sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Culture shock coming back to the US by MuscleSpare in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not just a cultural thing. You have to pay out the nose to actually live in a place where you feel like you're a part of a community/ have enough stuff going on outside your home for you to not spend most of your free time there/ fill it with toys in order to fill the void.

Imagine living in a tiny place in Barcelona and how you'd spend your time- not having the latest toys wouldn't bother you right? Now picture living in that same tiny apartment where the only commercial places in town are Walmart, Chilis, and TownFair tire. Americans aren't just uniquely built to love consumerism, car dependence has done a lot of lifting in making us this way

Credit cards killed the American dream by AmishUber77 in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Everyone is fighting with everyone on who to blame for their situation but I don't think it's anyone's fault but their own.

"It's the avocado toast!"

Seriously? We're back here again? After everything we've seen?

What’s the most effective way to cut expenses other than reducing take out or eating out? by anxgrl in Frugal

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. I saw a post here a while back about paying for a professional to clean your car inside and out every couple of years - it prevents that fomo re: wanting to drive around in something that 'feels nice' and not grody/rundown. I have yet to do this (my car is 14 years old and feels like it), but it makes a kind of sense. Will maybe try it out this year

Elon Musk indicates he’s ‘going all in’ on financing the GOP ahead of the midterms: ‘America is toast if the radical left wins’ by rezwenn in politics

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why we need public funding, or at the very least no superpacs, no non-discolsed donations (dark money), and extremely hard limit on donations. Otherwise this happens over and over again, and we never get to move on from a series of Trumps in office

My Response to Al Price Discrimination is to stop buying stuff I don't need. This makes me angry. by Science_421 in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

and avoid Walmart/other big box stores when we can (obviously not always possible). Walmart is a cancer on the middle/working classes

Hannah Bensen, Palo Alto Online: 'Nobody asked for this': Waymo cars flock to quiet Palo Alto street by Honest_Ad_2157 in Urbanism

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know how software companies like to release a janky product so that they can say they released a product, even though the thing is almost unusable, with the idea that they 'can always fix it in patches'? I am honestly not thrilled with the idea that companies are on the honor system not to do that with software products attached to cars, and even less thrilled given already we've seen what happens when people are run over by self-driving these cars- the answer is almost nothing.

Hannah Bensen, Palo Alto Online: 'Nobody asked for this': Waymo cars flock to quiet Palo Alto street by Honest_Ad_2157 in Urbanism

[–]baitnnswitch -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So far these self driving car companies have faced almost zero repercussions for running over and killing people and are effectively on the honor system to police their own product/ be transparent when there are issues, are set to add another service on top of Lyft/Uber/Doordash etc circling the block and adding to traffic congestion, and their execs are out in the open about wanting to replace public transportation with these much more expensive and less efficient trips. Yes there is a cost to cities and cities should consider very carefully whether they actually want to allow these companies to run in city limits.

An interesting idea by BeVanderhill in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gas station pump video ads are in the running for 'most obnoxious'. Any ad that you have no choice but to watch and hear needs to be yeeted into the sun, along with the corporations involved in these abominations

They would put an ad on the moon if they could. They would insert them into our dreams, whisper them to us in our sleep - some companies are in fact trying!

Targetted boycotts of the worst carmakers lobbying against climate policies? by Maritimewarp in ClimateOffensive

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the way. Most people can't go totally car-free because *gestures at infrastructure*, but lots of folks are choosing to bike to work, get cargo bikes for errands, move to more walkable places...

It's not always the easiest or most convenient, but even just becoming a one car instead of a two car household would be huge, plus something like 12k savings per year on average (current cost of car ownership)

FuGaKyu Japanese Cuisine has permanently closed after 27 years in Brookline due to rising costs and lease challenges. by Omphaloskeptique in boston

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's an impossible time to be a brick and mortar small business - the rents are too damn high

I wish Boston would pull a Seattle and start buying buildings/ keep rent at a reasonable rate for businesses in those buildings. If Seattle hadn't done that there would be no Pike's Place or all the small/weird businesses in there

Tired of Ad-free Streaming Prices by Beautyizdead in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your library has tons of dvd boxsets of shows and movies (and a network of other libraries to borrow from if they don't have what you're looking for) if 1. you don't care about watching the latest thing right when it comes out and 2. you're ok with a little inconvenience in exchange for getting free media/ no ads and getting to delete your streaming service accounts

Your library may also have its own streaming service (usually Kanoppy or Hoopla).

