#domism

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

David Horsey, Seattle Times ::  [Scott Horton]

* * * *

[Why climate ‘doomers’ are replacing climate ‘deniers’

How U.N. reports and confusing headlines created a generation of people who believe climate change can’t be stopped]

When Sean Youra was 26 years old and working as an engineer, he started watching documentaries about climate change. Youra, who was struggling with depression and the loss of a family member, was horrified by what he learned about melting ice and rising extreme weather. He started spending hours on YouTube, watching videos made by fringe scientists who warned that the world was teetering on the edge of societal collapse — or even near-term human extinction. Youra started telling his friends and family that he was convinced that climate change couldn’t be stopped, and humanity was doomed.

In short, he says, he became a climate “doomer.”“It all compounded and just led me down a very dark path,” he said. “I became very detached and felt like giving up on everything.”

That grim view of the planet’s future is becoming more common. Influenced by a barrage of grim U.N. reports — such as the one published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change earlier this week — and negative headlines, a group of people believe that the climate problem cannot, or will not, be solved in time to prevent all-out societal collapse. They are known, colloquially, as climate “doomers.” And some scientists and experts worry that their defeatism — which could undermine efforts to take action — may be just as dangerous as climate denial.“

It’s fair to say that recently many of us climate scientists have spent more time arguing with the doomers than with the deniers,” said Zeke Hausfather, a contributing author to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and climate research lead at the payments company Stripe.

The origins of doomism stretch back far — McPherson, for example, has been predicting the demise of human civilization for decades — but the mind-set seems to have become markedly more mainstream in the past five years. Jacquelyn Gill, a climate scientist at the University of Maine, says that in 2018 she started hearing different sorts of questions when she spoke at panels or did events online. “I started getting emails from people saying: ‘I’m a young person. Is there even a point in going to college? Will I ever be able to grow up and have kids?’” she said.

Well before the coronavirus pandemic, a few factors combined to make 2018 feel like the year of doom. 2015, 2016 and 2017 had just been the three hottest years on record. Climate protests had begun to spread across the globe, including Greta Thunberg’s School Strike and the U.K.-based protest group known as Extinction Rebellion. In the academic world, British professor of sustainability Jem Bendell wrote a paper called “Deep Adaptation,” which urged readers to prepare for “inevitable near-term societal collapse due to climate change.” (The paper has been widely critiqued by many climate scientists.)And then the United Nations issued a special report on 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, released in October 2018, which kicked many people’s climate anxiety into overdrive.

The report, which focused on how an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels might compare to 2 degrees Celsius, included grim predictions like the death of the world’s coral reefs and ice-free summers in the Arctic. But a central message many took from the report — that there were only 12 years left to save the planet — wasn’t even in the report. It came from a Guardian headline.In three of the four pathways the report charted for limiting warming to 1.5C, the world would have to cut carbon dioxide emissions 40 to 60 percent by 2030. “We have 12 years to limit climate catastrophe,” the Guardian reported, and other outlets soon followed. The phrase soon became an activist rallying cry.“‘Twelve years to save the planet’ was actually: We have 12 years to cut global emissions in half to stay consistent with a 1.5C scenario,” Hausfather explained. “Then ‘12 years to save the planet’ becomes interpreted by the public as: If we don’t stop climate change in 12 years, something catastrophic happens.”“It was really a game of telephone,” he added.

Hausfather said part of the problem is that climate targets — say, the goal to limit warming to 1.5C — have become interpreted by the public as climate thresholds, which would drive the planet into a “hothouse” state. In fact, scientists don’t believe there is anything unique about that temperature that will cause runaway tipping points; the landmark IPCC report merely aimed to show the risks of bad impacts are much higher at 2C than at 1.5.“It’s not like 1.9C is not an existential risk and 2.1C is,” Hausfather said. “It’s more that we’re playing Russian roulette with the climate.” Every increase in temperature, that is, makes the risks of bad impacts that much higher.Still, scientists who try to clarify those nuances sometimes encounter hostility, particularly online. “If you try to push back on this in any way, you get accused of minimizing the climate crisis,” Gill said. “I’ve been accused of being a shill for the fossil fuel industry.”The problem with climate “doom” — beyond the toll that it can create on mental health — is that it can cause paralysis. Psychologists have long believed that some amount of hope, combined with a belief that personal actions can make a difference, can keep people engaged on climate change. But, according to a study by researchers at Yale and Colorado State universities, “many Americans who accept that global warming is happening cannot express specific reasons to be hopeful.”

