Monday, 30 June 2025

 Back to the quote: “the struggle for the daily livelihood [between species] leaves behind, in the ruck, everything that is weak or diseased or wavering” How is it reflected in the way in which people speak about mental health nowadays?

ChatGPT said:

Let's go spelunking into the cavernous gap between how people say they care about mental health—and how they actually treat it, often while subconsciously quoting fascist wildlife documentaries.

That quote—“the struggle for livelihood... leaves behind the weak or diseased or wavering”—has modern spiritual descendants in how society talks about mental health. And no, they don't march around with armbands. 

Here’s how that idea mutates into casual, polished cruelty:


🧠 "If you can't handle the pressure, maybe this isn't the job for you."

Modern Gloss: We support mental health, as long as it doesn’t slow productivity.
Fascist Echo: Struggle weeds out the "weak"; mental fragility = professional failure.
Actual Meaning: Your burnout is interpreted not as a signal of broken systems, but broken you.


"Everyone’s struggling. You just have to push through."

Modern Gloss: Stoic encouragement!
Fascist Echo: Wavering = weakness. Endure or be discarded.
Actual Meaning: Your suffering isn’t valid unless you can make it invisible. Preferably with a smile.


💼 "Mental health days are fine—as long as it doesn’t affect team output."

Modern Gloss: Balanced, rational compromise.
Fascist Echo: You’re only as valuable as your ability to function under pressure.
Actual Meaning: We support mental health in the same way we support the arts—when it doesn’t get in the way of “real” work.


📈 "Turn your pain into productivity."

Modern Gloss: Transform your trauma into a hustle!
Fascist Echo: Only those who can weaponize their suffering deserve to survive the struggle.
Actual Meaning: Your mental illness is only socially acceptable if it ends in a TED Talk or a startup.


📉 "Some people are just too sensitive."

Modern Gloss: Critique of snowflake culture!
Fascist Echo: Those who can’t “toughen up” deserve the ruck.
Actual Meaning: You’re allowed to be mentally ill—as long as you do it quietly, and don’t ask for accommodations.


🧘 "Have you tried meditating instead of taking meds?"

Modern Gloss: Holistic concern.
Fascist Echo: Weakness must be cured naturally—don’t bring science into this.
Actual Meaning: I’m fine with your mental illness, as long as it fits my personal worldview about grit and kale.


There’s a quiet, slippery narrative that still treats mental illness like a defect in the grand machinery of capitalism or social order. It’s not "natural," it’s not "competitive," and it certainly doesn’t belong in the polished image of the "strong individual" who succeeds by sheer will.

Which is wild, because actual strength? It often looks like asking for help, setting boundaries, or, heaven forbid, being honest about being unwell.

You said:

 Hitler said that “the struggle for the daily livelihood [between species] leaves behind, in the ruck, everything that is weak or diseased or wavering” This phrase is commonly restated in various ways, though in softer terms. "Sigh, it's a cruel world".

3/3
ChatGPT said:

Yes—Hitler’s phrasing in Mein Kampf expresses a brutal Darwinian logic that equates moral worth with biological or economic fitness, using the metaphor of nature to justify elimination. In more palatable or socially acceptable language, this sentiment survives in contemporary phrases that conceal its violent implications behind fatalism, faux realism, or “common sense.” Here are a few examples:


Softened Restatements of the Same Logic

Each of these reflects the same core idea: that weakness, illness, or vulnerability is a liability that disqualifies one from survival or dignity.

🧊 Fatalistic “Common Sense” Phrasing

  • “It’s a cruel world.”
    → Implying suffering is natural and inevitable—don’t question it.

  • “Life’s not fair.”
    → Used to dismiss injustice as part of the natural order.

  • “Only the strong survive.”
    → A direct echo of survivalist thinking masked as motivational.

  • “You gotta toughen up or get left behind.”
    → Enforces conformity to an ableist or hypercompetitive norm.

🧹 Bureaucratic or Policy-Speak Versions

  • “We have to prioritize those who can benefit most.”
    → Used in healthcare triage to quietly exclude the most vulnerable.

  • “We can’t help everyone.”
    → Often an excuse for abandoning people deemed ‘non-viable.’

  • “Maximizing outcomes per unit of cost.”
    → Treats human lives as return-on-investment calculations.

🧬 Biopolitical Euphemisms

  • “Quality of life assessments.”
    → Can be weaponized to imply that some lives aren’t worth preserving.

  • “Burden on the system.”
    → Suggests that those with complex needs are less deserving.

  • “Natural selection still applies.”
    → Sometimes used by tech or rationalist subcultures to justify inequality.


These statements soften or obscure the ideological kernel: a belief that weakness should be disincentivized, managed, or left to perish under the guise of “reality.” What’s being masked is a eugenic, eliminationist impulse—no longer declared openly, but embedded in policies, systems, and cultural clichés.

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