people like me - fej.org

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When I use the term "people like me", I am referring to other people, who are also truly unhappy with the way the world is (what people do to it and each other), at least a little bit.

I do not expect to find many, if any, so extremely unhappy with the world and so obsessed with improving the world as me.

But any person who is unhappy with one or more things about the world enough to be busy working on changing something or somethings, or at least has a serious desire to do so, is who I am referring to.

To be clear.... I define that someone is unhappy with the world when they are or have a true desire to change a large scale problem or issue on a worldwide scale. People who just complain but never do anything, including supporting efforts of others, are just seriously enjoying life by chatting about how terrible it is for others (and feeling or sometimes silently thinking so "not a problem for me" and "what a good person I am to recognize and complain about how terrible it is for those people and 'somebody' should do something about it". And this is about large scale issues that I and/or the community feel are wrong or a problem, and are worldwide.

... like me.

Here are some of the key characteristics about me, that I hope to find at least a little bit in others, either already working or interested in improving the world, or can be converted/convinced in helping (in this project, or separately). And some examples of these characteristics.

To be clear on this point - none of these characteristics are requirements of any kind to participate, but may be indications of people who are best suited to help with the project in the initial stages (or otherwise improve the world).

Problem solving abilities.

   This is one of my strongest talents. I enjoy solving problems and the processes involved. (Although I am not too thrilled with life dishing out so many survival and other problems.)

   Early in life I became involved in electronics and computers. Mostly maintenance and repair of electronics, which is by definition solving problems, but even designing and creating electronic devices or computer programs contains various forms and degrees of problems to be resolved.

Because of a positive attitude that everything will work out, and a lack of greed, I never had much desire to stockpile a lot of money in the bank. Although the first one or maybe two times I became unemployed I had enough money saved (and/or other resources), and managed to survive ok, this was not the case later. So this led to me living on the streets and various forms of survival until I managed to get into employment and a liveable situation. This of course contains large numbers of problems, especially in respect to trying to get employed while homeless (so no normal place or means to shower or wash clothes).

Additionally, later in life, I had actually attended a course in problem solving. Very good actually, although it really only made concrete the knowledge and skills I already had, I expect that will prove useful for the project.

   This example, is I think a very clear one of my problem solving skills. This story is about a temporary job I had at North Fork Bancorporation in the division GreenPoint Financial Corporation. This was at a warehouse of paperwork of mortgages. Literally a big warehouse and a few additional small ones, full with thousands of thick files of paperwork. I don't know if it was just in the 10's of thousands or in the hundreds, I can't remember, but unbelievable huge amounts of paperwork.

The basic job, and I was at the lowest level, was clerical work -- my duties were mostly filing away documents and entire files, and other maintenance (destroying, moving, etc.), and sometimes pulling files on request. Most of the documentation was just being saved, and added to, but not much used. So most of the files were dead ends - paperwork went in, but was never needed again until destroyed. Especially since most of it was on computer anyway and the paper copies were for legal requirements.

Then one time the main corporation made a routine check on our corporation by requesting randomly selected files to see that they existed and can be retrieved. Thus indicating we were doing our jobs correctly. The request was for 10 files if I remember right but two of them could not be found. And they had everyone in the lower clerical levels looking for the files where the should have been or might have been. Nobody, including me could find them.

That was it, period. Our corporation was about to report to the owning corporation of the failure, and just take the lumps. But as I learned of the situation, I was having a hard time accepting this. And one strange part of my problem solving skills kicked in - I can (so far) always quickly decide if a problem can be solved or not (or better said the degree of probability of solving a problem from easy to not at all). And although I had no idea how, I felt - but did not know - that those files could be found.

And even though I am not one to speak up at all, I just had to in this case. So I simply declared given some time, I could find those files. And the only reason I "knew" this was possible, is because some information about handling the files is logged. Information to me is golden. I had no idea how, and there was certainly no system, plan or scheme to the logging in order to handle such a situation. But I just had a strong feeling that with my problem solving, investigative, and information handling skills, that I could find those files.

They did not believe it at all possible, but were so desperate to not loose face and the other concequences of having to report loosing two files, they gave me an hour to see if I could figure it out.

I do not remember how I developed a process for putting the information together, and working this out, and I was not very clear at the time even, but I just took the available information and got to work. So with just logs of when things are processed into the warehouse, including the ones that indicated they were somewhere where they were not to be found, I processed the information, more and more, until I came up with a list of 10 boxes, each of which contain usually 10 to 20 files each. So out of the several hundred files (if not a thousand or two) received in that time, I had reduced that to a manageable smaller amount to search through.

I reported my findings, within the alloted time, and was allowed to go look for the missing files. Ok, I am a little weird, and decided to work from the bottom of the list to the top, but in any case, when I got to the top of the list, there in the first two boxes I listed, were the two missing files.

Yes, I did "save the day" and it was a very big thing. I did get thanked, but I think they realized, for me the thanks was not the thing of interest. For me I just get a kick out of taking an "impossible" problem or situation and solving it. And that was a real kick. About the only thing that was a downside, is that if the company was smart, they would have asked me to document the process, and although that would have taken more time to document how than it did to do it, that would have been possible, and maybe could have come in handy later. Also, I knew how the files got lost, and how to prevent that again, but I was not asked, and did not want to jump in with that because it would have cast a bad light on another employee. A fellow enthousiastic hard working employee, that simply made simple easy resolved mistakes, but normal human behavior would probably have led the management to "come down" on her. And so since I am not pushy and don't like to speak up, I left the situation as it was, to occur again maybe. But if they had not fired me, then they would have had me to handle such a situation again anyway.

Information specialisim.

