What is power?

dustyskipper3 said:So, it seems legitimate to ask the opposite question: "What is helplessness?"

Because it's pretty clear there is a massive gap between "not wanting to" and "not being able to." The first one is a conscious choice to refrain from using power, while the second is an expression of identity—the fact that something fundamentally inside a person prevents them from realizing their potential power.

It’s the same story with the gap between "wanting" and "being able." At the end of the day, does a person truly want to exercise their power, or will they misuse it?

irongardener18 said:🙏
Reading this just now, I couldn't help but wonder why I wasn't a bit more courageous myself.

Was I any braver? Not really... back then, I guess I just took things at face value without overthinking everything into a corner... you know, like a kid would.

As time goes on, I find myself drifting closer to the idea that maybe this is actually the way to live—keep it simple, have clear goals, and don't spend your life overanalyzing every tiny detail. Too much brainpower sometimes just leads to missed opportunities—you end up paralyzed by your own potential.

I don't think you have anything to regret. You likely built a life that works perfectly well within those boundaries. And if you're sitting there thinking the neighbors' roses look redder than yours, well, you're falling for the same illusion everyone else does. 😉

dustyskipper3 said:So, it seems legitimate to ask the opposite question: "What is helplessness?"

Because it's pretty clear there is a massive gap between "not wanting to" and "not being able to." The first one is a conscious choice to refrain from using power, while the second is an expression of identity—the fact that something fundamentally inside a person prevents them from realizing their potential power.

It’s the total lack of agency 🙂. When people find themselves powerless, they reach out—they look for help in every sense of the word. Take here at our little community, for instance. A mother of five reached out recently. She’s trying to get them a computer because their school curriculum is all digital now, but they have zero way to practice at home. She’s stuck—completely unable to make it happen because she's just barely scraping by. Buying a PC isn't even an option right now.
Now, look at my side of things... I have some level of ability here. I have the means, the connections, and the knack for scavenging decent, slightly beat-up computers from others, fixing them up, and tuning them specifically for kids like these. I have power because I haven't let myself get bogged down by that typical mindset—you know the one: "Eh, let them struggle like I did," or "Not my problem," or "Who am I supposed to help everyone?"—there are plenty of people who think like that...

I have this capacity, and I’m using it to bolster the strength of those who don't have it. These kids will grow up knowing how to navigate a computer, which is basically the baseline for survival nowadays. That gives them power later on, simply because someone stepped in when it mattered.

It’s been the fundamental setup since day one: a newborn without a mother or someone to feed them is just... gone. If the mother is healthy after birth, she has the power, while the infant is just a crying, helpless thing that can't sustain itself. It’s pure powerlessness.

p.s. does anyone else have the capacity to help? All I'm missing for this rig is a USB or a PlayStation 2 mouse 🙂 If you have one lying around gathering dust... please, help a kid out...

brisktiger56 said:It’s the total lack of agency 🙂. When people find themselves powerless, they reach out—they look for help in every sense of the word. Take here at our little community, for instance. A mother of five reached out recently. She’s trying to get them a computer because their school curriculum is all digital now, but they have zero way to practice at home. She’s stuck—completely unable to make it happen because she's just barely scraping by. Buying a PC isn't even an option right now.
Now, look at my side of things... I have some level of ability here. I have the means, the connections, and the knack for scavenging decent, slightly beat-up computers from others, fixing them up, and tuning them specifically for kids like these. I have power because I haven't let myself get bogged down by that typical mindset—you know the one: "Eh, let them struggle like I did," or "Not my problem," or "Who am I supposed to help everyone?"—there are plenty of people who think like that...

I have this capacity, and I’m using it to bolster the strength of those who don't have it. These kids will grow up knowing how to navigate a computer, which is basically the baseline for survival nowadays. That gives them power later on, simply because someone stepped in when it mattered.

It’s been the fundamental setup since day one: a newborn without a mother or someone to feed them is just... gone. If the mother is healthy after birth, she has the power, while the infant is just a crying, helpless thing that can't sustain itself. It’s pure powerlessness.

p.s. does anyone else have the capacity to help? All I'm missing for this rig is a USB or a PlayStation 2 mouse 🙂 If you have one lying around gathering dust... please, help a kid out...

🤦
I usually just toss stuff like that because I honestly don't know what to do with it.
At that moment, I wasn't thinking about power—clearly, I wasn't thinking about anything at all.

