What do you think about freedom?

[convallaria]

when I was in quarantine (flew by plane to another region of the country) i was hospitalized with bad fever (not corona just otitis) but doctors thought it was corona and they locked me on quarantine in hospital. it was like prison. i couldnt leave very small room like a whole week and i was so depressed back then so i had one attempt to suicide. when the space around you becomes less and less, you seem to plunge deep into the prison of your soul and you become afraid and full of anxiety. and this final soul prison leads to suicide.
maybe i would kill myself in real prison.
how do you feel about freedom?
how do you feel about restrictions on freedom?
and the most important thing. would you be ready to fight for your freedom?

 

[Raggamuffin]

I guess it depends what I had with me at the time. If I had my phone - I'd be able to speak with friends and family and read books, watch shows and games. Most of my free time growing up was spent in my bedroom. Similarly as I moved houses I've tended to spend most time in 1 or 2 rooms.

Hospitals aren't a pleasant environment though - and it's hard not to assume the worst when you're in a hospital. People who work in a hospital are there to help patients - but I can't help finding them unnerving places to be.

I'm not sure how I'd fight for my freedom. I've never been in a fight before and I tend to Fawn my way through life and steer clear of any form of conflict. There's lots of protests at the moment in England and I just find it tedious. In college and university I met quite a few people who attended protests and saw themselves as quite liberal - I wasn't keen on them.

Ed

 

[convallaria]

I guess it depends what I had with me at the time. If I had my phone - I'd be able to speak with friends and family and read books, watch shows and games. Most of my free time growing up was spent in my bedroom. Similarly as I moved houses I've tended to spend most time in 1 or 2 rooms.

But you had the possibility of walking away from home. You just didnt want to go. But you coud go. Understand what i mean? In general, freedom is possibility to go. so if you locked by yourself its not like prison.

 

[Raggamuffin]

True, but I wouldn't do anything to wind up in prison. I keep to myself and I keep out of trouble.

I have always found prison documentaries fascinating though. Seeing the human qualities in people who've committed inhuman crimes. Also seeing people's ingenuity when it comes to prison life.

I know a few people who served time in prison. Both left prison long before their total sentence was complete. Once even had a video game console in his cell. I think the biggest issue I'd have in prison is similar to in the real world - the unpredictability of other people which causes me a lot of stress.

Ed

 

[Misery]

I think freedom can sometimes be hard to even define. Or, in some cases, hard to even notice.

Work, for instance. I live in the US, where there are a LOT of what I call "wage slaves". People who work WAY too hard, making next to no money, so that some ultra-wealthy and ultra-worthless corporate snotbag can make LOTS of money. Think Amazon, or Walmart. They want you to work yourself nearly to death, will pay you basically nothing while you do so, and they'll do it in such away that you'll have no time to yourself even when not currently at work. And it wont exactly be meaningful, important tasks either. Nor will you at all be treated with anything resembling respect, and they'll happily kick you to the curb if they feel like it for any reason.

And then society is specifically designed to make you feel bad if somehow you manage to avoid having to do any of that. Because you arent... *ahem*... "contributing to society" (read: contributing to corporate bank accounts). Because, you know, standing at the entrance to a supermarket saying "hello" over and over for 8 hours like a scarecrow with a broken record player shoved up its butt, that's totally "contributing to society".

AND of course then the pandemic comes. Which complicates ALL of that.

All of that, well... yeah. I'm thinking that there are a lot of people who have very little freedom. But even some who think they have plenty, really have next to none... it's just that they've been conditioned to think that the whole "work yourself to death for the corporation's benefit" thing is the "right" way to be. So, many dont REALLY notice the problem.

By sheer ridiculous luck I've avoided having to do that stuff. But there was a period of a few years where I did do it, and... yeah, I could never REALLY manage it. I'd go completely mad, trying to live like that. Holy heck was I depressed back then.

It may not be the traditional view of a concept like freedom or the lack thereof, but it's one of the first things that comes into my mind. Because I remember how NOT free I felt back when I DID work. And just how awful I felt, all the time.

 

[VictorR]

I once had a job of the type @Misery described - it was one of those situations where I took a job that offered valuable experience... at a wage far below market value. The hardest part was not knowing when it would end combined with the uncertainty that I might be let go of before I found my next job. I got into some special interests to help distract me, and to be honest, I would have probably been a lot happier had I known how long I would be there, and thus would be able to count down, and have that to look forward to.

I suppose in that sense, it's about having something to look forward to, whatever that may be.

