Taking performative actions you are certain will fail unnoticed is a waste of energy. I most certainly didn’t advise doing nothing, this seems like a hyperbolic take that ignores what I suggested was more impactful. By extension, encouraging others to take those actions is productive and there are other actions I didn’t enumerate that are productive - I didn’t intend to be exhaustive in all actions that could be productive, just that this specific action of commenting on their preordained policy decisions is pointless. I don’t see any argument here that in any way refutes that so I assume you agree.

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mmooss 15 hours ago | parent [-]

> Taking performative actions you are certain will fail unnoticed is a waste of energy.

It's true, but usually in the opposite way you intend. If you go into ventures thinking they will "fail unnoticed", you certainly will fail. For example, who would hire someone or invest in someone with this attitude?

If you go in determined to succeed no matter what, there are no guarantees but you have a good chance.

Comments certainly contribute - the only risk to their power is people like you mocking them. And have you ever seen a successful team where some people mock others doing work?

	▲	fnordpiglet 12 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I’d note you’ve not really proposed anything related to how commenting on policy in this administration achieves anything just pointed to cases where negative thinking brings bad mojo or something. Along that vein, I have been trying to grow wings and fly to the moon for the last 15 years but despite the investment of effort have not succeeded. It’s probably because people kept telling me it’s not possible and a waste of time, by the reasoning here. If I could get people to stop mocking me when I flop off the roof onto the ground I surely would succeed? There are activities that are absolutely not worth doing because their chance of succeeding is zero percent even with the strongest of desire for it to not be zero. I posit because this administration literally does not care what you have to say only what one individual on this planet has to say there’s no point in trying to reason with them. The only action that will work to stop them is in court and in the voting booth, and by proxy activities that magnify the value of either of those activities by getting others to participate. I think protest is a much more effective use of energy for that reason - it energizes like minded people and when this administration reacts with brutality to opposing opinions it shocks people not aligned with dictatorial oppression - which is almost everyone. But participating in the comment processes of their regulatory capture? Waste of time with zero chance of causing even an iota of change no matter how hard you wish it to be otherwise or how much you ignore the naysayers. Spend that energy growing wings and flying to the moon.