Austin Easy-Ups

being uncomfortable becomes easier when you realize that’s literally the point. it’s like working out. if you work out & it becomes easy for you, you already got all you could out of that workout. your body adjusted & is strong enough to handle it now. you’re not improving anymore. that’s why you up the ante with harder workouts, where you’re uncomfortable & not quite strong enough yet. bc eventually you will be strong enough. but if it’s not a challenge, there’s no gain. & that’s exactly how it is with situations out of your comfort zone. the more you put yourself in them, the easier they get—but that in-between phase where you’re struggling is still completely valid and ok and natural. it’s what’s supposed to happen. it’s what’s going to change you as a person. and you should keep doing it

once i dreamt that i was watching a documentary film in high school english class called 'the best pig at watching'. it opened on a pig staring motionlessly at something offscreen. a narrator said 'this is the best pig at watching'. it then was struck by lightning and the narrator said 'the best pig at watching has died. i now take you to the second best pig at watching'. the documentary went tn another pig that was afloat on like an ice floe in an ocean, staring at something offscreen. then the ice floe sank and the narrator said 'oh dear. we now take you to the third best pig at watching' and it just continued like that with various pigs in dangerous situations staring off-camera until they died, to which the narrator reacted with mild disappointment and taking the camera to the next pig. this just kept happening until i woke up

The thing is, until you get past the mindset of "justice=punishment" you will never be able to create lasting change. We have actual proof that punitive justice creates more crime and makes criminals more violent. We have actual proof that rehabilitation reduces crime and recidivism. But some of y'all are so stuck on this idea that the wrongdoer must be punished for justice to be done that you will choose sating your need for revenge over actually moving toward a better world every time. And that's sad!

Everyone in the notes saying punishment doesn't undo the bad thing: exactly! Punishment does not create or preserve healing, prevention, protection, fairness, or goodness. The only thing punishment does is satisfy a sadistic public desire for revenge and give us the illusion of control.