🤔
This is such a classic human instinct and it’s something we all have done at one point… I’ve been thinking about how I judge my dad (a working artist) and a friend of his (he was in a highly influential postpunk band that ended up breaking up and splintering into two bands, and he ended up staying in our hometown) for their aversion to “selling out”/their refusal to commodify and aggressively market themselves as artists. I kind of saw it as cope for their lack of commercial success… yet I’m realizing that I do the same thing and I have the same obnoxious beliefs, which I likely internalized from them, and it’s not even necessarily a bad thing it just means that I am decidedly not getting that bag which FEELS BAD in this capitalistic society and awful economy… curious… what are some things you judge other people for that you yourself do or believe?
Jul 4, 2025

Comments (12)

Make an account to reply.
image
reading thru the comments about what your dad was saying - to me it sounds like their refusal to sell out is rooted in such deep moral values and protest of corruption consumption and greed. i RIDE for that energy. i think judging people for that is the talon grip of capitalism that is completely internalized!!! one of my neighbors is SOOOOOO TALENTED and has his own studio and in several bands and i’m like why isn’t he in like NYC or LA tryna do it? and then i was like …… why is that the only way to “do it”? what if being in a local is way more fulfilling than pledging allegiance to the mainstream music oligarchy?
Jul 4, 2025
3
image
Dating spiritually and physically ugly men (to answer your question)
Jul 4, 2025
4
image
@SOFT the way u read urself tf down with this 😭 i love u
Jul 4, 2025
2
image
@SOFT LOLLLL that’s a really good one thank you for answering
Jul 4, 2025
1
image
There are some really cool people who do great work who don’t sell out and I appreciate that. There are some really cool people do great work and sell out and I appreciate them too. There’s something honorable about not selling out and choosing to stick to your guns, but I also think if someone handed me a big ole check I’d sell out for it too. Someone on a podcast once said “Selling out is lame when you’re young but a million dollar check will change you as an adult,” and I get that. That has nothing to do with the general thought of yours above, just to say that different people do it for different reasons and whether it’s an aversion to commercial success or genuine convictions is different. One of best friends makes the best music I’ve ever heard and he refuses to go and try to make it work with a label. Is it because he’s scared he won’t make it? Or is it because he genuinely doesn’t want that? Who knows!!! Humans are weird and wonderful.
Jul 4, 2025
2
image
@MARIANOLEONCZIK so true… it’s interesting because these two men in particular are genuinely principled I think but they also have massive egos and would love nothing more than to be adored by the masses. it’s something any artist with strong values has to wrestle with but it’s also a matter of what you’re willing to do to get what you want. At the end of the day I’m the same way and I don’t know that it would ever feel right for me to “sell out“ and I can’t even market myself on social media but perhaps it’s just not for me
Jul 4, 2025
2
image
@TATERHOLE you know I’m a fan of really niche shoes and I want to believe that I actually really like them but a small part of me also likes them because other people don’t understand them and I think that speaks a lot into the selling out convo — I won’t sell out and the right people will get it and the lack of success doesn’t mean that I’m bad, it means the general masses are dumb & lack taste. Ex: how did marvel movies make so much money while being bad??? Most of humanity has bad taste. Obvs I’m a curator of perfect taste. <<< this attitude is what elitism is like except you also might end up broke lol
Jul 4, 2025
2
image
@MARIANOLEONCZIK lol that’s exactly how I feel like I love attention but I would be actually extremely mad if people who don’t get me and have no taste to properly appreciate mine liked me just because I was popular or for my aesthetics or whatever. My dad stopped making fine art furniture for a long time and switched to wood wall art because he didn’t like that people would use his tables without coasters or not treat his pieces with care, but he also refused to schmooze with his wealthy would-be patrons at gallery showings because he hated yuppies so I experienced the brokeness firsthand lol
Jul 4, 2025
2
image
@TATERHOLE GOD THIS IS SO CONVICTING. I stopped making clothing because I’d see how people would wear it and be pissed. And people always ask me for more and I go “no.” And now I’m like…I’m leaving money on the table huh
Jul 4, 2025
1
image
@MARIANOLEONCZIK see other people piss me off but then i piss myself off for being such a stubborn asshole about it!!!!!!!
Jul 4, 2025
1
image
@TATERHOLE in connecting both of our threads that we’re chatting about in real time together — maybe I need to let a 7 wear my clothing so that I don’t end up poor
Jul 4, 2025
1
image
@MARIANOLEONCZIK yes I think so…. Think of it like you are helping the 7s be less ugly while also helping yourself… time to adopt a death of the author type vibe maybe
Jul 4, 2025
1

Related Recs

recommendation image
🧠
I have an acquaintance whose personality I have always found grating and today I finally realized exactly what it is that I dislike so much: they pride themselves on being an ideal consumer. They get chuffed as fuck at how well marketing works on them to the point of being borderline braggadocious about how quickly and deliberately they react to advertising; even when they’ve been duped or scammed they admire the way they’ve been fooled. It’s so cartoonishly American, they’re like a funhouse mirror that accentuates by own stupid fatso traits and stokes my most antisocial impulses. They say you should “let people enjoy things” but there’s got to be a healthier middle ground where my friend stops enjoying adding to their credit card debt to see every Ryan Reynolds movie in IMAX and I stop enjoying hating them for it.
Apr 7, 2025
🚬
Last month I went and got my sister's favourite watch repaired and she was really happy. Yesterday she told me someone said to her that her watch looks childish and she should grow up? I genuinely wanted to punch whoever said that in the face. She likes the watch, she will wear that fucking watch. It doesn't matter if it's a Mickey mouse watch or whatever. This kind of behaviour is just unacceptable. It's just one example. I see people shaming others for what they post on the internet, the way they wear clothes, the way they talk, the way they walk. Even reading nowadays is seen as something "performative"... Why? I will judge someone for reading coleen Hoover but that's in my head. It is difficult to find your bearings in this digital age where everyone has a opinion about everything. If in this world, someone has a clear understanding of what they like, that is admirable. To shame someone for being different from us is just a projection of our insecurities
Jun 7, 2025
🛍
Of course the media someone chooses to consume and the things they like to buy can signify certain personality traits but these choices aren’t personality traits in and of themselves. people take criticism of things they like as a personal attack and I think this is partly why there’s such a dearth of incisive cultural criticism today. Encouraging people to personally identify with the products they buy = the devil’s marketing strategy…
Oct 7, 2024

Top Recs from @taterhole

recommendation image
🧸
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
recommendation image
🏄
I am a woman of the people
May 28, 2025
🖐
I’ve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapid—a critique often rooted in misogyny—but now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments. We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretation—preconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume. On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your image—selfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that there’s another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. It’s refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics. By sharing so few images of myself, I’ve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentional—something that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance. For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. I’ve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look. In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? It’s a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024