Reading too much into it too quickly can be enough to depress and give someone a complete mental breakdown I think
Very good warning to keep in mind. I’ve had to take breaks when researching certain topics because of this kind of thing. Was researching some things about the Vietnam war a couple weeks ago and had to stop, I was feeling physically ill from what I was reading/seeing, even though it’s things I “know” about already.
It’s elucidating and enlightening beyond belief, but reading about this stuff definitely made me understand the phrase “ignorance is bliss” and I get the physical sickness absolutely. All you really have to know is that NATO / the U.S. / the transatlantic empire are profit-driven, wicked, and never have the best interest of people other than shareholders and war profiteers at heart, and that you have to fight against them every step of the way. Blum et al.'s work will make you a better anti-imperialist IMO, but you’re already golden if you do and believe the above. It’s not worth understanding every facet of every misadventure and every suffering imposed by empire if it’ll kill your passion for revolution or hurt you so deeply that you lose it. I deep dove and had comrades and friends tell me that I should take a break because they saw the sheer horror overtaking me at times. I got over it, thankfully.
Agreed. I’m glad you seem to have developed some balance in dealing with the horror while also still continuing to learn things, and glad you had some friends to keep you grounded. I have a tendency to deep dive as well. I try to keep a purpose in mind when doing so (I am looking for X information for Y reason) to keep my diving reasonable.
Very good warning to keep in mind. I’ve had to take breaks when researching certain topics because of this kind of thing. Was researching some things about the Vietnam war a couple weeks ago and had to stop, I was feeling physically ill from what I was reading/seeing, even though it’s things I “know” about already.
It’s elucidating and enlightening beyond belief, but reading about this stuff definitely made me understand the phrase “ignorance is bliss” and I get the physical sickness absolutely. All you really have to know is that NATO / the U.S. / the transatlantic empire are profit-driven, wicked, and never have the best interest of people other than shareholders and war profiteers at heart, and that you have to fight against them every step of the way. Blum et al.'s work will make you a better anti-imperialist IMO, but you’re already golden if you do and believe the above. It’s not worth understanding every facet of every misadventure and every suffering imposed by empire if it’ll kill your passion for revolution or hurt you so deeply that you lose it. I deep dove and had comrades and friends tell me that I should take a break because they saw the sheer horror overtaking me at times. I got over it, thankfully.
Agreed. I’m glad you seem to have developed some balance in dealing with the horror while also still continuing to learn things, and glad you had some friends to keep you grounded. I have a tendency to deep dive as well. I try to keep a purpose in mind when doing so (I am looking for X information for Y reason) to keep my diving reasonable.