When I was 18, I took my first commercial flight to attend my great-grandmother's funeral.
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When I was 18, I took my first commercial flight to attend my great-grandmother's funeral. It was the late 1980s, and I expected to talk at least a little to my seatmate because there wasn't much else to pass the time in coach.
Yesterday the only pleasantries I exchanged with my seatmate were when I asked, "Can I get into 18E, please?" The rest of the time we checked our phones or streamed movies, interacting with no one but the flight attendant. I don't expect to meet new people during travel time any more. And while I'm an introvert and that expectation makes travel less difficult, it also makes it far less interesting.
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When I was 18, I took my first commercial flight to attend my great-grandmother's funeral. It was the late 1980s, and I expected to talk at least a little to my seatmate because there wasn't much else to pass the time in coach.
Yesterday the only pleasantries I exchanged with my seatmate were when I asked, "Can I get into 18E, please?" The rest of the time we checked our phones or streamed movies, interacting with no one but the flight attendant. I don't expect to meet new people during travel time any more. And while I'm an introvert and that expectation makes travel less difficult, it also makes it far less interesting.
@Soozcat It's funny… they call fantasy and sci-fi works "escapist", but they often shine bright metaphorical lights on the reality of life.
And to me, almost everything about the way we're expected to live life nowadays SCREAMS "temporary escape from reality" at the top of its lungs. One affects the 99%'s lives far more than the other, in extremely tangible and tragic (and STOPPABLE) ways… but the recent Superb Owl parade drew hundreds of times more people than protests against the oligarchy.
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@Soozcat It's funny… they call fantasy and sci-fi works "escapist", but they often shine bright metaphorical lights on the reality of life.
And to me, almost everything about the way we're expected to live life nowadays SCREAMS "temporary escape from reality" at the top of its lungs. One affects the 99%'s lives far more than the other, in extremely tangible and tragic (and STOPPABLE) ways… but the recent Superb Owl parade drew hundreds of times more people than protests against the oligarchy.
@MySideIsHumanity Sometimes it's a failure of imagination. People are far more likely to choose the dystopic life they already know than attempt to agitate for a better life they can't yet imagine. I think in that sense, readers of science fiction and fantasy have a leg up on those who don't read. They are used to thinking about hypothetical worlds and societies.
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@MySideIsHumanity Sometimes it's a failure of imagination. People are far more likely to choose the dystopic life they already know than attempt to agitate for a better life they can't yet imagine. I think in that sense, readers of science fiction and fantasy have a leg up on those who don't read. They are used to thinking about hypothetical worlds and societies.
@Soozcat Thank you for following along on my wild tangent.
It made a huge impression when I went back east for my mom's funeral, staying with one of my bio-brothers*… right after saying they were glad we could spend some time together, he and his then-wife and daughter plopped down in front of the TV. Because that's the normal way for people to spend time together, don'tcha know. 🥴
* - nothing against bio-brothers, it's just that personally I'm closer to my mutually-chosen ones
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@Soozcat Thank you for following along on my wild tangent.
It made a huge impression when I went back east for my mom's funeral, staying with one of my bio-brothers*… right after saying they were glad we could spend some time together, he and his then-wife and daughter plopped down in front of the TV. Because that's the normal way for people to spend time together, don'tcha know. 🥴
* - nothing against bio-brothers, it's just that personally I'm closer to my mutually-chosen ones
@MySideIsHumanity Yup. Standard dates are kind of the same way: dinner (where it's rude to talk with your mouth full), a movie (where you're both sitting together staring straight ahead at a screen and not talking)... how are you supposed to get to know this person?
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