this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
594 points (96.1% liked)

Showerthoughts

40760 readers
1458 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 6 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Power, not just money, power in too few hands. Getting there also tends to require extreme selfishness, which only makes it worse for everyone else when the most selfish acquire said power. Democracy was supposed to disperse power across the community to explicitly prevent concentrations of power.

Money results in having power, wether you use it or not/Privilege (SP?) given people with more money over people with less money .

[–] mirshafie@europe.pub 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Power is owned by Capital. Capital is owned by Violence.

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Power is owned by Capital. Capital is owned by Violence.

Yes, power is owned Capital/wealth, But no one has power in Capitalist system without wealth/money, just a fact. So no way is Wealth/money owned by violence. Perfect example is the political history of The 1st World, especially USA & even happening with ‘The Crazy Don’s ‘Mob Enforcers’. Violence is owned by all, but Privileged, like government forces with authorities, get away with violence.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It is. Capitalism requires a significantly capable system of violence to enforce physical property rights or capitalism can't exist, violence is a foundation for capitalism. We don't see it much because the legal system has been so effective we rarely encounter it, except for violent offenses, but laws and rules are backed by threat of force. Financial and business crimes are rarely prosecuted, so the violence of the law doesn't get used much in that sphere. That privelege has been intentionally lobbied for over decades in an attempt to disempower the state from effectively governing business through it use of violence. But the person with the gun who can take your buildings and your machines and your data centers and your gold, ultimately determines who controls the things of value that wealth consists of. Capital requires violence used on its behalf to gain and maintain wealth. Violence is the basis of it all.

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

You mean you & others do not see it much.

I agree with everything you posted, except the very last sentence. Moving money-resources into Rich-Super Rich Economic Classes/Owners control is the foundation/final reason to everything Capitalism. Just as moving money-resources into The Royal Families’ control is the foundation/final reason to everything Feudalism.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Consolidating control of everything is the motive and goal, but the mechanism for it being possible is the use of force to maintain physical control of things, even in feudalism.

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

I agree, but you have to sell it, to be able to do what you are talking about.

Violence is the instrument, that is used by those that have Rich-Super Rich Economic Classes/Owners/The Royal Families, thus violence is not needed without Capitalism/Feudalism trying to move money-resources to them.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Violence is always needed for property rights, even outside feudalism and capitalism, though. Violence is a consistent presence across system types. Violence as the means to property control exists outside of civilization itself.

I thought I can go to dark places, when living in such dark times, WOW!

I could not disagree more, Violence is no always present for property rights.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

In what system place or time is force (violence) not a necessary part of ensuring property rights when conflicts arises?

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Now that I have been thinking about this replies exchange & especially the above reply of your’s, I come back to reality of whom I really am- person that tries to stay peaceful & calm, but strong, in the face of people doing crazy & dangerous BLANK around me or directly against me. Examples-
Like I said other thread, when I first started bicycling in my own community to the nearest city, pickup trucks would play chicken with me for kicks. Only thing I did was call the cops & they shut that down in a heart beat.
I also have had an car driver try to block my cycling from continuing down the roadway, to fight me, I calmly just continue in the grass on the side of the roadway. They I guess give-up on fighting me, as I point-out the camera always recording (in 350-degrees) to another location, on the top my helmet.
As a long time protester I have had my former truck’s, when I was still driving, license plate recorded by the police, & stayed calm & simply carpooled & we all parked far away & walk to protests. But that is nothing, have had Homestead, Fl.’s Rodeo supporters threaten me, throw stuff at me, spit on me, use ugliest language at me & worst at the fellow female protesters. Sometimes right next to me, only stop after a decade of such behavior & realizing I was not going anywhere. The first time I ever did that rodeo protest threatened by state police, payed to work that rodeo every year, with being arrested, if I had not left, then I would been arrested, even though they had no right to do so. I stayed calm, but concerned, so I walked away, after talking to former organizer, she said that they had no right to do anything & she talked to the city’s police, that have the right of regulating activist. We went back to protesting, the state police never talked to us that year. Of course it took that decade for the state & city police to stop harassing us, especially, when I hand them copies of the sheriff’s cellphone number, that I speak with every year, before protesting. One-time one of those supporters drove their huge pick-up so close to my cycling, to protest the rodeo, that I almost was hit. I simply E-Mailed The Homestead Rodeo Association telling them, they do not want me to be hit, remember I had one best video recording, & PICs taking, camera on the market.
The point is when I maintain my calm, peaceful, but strong, self, I am better at addressing/thinking things through under such situations that can be extremely dangerous, especially if I reacted with anger, let alone violence. I am like everyone else, plenty situations where I have to calm myself down, before reacting in anger-violence.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, I don't really understand how this relates to the conversation. Was this meant for another thread?

Violence (sure not as much as the other reply, not comparing myself to them) reacted to with calm & figuring-out solutions around it. Again, come-on man, sound like Capitalist, or should I be saying Feudalist politicians denying facts.

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

There is a lot conditions added to that, of course when conflict is put in your face, you might to use violence. But then again, negotiation is untapped power,
Correction now I think about, remembering another thread about famous & except the fight for USAn Black People Rights were successful non-violent activist leaders, when violence is on them & all around them- Nelson Mandela, MLK Jr., Mr. Gandhi & Malcom X.
Checkmate, bro,

It just not as bad as you say it is, when peaceful activism successfully pushes out the two-strongest militaries of the world, at three-different times, in The 20th Century. There are even more successful & peaceful activist leaders & their campaigns.

[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm not sure we're focused on the same thing here or I simply don't understand your point.

[–] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Come-on, man, you sounding like a Capitalist person deny facts.
Everyone knows how much those famous Peaceful Activist Leaders, & those that followed their leader working for their rights, were killed & threatened with violence, spied on & jailed-imprisoned all the time. Yet they never used violence, even Mr. Mandela chose be Peaceful.