For some, however, doomism isn’t permanent. Youra, the former engineer, still remembers how strongly he felt that humanity was done for. He believed that the IPCC and other scientists were covering up how bad climate change actually was — and no peer-reviewed research could convince him otherwise. “I think it’s kind of similar to what deniers feel,” he said. “I wasn’t being open-minded.”In 2018, he briefly considered quitting his job to travel the world — hoping to see what he could before society and the natural world collapsed. Slowly, though, he started getting involved in local climate groups, and when he attended a meeting in Alameda for the California city’s climate plan, something clicked. “I think that for me was key,” he said. “It made me start realizing the power of good policy.” 

Now 32, he has earned a master’s degree in environmental science and policy and works as the climate action coordinator for the California towns of San Anselmo and Fairfax.Worry — and even occasional despair — about the climate crisis is normal. Most scientists believe that, without deeper cuts, the world is headed for 2 to 3 degrees Celsius of global warming. But higher temperatures are still possible if humans get unlucky with how the planet responds to higher CO2 levels. Kate Marvel, a climate scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute, has said that while humans probably won’t go extinct due to climate change, “not going extinct” is a low bar.“It’s a question of risk, not known catastrophe,” Hausfather said. 

[This is a well-written and researched report/essay by Shannon Osaka:]

#climate change #political cartoon #David Horsey #Seattle Times #Scott Horton #WAPO #Shannon Osaka #domism #Climate Science

[domusings]

— 👹 tags

#domisms #dom x parker #dom x naomi #dom x shay #dom x maddie #dom x blake #dom x slater

[youhideastar]

hi! i love to be seen aright, and especially amends, and i was wondering if you’d be inclined to talk about flower’s submission? as an outsider to his and vero’s particular dynamic i found myself struggling to understand aspects of their relationship sometimes. i’m really curious as to what really makes flower tick!

First of all, thank you so much, that is so kind of you to say! Real quick, if others are wondering about the fics: To Be Seen Aright and Amends. Second, I am taking the question to mean "why does Flower want the kind of relationship where, in his dom's words, 'everything Marc-Andre does is my business'" and not to mean "I am very familiar with this kind of relationship but I'm curious about this couple's particular protocols." If I read the question wrong, I apologize; this response is going to be very off-point. 😂

So the truth is, I am very much the wrong person to answer the question of why a 24/7 BDSM relationship (i.e., a relationship where the dominance and submission dynamic extends beyond defined "scenes" into everyday life) would appeal to the submissive partner, because that kind of relationship has zero appeal to me, as either partner. 🤷‍♀️ Writing Flower's scenes in the TBSA series was, therefore, an exercise in (hopefully respectful) curiosity and empathy: given that there are many people who do find a 24/7 relationship appealing, I tried to put myself in their minds (aided by first-person writing that, unfortunately, I no longer have working links for) and ask what it is they might get out of that kind of relationship that would make it appealing. The results of that thinking are on display in the series, mostly in Flower's scenes.

I don't really feel comfortable opining on the question beyond what is present in my fiction, because, again, I'm the wrong person. There are many folks who are in 24/7 relationships who have written thoughtfully about why that's something they value and desire, and for me to presume to speak for them would, I think, be disrespectful--and also kind of silly.

That prompts the question, perhaps, of why I wrote such a relationship into TBSA at all--and the answer to that question goes to why I wrote TBSA in the first place. That's a long answer for another time, but the tl;dr version is: I was really pissed-off about domism, role policing, and the privileging of 24/7 relationships above others (at least at the time when I was more plugged-in to those conversations than I am now, which was almost 10 years ago - maybe things have gotten better. I hope so.), and I wanted to write about how fucked-up all of that was. BUT I wanted to be SUPER CAREFUL not to let "writing that it's fucked-up to act like people who don't want a 24/7 relationship aren't real subs/doms" unintentionally turn into "writing that it's fucked-up to want a 24/7 relationship and there's something wrong with those relationships." Which it easily could have. For that reason, if I was going to write the story responsibly, I had to include a positive and sympathetic portrayal of a 24/7 relationship. And so: Flower!

I know this almost certainly doesn't answer your question, and I'm sorry about that! I hope I at least understood your question properly, and explained in a satisfying way why this is the only answer I can really give. Feel free to follow up with another ask or a message if I got the question wrong or anything I said here sparked additional questions!

