A simple philosophy, and one which I will not try to refute, is: "Everything that is, is right.  No complaint has legitimacy.  If you complain, you're not being Optimistic, and if you're not optimistic, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Perhaps despair.com put it best with their slogan: "Dysfunction: The Only Consistent Feature Of All Your Dissatisfying Relationships Is You."

http://despair.com/dysfunction.html

Rather than attempt to reason with this philosophy, I will note that it has connections to Leibnitz's Optimism, to Pope's poetry, and eventually to Voltaire's and Dickens' fiction.

Your Voltaire bears closer reading.

Quote from: HalfjackYour Voltaire bears closer reading.

I'm pretty sure Candide is connected to Optimism, what with the "Best of all possible worlds" tagline from Pangloss.

I'm not claiming that Voltaire was endorsing Optimism.  Pangloss was in there as a foil.

And the Dickens reference is to A Tale of Two Cities, wherein Dickens claims Pope has been disproven.

Quote from: riprockA simple philosophy, and one which I will not try to refute, is: "Everything that is, is right.  No complaint has legitimacy.  If you complain, you're not being Optimistic, and if you're not optimistic, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Perhaps despair.com put it best with their slogan: "Dysfunction: The Only Consistent Feature Of All Your Dissatisfying Relationships Is You."

http://despair.com/dysfunction.html

Rather than attempt to reason with this philosophy, I will note that it has connections to Leibnitz's Optimism, to Pope's poetry, and eventually to Voltaire's and Dickens' fiction.

That simple philosophy is about as fucked up as a soup sandwich.

I'd say that, in some hypothetical objective sense, people who have complaints often have people to legitimately blame other than themselves.

Whether this really matters is a question of context.  In your particular situation, can affixing the blame actually lead to any good, either for yourself or for others?

Would the labor movement have made the strides it did toward social justice if it hadn't so bitterly (and correctly!) blamed the factory-owners of the time?  Dunno.  "Certain economic incentives are leading to suboptimal distributions of wealth and authority" doesn't really have the same ring as "Workers of the world unite!  You have nothing to lose but your chains!"

Would the RPGSite be as cool as it is if folks didn't blame the RPG.Net mods for ... whatever it is they blame them for?  Dunno.  "We want to do our own thing here, and that emphasizes freedom of speech above politeness" doesn't have the same ring as "We're the only place where fascist mods don't castrate you for speaking your mind!"

Sometimes bitterness leads to action.  Sometimes unreasoning rage can be a positive force.  It's wierd to me, and it's not my personal style, but I try not to be too unreasoningly negative about negativity.

Quote from: jeff37923That simple philosophy is about as fucked up as a soup sandwich.

Mmmmmm ... delicious soup sandwich.

Quote from: TonyLBMmmmmm ... delicious soup sandwich.

If Jeff says he went to basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina around 1993, I will shake my head in amazement and go upon my merry way.

Quote from: SpikeIf Jeff says he went to basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina around 1993, I will shake my head in amazement and go upon my merry way.

That's when I hit boot camp, June of 93. But that was in San Diego!

As long as you didn't have a DI named Ransom that always said

'You isth ate up like a thoup thandwichth'  complete with heavy lisp.



Because there can be only one...:seppuku:

Quote from: jeff37923That simple philosophy is about as fucked up as a soup sandwich.

It can be used for good as well as for evil.

The "good" is when an incredibly confident overachiever goes to the extreme with the notion that he is responsible for his actions.  The successful sort actually do a great deal of good for others, have inspiring careers, lots of achievements, etc.

The "bad" is what Voltaire and Dickens were complaining about.  Since their deaths, I suppose a few new lows of the bad have been plumbed.

The philosophy can be complicated with other philosophical debates, such as Free Will, the nature of causality, etc.

Quote from: TonyLBI'd say that, in some hypothetical objective sense, people who have complaints often have people to legitimately blame other than themselves.

Whether this really matters is a question of context.  In your particular situation, can affixing the blame actually lead to any good, either for yourself or for others?...
Sometimes bitterness leads to action.  Sometimes unreasoning rage can be a positive force.  It's wierd to me, and it's not my personal style, but I try not to be too unreasoningly negative about negativity.

I try not to think in terms of blame.

I do, however, encourage people *not* to blame themselves.  If they have to blame others before they can stop blaming themselves, then blaming others may be a necessary stage in the path to improvement.  

If my speculations are correct, no one is to blame, but one must forgive oneself first, so blaming others may be a necessary evil.

Quote from: TonyLBI'd say that, in some hypothetical objective sense, people who have complaints often have people to legitimately blame other than themselves.

Whether this really matters is a question of context.  In your particular situation, can affixing the blame actually lead to any good, either for yourself or for others?...
Sometimes bitterness leads to action.  Sometimes unreasoning rage can be a positive force.  It's wierd to me, and it's not my personal style, but I try not to be too unreasoningly negative about negativity.

However, *complaints* are often possible without blame. *Complaints* often lead to action.

If one grumbles silently, one does nothing, because one doesn't know what's really the matter.

If one starts listing one's complaints: "The food sucks.  I found a small coin but it won't buy good food.  My foot hurts.  I think the doctors don't understand why I feel sick.  I want more coffee...." --- then one can get a picture of specifics and decide on the next action.

Quote from: riprockI do, however, encourage people *not* to blame themselves.

That's very touchy-feely of you, but what if it's really their fault?

Quote from: SpikeIf Jeff says he went to basic training at Fort Jackson South Carolina around 1993, I will shake my head in amazement and go upon my merry way.

Navy Basic Training at Orlando, Florida in 1988. Back when there still was a Navy training base there.

Quote from: riprockIt can be used for good as well as for evil.

The "good" is when an incredibly confident overachiever goes to the extreme with the notion that he is responsible for his actions.  The successful sort actually do a great deal of good for others, have inspiring careers, lots of achievements, etc.

The "bad" is what Voltaire and Dickens were complaining about.  Since their deaths, I suppose a few new lows of the bad have been plumbed.

The philosophy can be complicated with other philosophical debates, such as Free Will, the nature of causality, etc.

OK, I'll bite.

If you do not complain, then people may not realize something is wrong. Usually, complaining is the first step in getting something fixed.

Can it be complicated? Sure, you can overcomplicate anything if you set your mind to it.