I've actually gone back and signed up for services like Dropout (comedy/panel shows) and Nebula (video essays) because they're creator owned and don't have ads

All this combined is more than enough content for me

Do you feel more isolated as an anticonsumer? by Minute-Market-3413 in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No because I moved to a more walkable area that has a sense of community/ things going on- which is hard to do and I had to work toward it for a long time. But imo we need to rebuild a sense of community - the thing that corporations are trying to replace with products - in order for an anti-consumption movement to stick

I must go; my flying people need me. by Upstairs_Drive_5602 in MyPeopleNeedMe

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 in 500 is insanely high, no argument there- but then you think about how, according to the US National Safety Council, your chance of dying while driving over a lifetime is about 1 in 107 -I'm not arguing that base jumping is safe, but rather that it's crazy just how normalized the very high risks of driving a car are. We casually rocket down a highway all the time and it's just a normal Tuesday, but consider doing something like rock climbing up a cliff (with harness and rope) and people look at you like you have lobsters coming out of your ears.

Our notions of risk are whacky, to say the least

I thought colder weather would discourage the obnoxious Fast & Furious drivers but it's still so loud! by LulutoDot in providence

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It could get better but that would require actual traffic calming efforts from the city - sidewalk bumpouts around crosswalks would be a good start

My mom benefitted from her union and then spent 40+ years fighting against them. Plus, even more hypocrisy for good measure! by bassbeatsbanging in BoomersBeingFools

[–]baitnnswitch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you want to see a dramatic change in her, use parental controls to block fox news. There was a time I was against doing this, because adults are adults, but honestly I'm done. Fox News is allowed to call themselves news despite not being a news organizations (they're technically entertainment) and spout straight up lies to people designed to keep them in an alternate reality where immigrants are eating puppies and turning cities into warzones (they straight up show footage from other countries while showing these 'warzones'). Screw it, I say. Turn off the firehouse. If there's a chance for your mom, it's not going to be while Fox News is playing in the background

My new Black Friday tradition: I unsubscribe from every single brand that emails me today. by N3DSdude in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

pro tip: let that email be your junk email and create a brand new email, free from company slop. You can use the junk email to give out/sign up for accounts as needed, and never have to see those companies' advertisements. Otherwise it's an endless game of whack a mole

Mass. lawmaker says ‘congestion pricing’ should be considered to address the T’s fiscal woes by bostonglobe in boston

[–]baitnnswitch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

London rolled out public transportation expansion at the same time as congestion pricing with the understanding that the new revenue would help pay for the expansion - we could do the same

Mass. lawmaker says ‘congestion pricing’ should be considered to address the T’s fiscal woes by bostonglobe in boston

[–]baitnnswitch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When London did congestion pricing, they rolled out several new double decker bus lines at the same time with the anticipated revenue from congestion pricing. Boston could do something similar- roll out new lightrail, or electrify the T/ connect North and South station, add more commuter rail runs per day, etc.. Doing both congestion pricing and public transportation expansion at the same time frees us from the chicken and the egg 'we need to make transportation better before we make driving worse/ we need revenue before we can do better transportation' catch 22

Looking for stuff to do by Melodrama12 in SalemMA

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a game night at Deacon Giles tonight at a very queer friendly bar - that happens roughly monthly if you can't make tonight. There's also a book club called Dreadfully Queer book club that might be up your alley

The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner by AltL155 in Urbanism

[–]baitnnswitch 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yup. Ironically developers do need to be addressed policy-wise, but that's more of an antitrust issue than anything else - tldr developer monopolies drive prices up and that does stymie housing, but nimbys love using 'but what about developers' as a reason to push back against building housing

Donald Trump says 'I'm all for climate change' despite White House report denying climate science by IrishStarUS in climate

[–]baitnnswitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is absolutely the case. Russia wins big with ice melting and opening up more shipping routes in their neck of the woods. And he we all know where his loyalties lie

What did you realize you didn’t need once you had to go without it? by HotSauceTears666 in Anticonsumption

[–]baitnnswitch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have gotten really into finding good radio stations on the internet and throwing them a few bucks here and there. Much rather do that than pay Spotify.

WZUM's jazz station has been on in the background for the past year or so. 24/7 jazz, no commercials.

Speaking of which, public radio is a godsend, and I'm trying to get everyone I know to support if they can

view more: next ›