I Am Tired of This Shit: A Rant

Dear Reader,

I need to rant, and it's my blog, so I can do whatever I want. 

I am so fucking tired of everything. 

I am tired of the US government. I am tired of old people who are actively dying in front of our eyes, refusing to step aside and let the next generation lead. I am tired of how long it is taking all of them to die, which I know is a terrible thing to say, but that is the only way they are ever going to relinquish control.

I am tired of how fucking hot it still is in October and how scientists in the 60s and 70s warned us about climate change and the previous generations did nothing. They ignored the problem in favor of profits and comfort, and now those of us who will be around in 30+ years are left to deal with the consequences.

I am tired of having to work and be a cog in the machine of capitalism. I am tired of the rising prices, the corporate greed, the wars for resources, and the arguments about whether or not people have the right to clean drinking water and nutritious food. I am tired of every single fucking thing being a godsdamned advertisement. The inundation is overwhelming! I am tired of the constant recalls. Soap isn't even safe anymore!

I am tired of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia. 

I am tired of book bans. 

I am tired of ICE and police brutality.

I am tired of the literacy crisis and bean soup theory. 

I am tired of being a villager with no village.

And I am tired of AI and AI slop, which is actually what prompted me to even begin this rant in the first place.

I have been writing this blog since 2014, and since ChatGPT and other AI programs have taken off, I have found it harder and harder to compete as a creator. I used to love surfing Pinterest, seeing what other bloggers were doing, hoping to find new and interesting perspectives and ideas, but now it is all the same rehashed AI nonsense. The articles are AI-generated, the pictures are AI-generated, and half the comments are fucking bots in an infinite cycle. Dead internet theory, anyone? I can't even fucking trust Canva images anymore because they started allowing AI in without labeling it!

The craziest part of all this? Those witchcraft blogs are raking in clicks, views, and engagement, while I am over here looking at my numbers, wondering what the fuck I am doing wrong. And it isn't just new blogs that popped up recently either. Blogs I have been reading for years...who I trusted have turned to AI for everything. It's infuriating!!!

I know deep down it shouldn't bother me as much as it does, and yet here we are. 

I did not start writing to become rich and famous. I started Flying the Hedge to fill an informational void and to act as a creative outlet. It's just so disheartening when I am putting in hours upon hours of research, writing, editing, photographing, and designing while others are slapping everything into AI and doing better than I am...

I am so committed to doing everything myself that there are recipes I have written that have never made it on the blog because I couldn't figure out how to take good enough photographs of the food or drinks. This is especially true for my more recent blogging endeavor, Plots & Potions. I just haven't the knack for food photography and I may never, so alas they will remain in my drafts. I am unwilling to compromise our planet, our future, and my integrity for AI-generated images and text, even if it means more views, more clicks, more comments.

To add to all this, I cannot wrap my head around how people who claim to be witches, pagans, Wiccans, and other earth-centered spiritualists can willingly use generative AI. The planet is crying out in agony; you are stabbing Her in the back while telling Her you love Her! How can you not see that? How can you not hear Her death wails?!

ARRRHHHH!!!!

I.

am.

so.

tired.

But I am going to keep moving forward. I am going to keep being politically active. I am going to keep advocating for a better future for us and our children. I am going to keep creating real art. I am going to keep posting and sharing my thoughts. I am going to keep advertisements down on my blog, even when Google keeps trying to push more and more ads. I am going to keep everything free and accessible. I am going to keep believing that things can get better...that things will change.

One day we will look back on this time in history and be thankful we kept moving forward. I am going to keep holding this small dream I have alive, because fascism wins when hope dies.

Thanks for reading.

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