wars, it just makes everyone involved more tired and angry.
   • Embed this notice
     simsa03 (simsa03@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jul-2026 08:19:25 JST simsa03

     in reply to
     Should people be mentally so unstable that they cannot take political posts without CWs, they perhaps should take a time-out from social media instead of asking everbody else to act as their nurse. And yes, cat pics get me to the point that I block their senders.
   • Embed this notice
     Wladimir Palant (wpalant@infosec.exchange)'s status on Sunday, 19-Jul-2026 09:46:16 JST Wladimir Palant

     in reply to

     @simsa03@gnusocial.jp Other people’s mental health is not up to you to decide. That’s an even worse take than your first post, you are blocked.