 

[OkRad]

@Raggamuffin You may do nothing to end up in prison, but people with ASD are routinely hauled off and placed into places worse than prison. With prison, there is a set term and you are done. In "those places" one can be committed for endless terms with no end in sight. <Shudder>

 

[Neonatal RRT]

when I was in quarantine (flew by plane to another region of the country) i was hospitalized with bad fever (not corona just otitis) but doctors thought it was corona and they locked me on quarantine in hospital. it was like prison. i couldnt leave very small room like a whole week and i was so depressed back then so i had one attempt to suicide. when the space around you becomes less and less, you seem to plunge deep into the prison of your soul and you become afraid and full of anxiety. and this final soul prison leads to suicide.
maybe i would kill myself in real prison.
how do you feel about freedom?
how do you feel about restrictions on freedom?
and the most important thing. would you be ready to fight for your freedom?

A few thoughts on this,...and they are simple in concept. (1) Freedom is a construct of the mind. (2) Freedom is quite relative to your situation. (3) As people on this self-contained environment we call Earth, there is no such thing as 100% freedom,...it doesn't exist. If there are two people on Earth, and you two have to interact with each other in a civil manner,...rules of conduct must exist,...and with that, however simple it is,...freedom to do what you want or feel like goes away.

Now, what you've described above is quite restrictive, and people being the social creatures they are, there is definite harmful effects. This phenomenon is well-described.

When it comes to fighting for freedom,...then things get a bit nebulous. Every person has a different threshold for what they perceive is an uncomfortable impingement upon their ability to navigate their environment,...and whether or not this is going to trigger a violent reaction. A common thing we see lately,...mask wearing,...can create quite a bit of conflict in some people,...and in others,...not so much. We can give several other examples.

 

[Wolfsage]

I think freedom can sometimes be hard to even define. Or, in some cases, hard to even notice.

Work, for instance. I live in the US, where there are a LOT of what I call "wage slaves". People who work WAY too hard, making next to no money, so that some ultra-wealthy and ultra-worthless corporate snotbag can make LOTS of money. Think Amazon, or Walmart. They want you to work yourself nearly to death, will pay you basically nothing while you do so, and they'll do it in such away that you'll have no time to yourself even when not currently at work. And it wont exactly be meaningful, important tasks either. Nor will you at all be treated with anything resembling respect, and they'll happily kick you to the curb if they feel like it for any reason.

And then society is specifically designed to make you feel bad if somehow you manage to avoid having to do any of that. Because you arent... *ahem*... "contributing to society" (read: contributing to corporate bank accounts). Because, you know, standing at the entrance to a supermarket saying "hello" over and over for 8 hours like a scarecrow with a broken record player shoved up its butt, that's totally "contributing to society".

AND of course then the pandemic comes. Which complicates ALL of that.

All of that, well... yeah. I'm thinking that there are a lot of people who have very little freedom. But even some who think they have plenty, really have next to none... it's just that they've been conditioned to think that the whole "work yourself to death for the corporation's benefit" thing is the "right" way to be. So, many dont REALLY notice the problem.

By sheer ridiculous luck I've avoided having to do that stuff. But there was a period of a few years where I did do it, and... yeah, I could never REALLY manage it. I'd go completely mad, trying to live like that. Holy heck was I depressed back then.

It may not be the traditional view of a concept like freedom or the lack thereof, but it's one of the first things that comes into my mind. Because I remember how NOT free I felt back when I DID work. And just how awful I felt, all the time.

Experienced that too. Lots of work very little pay. In fact I had to quit because I couldn't afford the gas to travel to my job. Then add stress to that. No set time frame they call you go.

 

[Wolfsage]

Freedom. For me is a beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine. I can enjoy it freely.

 

[Major Tom]

The only freedom is freedom of the mind. Also the only prison.

 

[Wolfsage]

The only freedom is freedom of the mind. Also the only prison.

And the soul. If it's weighed down by sadness and regrets you aren't free.

 

[Rainbowcat]

when I was in quarantine (flew by plane to another region of the country) i was hospitalized with bad fever (not corona just otitis) but doctors thought it was corona and they locked me on quarantine in hospital. it was like prison. i couldnt leave very small room like a whole week and i was so depressed back then so i had one attempt to suicide. when the space around you becomes less and less, you seem to plunge deep into the prison of your soul and you become afraid and full of anxiety. and this final soul prison leads to suicide.
maybe i would kill myself in real prison.
how do you feel about freedom?
how do you feel about restrictions on freedom?
and the most important thing. would you be ready to fight for your freedom?