This is an interesting aspect, that just seemed to develop over time. But I am very good at sorting fact from non-fact, and have a good understanding of information in respect to sources, validity, perceived and actual, etc.

It is hard for me to describe at the moment, but as examples come to mind, or are documented in other pages, I will try to remember to link them here.

Think for yourself.

This is an area that also developed over time for me, and is critical for world improvement work. Later I hope to detail this all in the topic think for yourself and also maybe see what the community has to say on the topic. Quickly, I can only try and describe this aspect by describing what is opposite. People who are not thinking for themself in my meaning of the phrase, are usually just relaying information, thoughts, comments, or opinions that they have from someone else (individual or group), without analysing and extracting base information and verifying sources to use in developing their own thoughts. Often the person or group is named, or simply their thoughts are carried through (their text or media is presented).

Or maybe I can just say this is about breaking away from the sheeple flock (mentally). Or this is about breaking away from the normal social brainwashing (since that essentially creates the sheeple flock).

Logic oriented thinking.

Just a common thread among other things, but I always seek logic, and try to think, talk, and explain in logical terms.

Stand up against injustice and things wrong.

So this area is very difficult to describe. Most people will stand up against something wrong, if it is common or approved of in their groups (peers, society in general, etc.). And I will too....

But, I am talking about going against the common feelings or position of others, no matter what the risk or how devistating to one's self personally.

This is critical in the development and building up of the project, and probably will cause a number of problems for me personally, but it is part of achieving the desired goals.

One example that came to mind once, was about when I was in high school, in the late 1970's. The teacher (Mr. Von Der Porten) in a history class was very strict, and almost to the point of being mean. (One history teacher I had earlier was much worse.) He was the least liked history teacher in the school. Or maybe for most, the most hated. But in reality he was just very, very strict. A good teacher though none-the-less. (Not to me, history was one of the things I did not like about school.)

Some classes in school were like a party in the classroom before class started and even very loud and active, others were like guns were trained on the kids and they would just come in at the last minute and never chat or anything. The normal class for this history teacher started with kids filtering in before the bell rings signalling the start of class, and chatting and socializing normally, sort of half way between the extremes.

Not being a social person, as in other classes, I would normally just walk in well before class starts, sit down, and never talk to anybody.

Then one day.... I walked into the classroom, and sat down as usual as I read on the chalkboard what was written. In huge letters and very demanding : Sit Down and Be Quiet. And everyone had done that, it was dead quiet in there in contrast to the norm. But as soon as I read this, I was outraged. I stood up, and loudly started talking. Things something like : "It is our right to talk before class!", "The teacher can't tell us to be quiet before the bell rings!" and similar statements. I can't remember exactly, but to that effect. And I kept looking at the other kids, especially ones that would walk around and talk to others before class.

After a minute or two of my protesting, it was clear it had no point, so I just stood there as a protest until shortly before the bell would ring, and then sat down.

The teacher did not say or do anything about it, but all of the other kids, without any exception besides me, did exactly what was written on the chalkboard.

Why did the teacher have on just this one day written on the chalkboard to sit down and be quiet? It was the start of covering "world war" 2, and he was trying to illustrate how one crazy person had control over an entire country. I can't remember, unfortunately, how explained it, but the point is pretty clear. Sheeple do as they are told. And I *always* do - unless I feel or think there is something wrong.

And yes he did mention something about a small exception, but clearly anyone can figure out that all he would have to do is tell the other students - "beat him up" or "throw him out of the class" or something and they would have done that as well.

Clear goal oriented.

One thing that seems to have become clear to me in my calculations of how to make large scale social change, is the perspective of goals. Primarily in the area of the priority and the seperation of goals.

In all other cases that I know of, in both large and down to small efforts is there is an intentional mixing of goals - "helping others" and make a profit (money, social recognition, guilt relief, a "good feeling"). Some focus on one or the other more, and some do not recognize or acknowledge their benefit in their efforts. In all of the cases I have seen so far, the profitable aspect is clear and easily obtainable, and often already being received. But the other goal is ether not being achieved or there is no clear plan or path or means of achieving the goal, or is just a very small scale, and thus "easily" achievable.

In my calculations, it is essential to focus on large scale goals, not only without any desire or thought about any form or kind of profit, but also with willingness to accept a negative impact personally.

Abnormally high and extreme morality.

This is one of the key factors that drives me to work for large scale world improvement, but unfortunately is also one of the things that makes life increasingly difficult for me. Not only does this cause more and more emotional breakdown, but also increases isolation from society, which is comprised of sheeple of low morality.

Maybe this is as a result of being a victim of 1st degree abuse, or something, I don't know why but... it is so...

This high morality I have is so extreme that I have to consider myself responsible for suffering of others, on many levels, many areas, many ways. Sometime I will try to explain this in detail, but for now -- it is just an abstract way of thinking, where a truly civilized person is responsible for helping all others who are suffering or in peril (including people in the far future). And until I find and join with others of the same high morals, this remains I am responsible, and not we.

Since each person is unique and individual, including all of the areas above, I cannot expect there is or was somebody at exactly the same levels as me on each area, or even with the same combination of areas.

But I expect there have been many, and scattered around the world are a few others who have the extreme morality such as I. However, I seriously expect that the emotional impact and isolation from being constantly surrounded by all the sheeple who just continue to enjoy life and just enjoy "poor others" chit chat, causes others to usually end up commiting suicide or just go completely insane and are no longer able to function.

Additionally frustrating and upsetting is the social brainwashing against morals higher than that of the sheeple flock. Usually I think of the expression used in the u.s.a. about "don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders", or just "your goals are too big", or is "something that you can't change", and so on... There are all kinds of excuses and distractions people use to escape from or hold others back from higher morals and goals.