Real power? It’s basically just swimming upstream against the current when everyone else is drifting with it

irongardener18 said:🤦
I usually just toss stuff like that because I honestly don't know what to do with it.
At that moment, I wasn't thinking about power—clearly, I wasn't thinking about anything at all.

Me? I tend to hold onto things like that until they eventually find their way into the hands of some kids who can barely afford a pair of sneakers or a cheap phone. To me, throwing away something that actually works and still has utility feels like discarding—well, it's basically discarding and devaluing actual power.

Most people don't really look at it through that lens, though.

irongardener18 said:Power is an interesting thing; we all have it, but the real question is whether it's smart to use it every single time. I wouldn't trade my current life for a massive metropolis. Back when I actually had the drive and the means to move, my gut told me it wasn't the right move. I didn't have anyone to back me up (my brother was still just a kid 😢) and my intuition told me I'd just be struggling to get by in a huge city. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't push it then, because now I can head into the big city whenever I feel like it—whether it's shopping with friends or catching a concert with my partner. If I had moved, I'd probably be stuck coming back to this small town just to ask my sponsors for help.

Look at them—they used their "power" without thinking and ended up missing out on the beach entirely...
In short, if your intuition tells you a move isn't wise, it usually isn't. It sounds like you had the option to choose where to live, but you didn't have the actual, overwhelming power required to truly establish yourself and maintain a high quality of life in a major city.

I'm not sure which "big city" we're talking about, but if we're referring to New York City, there's nothing fun about paying a bill sent to you by Berkshire Hathaway, especially with how high the local taxes are 👎😠

Misusing power is the root of many problems.

brisktiger56 said:It’s the total lack of agency 🙂. When people find themselves powerless, they reach out—they look for help in every sense of the word. Take here at our little community, for instance. A mother of five reached out recently. She’s trying to get them a computer because their school curriculum is all digital now, but they have zero way to practice at home. She’s stuck—completely unable to make it happen because she's just barely scraping by. Buying a PC isn't even an option right now.
Now, look at my side of things... I have some level of ability here. I have the means, the connections, and the knack for scavenging decent, slightly beat-up computers from others, fixing them up, and tuning them specifically for kids like these. I have power because I haven't let myself get bogged down by that typical mindset—you know the one: "Eh, let them struggle like I did," or "Not my problem," or "Who am I supposed to help everyone?"—there are plenty of people who think like that...

I have this capacity, and I’m using it to bolster the strength of those who don't have it. These kids will grow up knowing how to navigate a computer, which is basically the baseline for survival nowadays. That gives them power later on, simply because someone stepped in when it mattered.

It’s been the fundamental setup since day one: a newborn without a mother or someone to feed them is just... gone. If the mother is healthy after birth, she has the power, while the infant is just a crying, helpless thing that can't sustain itself. It’s pure powerlessness.

p.s. does anyone else have the capacity to help? All I'm missing for this rig is a USB or a PlayStation 2 mouse 🙂 If you have one lying around gathering dust... please, help a kid out...

Even crying and seeking assistance is, in a way, an expression of a specific kind of power. A baby uses crying to command attention toward itself and its needs, much like an adult using words to ask for help. In doing so, they exercise power by taking action, while simultaneously expressing hope or faith in a mother, in people, in society, or in anyone who might hear them and step in.

To me, true helplessness would be something else entirely—a total paralysis or an inability within a person, or caused by external factors, to satisfy a need, a desire, or a goal, whether independently or through any other means.

slymaker9 said:Even crying and seeking assistance is, in a way, an expression of a specific kind of power. A baby uses crying to command attention toward itself and its needs, much like an adult using words to ask for help. In doing so, they exercise power by taking action, while simultaneously expressing hope or faith in a mother, in people, in society, or in anyone who might hear them and step in.

To me, true helplessness would be something else entirely—a total paralysis or an inability within a person, or caused by external factors, to satisfy a need, a desire, or a goal, whether independently or through any other means.

It's true; a child possesses a type of power that 😉lets them scream and practically "pierce" a parent's eardrums. That drives caring parents to take positive action for the baby. Then you have the other kind of parents who abandon a baby in a dumpster—and we all know metal isn't exactly capable of feeding a child... So, the only tool a child has is crying > crying is enabled by power. You're right. Sadly, if nobody responds to that cry, the baby's power just isn't enough for survival.

