The Productive Pessimist

  No, I'm not talking about the "seize the means of production!" kind of revolutions, but a more impactful, sustainable, accessible and inclusive form of radicalism; the "revolutions" in the way you approach and engage other people - and yourself. In 2026, the revolutions we need to engage in - or perhaps start  - are: . Revolutions of attitude  - focus on having impactful, rippling words, rather than the last word. Create a message  which carries, rather than relying on argumentative fallacies, sheer force of volume/tone, or insults. View people you find yourself in conflict or disagreement with as cultures to be explored, rather than problems to be solved. . Revolutions of approach - come with curiosity. Argue as though you are doing so in front of a sensitive cat, or a young child - if you can't? Journal the argument you  wanted to make, so you can look back at it over time, and refine the original argument into  a suitable ...

  Life being stressful isn't  an illness.  That's entirely correct. But "life being stressful" also  isn't acceptable to employers, either. It's not going to be the case, in the UK, in 2025, that if people "just stop going to doctors and claiming mental health issues and getting signed off because life is a bit hard, then we wouldn't be spending so much on welfare!" . "People don't like you" . "You're impacting your colleagues' morale" . "It's unfair of you to make your colleagues worry about you by being clearly upset" . "You can't talk about feeling burnt out when there are people dealing with far higher workloads than you - everyone is burnt out, but we have to keep going" . "If you aren't happy to be here, f-k off and get a different job" . "I'm sick of you coming in here looking like you want to k*ll yourself - why don't you just f-king do it, so the rest ...

International Men's Day. It's on the 19th November every year. Try and remember that, guys - it gets a little bit wearing for everyone  when you whinge on, all over posts for International  Women's Day (8th March) about " when's my  day, huh?!" (it's very much not  giving Alpha energy - it's giving three year old at their sibling's birthday party. But if that's the look you want...) What is the point of International Men's Day? As for International  Women's Day, International Men's Day both highlights challenges men face, discussing the root causes, and thus potential solutions, of those problems, and celebrates men's achievements. In contrast to International  Women's Day, this "highlight and celebrate" is considered... well...a bit awkward when it comes to International Men's Day - because when we say "men" in the UK, most peoples' minds default to "financially comfortable, able-bodied, men...

  Recently, I read a poetry 'zine, " The  Wisdom of the Punk Buddha " by Sam Marsh. It was, in general, a good collection of reflections, which I agreed with overall. But, like so many "radical positions"...Sam had a fixation on the "obligation" to "be a healthy punk". Every where you look, those who proudly prance around shouting about ho w counter-culture they are align themselves very strongly with the dominant culture when it comes to "You must be healthy! Being healthy is completely within your control! If you aren't healthy, you don't have the necessary self-control to succeed in our fight!" And that is ableism. Yes, yes - "Oh my god , is everything an 'ism, these days?!" No, everything isn't. But insisting on health in order for people to be seen as "committed enough", "capable enough", insisting on "being healthy" as a pre-re quisite to being seen as a va...

  Take some time sometime to go onto YouTube (other platforms are available), and look for documentaries on "the  world's most expensive xyz..." If you watch those documentaries fully - ideally several of them in a ro w (they make a great background if you're working from home, doing creative projects, or getting through the house work) , you'll notice something: All of these expensive products - some selling for literally thousands of dollars a piece - are made slo wly. Often very slo wly. Days at a minimum, more commonly years. And these products are still very much in demand. Many companies are struggling to keep up with demand, because - globally, including in "countries that don't pamper people with bs like a ' welfare state!' - businesses of all types are experiencing recruitment challenges. People aren't arguing the toss over the cost of these products - they're paying deposits to join years-long waiting lists for them. So, ...