For me freedom is a social constract. Personally i feel less free to express myself in a society where, i can't be my self due to of my sexuality. I need to fight for being accepted. My parents don't/can't want to accept me,but my parents aren't the minority of people.My parents depict how society in my country treats someone being different. Working in a place,where i would feel free to express my self,wouldn't make me feel constraint.
Of course i could risk disclosing my sexuality in a work enviroment,but that wouldn't make me feel necessary free,because it depends on how people react. So i could say that i am still fighting for my social freedom.
I don't know what i would do in a prison. I know for sure that i hate hospitals.

 

[Aspychata]

Freedom is saying no to horrible jobs and spending carefully. Freedom tonite meant standing up for myself when a guy inappropriately touched me. Freedom is being to live in the here and now with no regrets. Freedom when my job let me go, and l was thrilled to be free from abusive employees who didnt like me getting big tips.

 

[Misery]

Experienced that too. Lots of work very little pay. In fact I had to quit because I couldn't afford the gas to travel to my job. Then add stress to that. No set time frame they call you go.

Oh I can top that one.

You know Gamestop? AKA one of the worst, nastiest, shadiest companies that has ever existed?

I used to work for those shrieking cat turds long ago. I STARTED at EB Games (which was great) but then Crapstop ate them (which was not so great).

And it sucked. It SUCKED. Nobody liked it. Not me, not the others on the floor, and certainly not my manager (ah, the sheer number of times I saw him do a facepalm... yeah, he didnt like Gamestop's crap any more than I did. It's not like he got to make any of the big decisions... he had to follow the awful directives just like the rest of us).

I had one week where I get my paycheck, right. I open it.

Know how much it was for?

Zero dollars. None. Nada.

Yes, really.

I dont remember quite what led to it (AKA, how the company justified it) or how it got that way but I do remember the "UUUUUGH" reaction from my manager when I pointed it out.

That was BEFORE Gamestop got REALLY bad. They were practically angels at the time, compared to what they've become. I cant even imagine how awful it must be to work there now. Talk about lacking freedom...

 

[Fino]

Freedom is only found in Christ. It's a truly beautiful way to live.

 

[Au Naturel]

I don't think of that in terms of freedom but rather, liberty. It is a small distinction, I admit. Liberty is freedom of action. (There are other freedoms.) That's easy to lose. That's what prison does. Or a hospital room. Limit your freedom of action to a point where there is nothing to do to improve your physical circumstances. Doctors are often quite heartless towards patients. They are part of a machine and you are just something to be processed.

You cannot control what the rest of the world does to you. The only thing any of us has any control over is how we respond to it. A lot of people surrender that freedom when they declare they cannot respond in any way but one to a situation. Choice of how you respond is the only real freedom we have. Everything else can be taken away by an accident of fate or the stroke of a pen. Or today, a keyboard.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
― Viktor E. Frankl

 

[Progster]

I don't believe that there is such a thing as true total freedom, because that would imply a lack of restriction and there are always restrictions no matter what you do - assuming there are no social or movement restrictions, there would still be those imposed by your own body or mind.

Having said that, I'm glad that I live in this time and in the culture that I do, because I would not like to have restrictions imposed on me due to my gender, or by a religion or political authority I do not prescribe to, or according to social standing. Being the kind of person I am, I'd find that very difficult to live with, like a prison.

Debt is like a kind of slavery, you work not for yourself but for the bank, like a kind of modern-day feudalism. One thing I've worked hard to avoid is being in debt.

 

[Misery]

Doctors are often quite heartless towards patients. They are part of a machine and you are just something to be processed.

To some degree, it might be just a necessary part of the job.

I mean, think about it: getting emotional when performing a task often leads to lots of mistakes. Mistakes in a medical setting could seriously hurt or even kill someone. Empathy is great and all but if it causes that sort of thing to happen, it really cant be allowed.

Not to mention that some doctors probably end up becoming more than a little jaded. Just think of the things some of them have to see...

 

[SusanLR]

I agree with a lot of the above posts. There is no thing as total freedom.
Whether it be restrictions by the law and governing powers, society, or your own body.
So, I would not fight. There will always be the restrictions and they are on a spectrum from
slight to very confining such as prison.
I would fight legally not to go to prison with legal counsel, but, that's as far as it would go.

I would physically fight for my life if accousted. No hesitation there.
But, otherwise, I just live as simple as possible and avoid confrontation when possible.