> _What & who (net-)benefits from resigning courage to change to "it is what it is" or "it's human nature"?_ **_"It is what it is," "It's just human nature."_** These are little soundbites I hear all the time that anyone sighs in defeat, or enthuses in argument with someone who cares about political issues that affect them or issues they're aware affect others. These are quotes that come from human struggle with a world that fucks them over and bosses them around every day, that takes their time away from them to enjoy their personal pursuits. It also is a double-edged sword: those who struggled and became "better off" also use it to **_justify & rationalize_** the cycle of struggle as if it begins and ends with the leverage of fear and power a boss has over your livelihood. Wanna change something at work? _"It'll never happen because **it's just human nature** to be greedy, that's just the way it is."_, You're tired of being paid $13.75/hr for doing a two-man job? _"Suck it up, that's just the way this world works. Even I fucking did the same shit, stuck it out, and now look at me, I make $65/hr!"_ But this is just bitterness unaware of the fact that it could've been better, but they were deeply failed and used up, exploited. Whenever I see this sludge regurgitated anywhere, it always reminds me why I stand for the things I believe in. Let's just quickly address it: humans are designed to survive, and any conditions they're in, they will find a way to uplift themselves together or individually. Historically and evolutionarily, it's _together._ At the end of the day, you can't honestly engage with these arguments about human nature, because the real fact of the matter is that there is nowhere in the entirety of human knowledge, even spiritually, that can truly conclude this ongoing debate about human nature. Instead, you need to disengage from this intellectualizing, zoom out from the situation, and ask yourself the question, _"What meaningful action has this person taken to change conditions in their space(s)?"_ and _"How do I and they benefit from resigning our will to change stuff, no matter how small?"_ What I've gleaned from these questions is, they always have never done anything to defy these sayings. They have always fallen in line or snuggled up to the right people, or were even born into the wealth, but nothing that changed the conditions of their community, their workplace, their social groups, their clubs, nothing, for the better. If anything at all, they probably worsened them; they've always reaped the fruits of doing nothing or just exploited the problems for their own benefit. To be clear, it's important to follow rules to make the best case for yourself, because it's how you will demonstrate errors in, say, a policy most immediately, and then you could make a more sound fight when it comes time. This kind of immanency is the work we all do every day: we follow rules, we stay in line, and, yet, we still are struggling, the same contradiction all the time in your own life and throughout history. However, it doesn't mean you need to remain paralyzed by fear and doubt. Again, I reiterate to myself why I stand for the things I do. Why do I post about worker strikes and wins? Why am I so annoyingly dead-set on worker stuff? Why am I always posting about unions? Why am I so annoying? The answer to all of that bitching and complaining is probably in the inaction and — I might even argue — complacency spit by these serial bitch-and-complainers in the face of bullshit and how they might even be part of a machination perpetrating the same bullshit at work or in their communities they complain about. In other words, _they bitch about drama, ==**yet they help it along and circulate it.**_== Any time they have a legitimate issue, then, like anybody could, ask them, "Why would you feel angry about human nature?" By asking that condescending question, it gives the contradiction a face in the form of a question, and they **still** won't know what hit them. While that's harsh, I've learned to accept that there are simply people who you cannot convince otherwise. It doesn't mean it is any less frustrating. You will simply have to lead. There is just no other way to truly show them otherwise, it's like a futile game. This is the one thing I will contend, "It is what it is." But you need to show what others have done, What are your goals, if you could change things? How does it effect you outside in your own spaces? Finally, where & how do you think we could begin? How small?