#hockey rpf #to be seen aright #fic asks

[ninereadytoanswer]

A different ‘disabled d/s au dom xie lian gets given sub hua cheng’ idea:

Xie Lian, who has always lived at home prior to this, heads off to university/cultivation school. Assures his parents that everything will be totally fine! Unfortunately in fact he has approximately -5 self care skills, and the kind of internalized ableism where he feels like he shouldn’t have all these ‘extra needs’ that other people don’t have, and he shouldn’t bring them up to people and ‘drag things down’, so how about he just - goes on as though he doesn’t. (...Also actually he might have the kind of internalized ableism mixed with class guilt where his family has always had servants etc, and he’s dealing with stuff around that, but - well, a lot of stuff talking about class etc issues isn’t good at acknowledging disability, so he has an issue where he ends up feeling like a bunch of his needs are ‘luxuries’.)

(Xie Lian: well, I used up all my energy/spoons/resources trying to keep up with everyone without showing that I was having any problems, so now I don’t have any left to make food or go to the dining hall or anything. Guess I’m just going to eat these potato chips for dinner, this is totally fine!)

When he goes home after a semester Xie Lian continues to proclaim that everything is going totally fine but his parents aren’t buying it and decide to contact the university and demand he be assigned someone (which, again in universe is just a thing). 

So the university does that. In this case a sub who’s been designated from being a ward of the state to the university. This being Hua Cheng. (I think Hua Cheng is being a sufficiently decent university worker, partially because he’s very interested in things, and partially (in a version with the prior encounters with Xie Lian) because I think Xie Lian’s parents helped fund the university and stuff and got things named after Xie Lian (...that gives Xie Lian more issues doesn’t it) which makes Hua Cheng ! to be there. (An alternate idea is that he got brought to the university after the local version of the Qi Rong thing, but since the thing with spirits etc couldn’t happen here he just stayed there. (And the university does wards or something). This would raise the question of Xie Lian not seeing him again but that’s probably not hard to make work, especially since Xie Lian isn’t literally a prince here.)

Cue: Xie Lian being mad about domism Hua Cheng is experiencing and trying to do things about it, Xie Lian trying to do something about Hua Cheng also having -5 self care skills and Hua Cheng promptly reflecting that back at him, Xie Lian having both Internalized Issues and genuine recognition that he’s privileged in a terrible system and also liking Hua Cheng, Hua Cheng being 😍about Xie Lian and trying not to let him know this, people casually assuming Xie Lian is fucking Hua Cheng (which again in this world would be considered completely fine and regular), Xie Lian having issues because he wants to, Hua Cheng having issues because he also wants to, and Hualian needing to sort so many things out but definitely being so much happier for it (and handling some assholes too).

---

(Note here: to be clear, this society is in fact very bad. The domism is bad, having some people you treat as basically handy objects is very bad and not ok at all. (Also economic inequality and class inequality are bad - which, also doesn’t in any way make disabled people’s needs into luxuries.) Relationships across real world power dynamics have a lot of potential for bad stuff happening even if everyone has good intentions and good awareness of what all the issues can be, and much more if the second isn’t true even if the first is. (Which also doesn’t mean people can’t ever have and affirm them). Also in real life you should generally not sleep with either your hired or appointed care aids or with someone you are a hired or appointed care aid for.

The point here is hualian navigating a bunch of issues and finding things that work anyway, not that everything happening is totally great or something.)

#tgcf #hualian #aus #internalized ableism #ds aus #disability #disclaimers #relationships across real world power dynamics #class issues #domism #n!f #I write #oops some of my issues went and got into this #problem tangled #verses #etat #whoo finally wrote this up #much ty to hoarderofstories for conversation that totally inspired stuff

[fierceawakening]

stunt-muppet replied to your post “Or to put it another way: I do not like 50S. I have winced through 90%…”

I haven’t read 50S and can’t contribute much to the discussion but I am so pleased to hear that someone else thinks m4ym4y is full of shit.

I can only speak to my own experiences with this individual, and I believe their… radicalization? or whatever it is happened after I stopped talking to them, but yes, I believe they are full of it.

(Apologies, there’s some unavoidable misgendering in what follows, because I haven’t and didn’t keep close enough tabs to know if i have pronouns right.)

I first “met” this person online when I ran let them eat pro-sm feminist safe spaces. He ran a blog called Male Submission Art, from what I recall, and interacted with me every now and then. I appreciated his blog a lot because from what I recall, the big “female top who likes male bottoms” (and I was doing my “if I pursue women I’m “bicurious” and that’s bad so I’m straight” thing. biphobia sucks ass, children) was Bitchy Jones, who was… weirdly heteronormative about a whole host of things and said very gross things frequently about sex acts I like.

He seemed pretty normal to me, and hey? Blog fulla pictures of subs being subby. THANK. 

