On this day in 1911, the Japanese government executed twelve anarchists, including radical journalists Kanno Sugako and Kōtoku Shūsui (shown), as part of a widespread crackdown on left-wing activism. Among those executed were Uchiyama Gudō, a Buddhist priest and socialist who spoke out against the Meiji government for its imperialism and advocated for conscripted soldiers to desert en masse.
The pretext for this crackdown was the “High Treason Incident”, a plot to assassinate the Emperor of Japan. The incident began when police searched the room of Miyashita Takichi, a young lumbermill employee, and found materials which could be used to construct bombs, concluding that there was a broader conspiracy to harm the imperial family.
On the basis of this plot, the Japanese government rounded up leftist activists from all over the country. 24 of the 26 defendants actually brought to trial were sentenced to death, despite the evidence against nearly all of them being circumstantial.
Among those executed anarcha-feminist journalist Kanno Sugako (some sources say she was executed on January 25th). At the age of 29, Kanno became the first woman with the status of political prisoner to be executed in the history of modern Japan.
Prior to his execution, Kōtoku Shūsui etched this message on the wall of his cell: “How has it come about that I have committed this grave crime? Today my trial is hidden from outside observers and I have even less liberty than previously to speak about these events. Perhaps in 100 years someone will speak out about them on my behalf.”
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Is this a potential red flag
My therapist recognizes the fact that the patriarchy exists and is bad for everyone. He also recognizes the value of grassroots and community building. OK, good start 👍
Now he’s suggesting that I recognize my thoughts and frame them in a “stoic” way by only focusing on the present moment and what I can control 🤮
Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this not the reddest of flags? Or is this where I just agree to disagree with shitty beliefs
I mean, for the sake of your own mental health, you cannot focus solely on the things you cannot control. You need to rack up personal Ws to not go insane and accelerate your own alienation. It’s the underlying thesis of the grillpill–if you are constantly tuned in and you make a social project your entire life, you are going to burn out and break down, so get a hobby.
If you think it is a red flag, clarify ‘what if I focus on communal and local organizing?’ and ‘do you mean I should find another hobby to do alongside investing in my political goals?’ with them and see whether they agree or double-down on individualism
Eh it’s good advice for some people but trying to draw up a category of “things I cannot control” can lead to its own form of madness. What about things I probably can’t control, or have very little control over, do I aim to eradicate those from my attention just because they’re long shots? What’s the cutoff? What about things which can be affected quite certainly but only if enough people do the same thing as me, voting for example? To what extent is my individual decision correlated with those of other similar people?
This isn’t just abstract philosophical nonsense, it has real consequences apart from individual psychology. If no one does anything that has a low chance of working we lose out on occasional miracles that, although rare, can affect the course of history. If we adopt a decision theory which completely isolates us from others we end up reasoning that voting isn’t worth the effort because a single vote won’t affect the result and everyone stays home. Maybe a bad example since voting often isn’t worth the effort for other reasons but imagine you lived in an actually functional democracy.
If you need to adopt a radical acceptance type attitude to function then by all means do so, but personally I find this to be impossible. And, frankly, I do pay a price in terms of happiness, but I tell myself it’s worth it for the tiny bit of extra sanity and cognitive consonance.
Ahh I think I see your point. Kinda sucks for me though because I’m physically disabled (can walk but am unable to engage in strenuous physical activity without losing balance) so I’ve channeled most of that energy into politics (online and irl). I guess the real world aspect of it all is one of my hobbies in a sense, but it sounds like you’re saying it’s a fast track to inevitable failure.
Probably the autism in me, but I’m so bad at f deciding “what” to do but usually excel when I’m told what to do by another person. It’s the fucking decision-making aspect of it all I’m convinced and whether my decisions are judged
A lot of times political organizing can feel like digging to the center of the earth with a shovel. It’s not very good to ground your emotions and mental health solely in regards to your success in a task with such a large scope.
I’d personally suggest taking up a creative hobby if you can’t do a more physical one. Or get really into a niche subculture. For me, I took up music production, programming, and creative writing, which aren’t very physically strenuous and can all be done at a computer.
Just try and find an outlet (preferably one that you can separate enough from the political project you are engaged in) that you find enjoyable
Yeahhhhh I thought focusing on my city would be so much easier than anything else, but turns out that everyone is just trying to keep their head above water. But I still so deeply believe in the possibility of getting people to recognize that all the extremely boring shit happening in city council meetings is what actually matters as opposed to the spectacle (and borderline kayfab) that is national-level elections (am I wrong?)
But I digress. Guess I’ll pick up the guitar again or put energy into this local cooking club my friend wants to start lol
The goal of therapy is to make sure you’re functional in your day-to-day life. That includes stuff like accepting that you live in a fundamentally unjust world insofar as concerns about it don’t paralyze you or force you to have sleepless nights.
I feel like i’m sus of stoicism because it’s popular on reddit, but i don’t think it’s a red flag and people’s opinions who i respect had it work for them. I’ve done literally no research into the philosophy.
But anyway, focusing on the present moment and what you can control is pretty accepted brain doctor tactics, not a red flag. Sounds pretty similar to mindfulness stress reduction therapy.
I think Stoicism is just a smart way to describe doing nothing.
Camus Sisyphus is a better example in my oppinion but the best answer I can relate to is Nitzsches general existential philosophy, e.g. the Übermensch.
Stoicism is just accepting the fact that one can do nothing and therefore trying to ignore it. A lot of people cope with death like this.
Camus and Niztsche suggest that one should grow from the problem: Live happily either way embracing the problem (Camus) or growing because the problem and achieving a greater version of yourself.