Tonight while I was playing PVE DayZ, I came across a large gas canister that I didn't need. I typed out in the chat that I had a large gas canister that I didn't need and if anyone needs it then it's theirs. I would even leave it where they could find it later if need be. Someone responded with, "We can buy that at the Trader." This didn't exactly break my brain yet it started me thinking. Capitalism is a certain kind of brain rot that goes so deep into the psyche of a person that they impose its rigidity on a fucking video game.
I say this because that person and many other people on the server:
Believe that there should be no "hand outs".
Believe that community is not about sharing as much as it is about making a profit from others and expect rewards.
Find it foreign/baffling when a person doesn't want a reward or payment for something.
Get mean & aggressive when you want to share items with others. (Ex. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?!?!? THAT'S WORTH X-AMOUNT YOU C*NT!")
Cannot comprehend bartering or mutual aid.
What baffles me is that DayZ is about surviving a zombie apocalypse. Keyword being "surviving". Just because there are traders it does not mean that the survival aspect must be capitalistic. Helping people and building a communal aspect in a post-apocalyptic environment where you could be mauled to death by zombies, bears, wolves, etc at any time is the best survival option and not where one must depend on having enough cash on hand to buy every little thing.
The more I think about a zombie/post-apocalypse type scenario happening in a place like the United States or United Kingdom (or any hyper-nationalist capitalist state) the more I think we're kind of fucking doomed. Like just a little fucking doomed. Mainly because of the individualist, "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality that has gotten only the 1% farther in life yet brainwashed billions into thinking they are millionaires in-waiting while they get paid unfairly. Too many do not understand mutual aid...yet they set up GoFundMe accounts so they can pay off their medical bills. It's disturbing how around-the-facts people can go and for how long.
Even in a fucking survival video game where you loot to survive in a post-apocalyptic world full of stuff that wants to kill you there are people that put a price on everything and hold currency over necessity. If you've ever been in a WoW Guild it can also be this way too.
We all saw and were impacted by the Pandemic. We all saw what people did with hoarding supplies and buying up supplies so they could sell them online at a markup...during a global pandemic. The world is still recovering from that greed (and Covid-19 has not gone away at all). Supply chains are still fucked. Imagine if the Pandemic was worse. Imagine if The Last of Us came to pass. I don't even want to think about it not because of the clickers. No. I don't want to think of it because of the ultra-individualism of too many people that would become a faction of rabid capitalists without a world bank or a stable currency.
For the past few months I have been obsessed with the following and will share more about these things as I continue to post
DayZ - I have been watching streams by ChocoTaco and BenFruit and others and have really gotten into maps like Oshima Island, Sunnyvale Chernoplus, Deer Isle, and Namalsk. I love it. I wish I had people to play with. It would be great to base build with others on Deer Isle.
Astrocartography - learning about travel lines is really cool.
Brazil - since I started learning Portuguese last year I have been really into everything Brazil, mainly because of how it is changing with Lula in office. Also, I found out I have ancestors that settled in Recife.
Brazilian futebol - I support Botafogo. Why? They're not Flamengo. They're better. Also, why not?
Leaving the United States - I'm adamant about this one. Things are not going well here. I'm applying to jobs abroad with no luck yet I'm not giving up.
Electric mopeds - I would really like one if I lived in a city setting.
Public transportation - Again, I would really like this if I lived in a city setting
Walkable, liveable cities - I would like one, por favor.