From what I gathered he had a cis woman partner, and I think someone he’d gotten into kink (though my memory on this point is murky) because he’d always been a sub and well, told his gf his needs and she tried it out. I believe his own personal blog, aside from the MSA one, was “maybe maimed but never harmed”–I recall wondering at the time if “m4ym4y” was phonetic “MAYbe MAImed.” Again, I could be mixing things up in my memory, but that’s what I seem to recall.

Anyway, this person kinda disappeared from our circles, and I kinda did too because after a while arguing with radfems is less fun than kinky sex, so I never really investigated. I became less invested in the Scene too when I found a gf who I was serious about, so I wasn’t really aware of much except that what had kinda felt like “radfems exaggerate abuse in the Scene as a gotcha” seemed to have become “abuse in the Scene is a serious problem and everyone is Doing Things to try and fix it.”

I was chatting with a friend sometime later and they brought up m4ym4y and that they were apparently up to weird stuff, and I didn’t believe it at first–that was just a guy with a blog and a girlfriend, right? 

But when I looked that person back up, they identified as some form of transfeminine and they were saying weird, vile stuff about that ex (who had long since shuttered her own blog) and odd things about not just sexism in the Scene, but “domism.”

It made very little sense to me. In my experience as a toppy thing people parse as “cis woman,” lots of people wanted to PLAY with me because there’s a serious dearth of tops in general and female tops in specific, but people didn’t really treat me better than they treated other people, or act weirdly deferential, or anything like that. The only spaces I saw where people would defer to me by default in any way were spaces where everyone specifically consented to that, like a D/s group having a “Ladies’ Dinner” where all the women were dominant and all the men were submissive and the whole point was universal no-exceptions role exaggeration for kink.

I got to a post where she? they? dunno? said that male dominants should kill themselves and I was done. I get tired of “I don’t want YOU to die, Fierce! YOU’RE A GIRL!” and you know what? I used to run a Discourse blog and argue with radfems. “You only deserve to live because you have ovaries” is something I’ve heard enough for multiple lifetimes.

And, well, even if I transition someday:

Hon, I’ve struggled with suicidal ideation my whole life. If I ever do get a gun and fire it into my brain, you not liking my sexual orientation ain’t gonna be why.

If you want people to change or die because they don’t meet your standards, you are the one who wants coercive control.

#stunt-muppet #and apropos of nothing #yes this is why the idea of making obtaining guns laborious and annoying does not bother me #I know it’s more complicated than that #but gut feeling? #yes please do annoy me into finding something else to do

[ninereadytoanswer]

So was thinking again about some general worldbuilding for my household d/s au (which I have as a kind of general verse, even as I generally spin out kind of customized versions with their own features for various things). Specifically was thinking of some of their disability and ableism stuff (which they are also not great about! but in some different ways.) And more specifically thinking about not-adult-yet disabled doms.

So if you are young disabled dom in this verse a pretty ordinary thing to have happen is that your family will designate one of your submissive siblings (sometimes depending on dynamics could be cousins), and - basically make that person your ability support caregiver. They’ll accompany you to school, they’ll be expected to accompany you wherever you might feel like going, and do whatever it is you need done.

If your family doesn’t have someone for that, you can potentially appeal to the government, and the government might proceed to give you someone (drawn from submissive wards of the state). Who will then be expected to play a similar role.

So I was thinking like this, and then my brain went - hey but how about this with Hualian?

So now thinking about disabled au Xie Lian, siblingless and with no suitable cousins, and his parents applying to the government, and getting Hua Cheng out of it. (Hua Cheng being a ward of the state since his parents abandoned him or something else of the sort.)

(Can see this as either the way they meet, and develop from there. Or a version where they’ve already had at least their first encounter so Hua Cheng is already 👀 about Xie Lian and absolutely jumps to this.)

Questions for this au: how did it happen that they did get Hua Cheng, because I don’t super think he’s been a societally approved of example of obeisant and obedient submissivehood. 

Some options I’ve thought of so far: 

The government is actually annoyed at Xie Lian’s family for some reason (possibly some thing with Yong An in here?) and were being sort of passive aggressive at them on purpose.

Hua Cheng who is 👀 about Xie Lian either manages to volunteer and convince the staff of the state home or wherever he lives, or manages to convince whoever is actually selected to switch with them and count on the official people being too embarrassed to own up to this.

...Hua Cheng does something else, like it’s not supposed to be him at all and he sneaks in or something.

...?Auditions?

...Probably not fortune telling.

Hua Cheng having been motivated by Xie Lian reasons to actually cause whatever officials to end up with a better option of him.

#hualian #meeting before being adults cw #I saw somewhere there's something wrong with the proper tag bc tumblr? #tgcf #aus #household ds au #ds aus #ableism #ds au domism #domism #disabled xie lian #disability #n!f #I write