The way you described helplessness seems fine to me. Paralysis, incapacity—and I'd add unconsciousness or fear (in adults)—are just some of the symptoms of lacking power.

If the power goes out on a standard US grid right now, our computers just die. How else do you describe a dead computer besides the absence of electricity? It's obvious the machine isn't working, we can't communicate, we're frustrated, and that long post we were planning to put on this forum just vanishes... we're paralyzed, unable to communicate, but the actual root cause is still the lack of electricity. Mapping that back to us flesh-and-blood humans, when we are paralyzed and incapable, it's because we lack power. We don't have power —meaning, we have helplessness.

p.s. your inbox is full

We all know how much power a baby’s cry can have. It’s their way of letting us know they need us.
But have you ever stopped to think about the kind of influence a woman's tears can hold? 😉
It's rare to find a man who can actually resist them—especially if she knows exactly what she's doing.

irongardener18 said:We all know how much power a baby’s cry can have. It’s their way of letting us know they need us.
But have you ever stopped to think about the kind of influence a woman's tears can hold? 😉
It's rare to find a man who can actually resist them—especially if she knows exactly what she's doing.

Using that kind of power during a vendetta is probably the clearest sign of just how much influence someone actually has > they'll fire at anything and everything available to them
- at least, that's my experience anyway -

brisktiger56 said:Using that kind of power during a vendetta is probably the clearest sign of just how much influence someone actually has > they'll fire at anything and everything available to them
- at least, that's my experience anyway -

Why would a woman's tears be considered an abuse of power? It's just a form of influence that men often seem unable to handle.😁

irongardener18 said:Why would a woman's tears be considered an abuse of power? It's just a form of influence that men often seem unable to handle.😁

Wait, where exactly did I claim that crying was an abuse of power?

I was actually talking about how female retaliation—whether it's justified or not—is a demonstration of power, both the influence women hold themselves and the leverage they get through others. Now, tears? Usually, that's just a way for women to process pain—though, let's be honest, it can also be a repetitive pattern from childhood when crying was the easiest way to get what you wanted. If I started weeping because I wanted a candy bar or a new Ford, my wife would probably just suggest I check myself into a clinic in Seattle.

brisktiger56 said:Wait, where exactly did I claim that crying was an abuse of power?

I was actually talking about how female retaliation—whether it's justified or not—is a demonstration of power, both the influence women hold themselves and the leverage they get through others. Now, tears? Usually, that's just a way for women to process pain—though, let's be honest, it can also be a repetitive pattern from childhood when crying was the easiest way to get what you wanted. If I started weeping because I wanted a candy bar or a new Ford, my wife would probably just suggest I check myself into a clinic in Seattle.

Women tend to be more emotional by nature, so letting a tear fall comes easier. Some clever women use that as leverage, and it often works to get them exactly what they want. Honestly, I’ve never understood how men fall for those tactics.
For me, just acting "sad"—even without the actual tears—is enough to make my partner give in. 🙂
It isn't about revenge; it's just an easier way to handle things when dealing with someone stubborn.

irongardener18 said:Women tend to be more emotional by nature, so letting a tear fall comes easier. Some clever women use that as leverage, and it often works to get them exactly what they want. Honestly, I’ve never understood how men fall for those tactics.
For me, just acting "sad"—even without the actual tears—is enough to make my partner give in. 🙂
It isn't about revenge; it's just an easier way to handle things when dealing with someone stubborn.

Fair enough, but if you look at the gray text, I was clearly specifying that I was talking about my own personal experience here. I wasn't aiming this at you or making any comments about crying...

Power is essentially just this principle of evil established by Satan, or the King of the world, and it stands in direct opposition to the principle of love.
I reject all power.

slymaker9
What even is power?

Power is what happens when you’re losing an argument and simply run out of things to say.
Then, you and your little buddy—the moderator—just decide to put the whole topic under Lockdown.

That’s how you flex. That’s the real display of power.
slymaker9 and dustyskipper3. You two are quite the pair, aren't you? Like two peas in a pod. Honestly, you should just get married and have a dozen kids. Raise them without TVs, without video games, and definitely without electricity or running water.

That way, they might actually grow up to be "true believers," just like the both of you.

At least two other forum members have already come after you for being insulting and trying to downplay crimes. So, if we’re looking at this democratically, the score is somewhere around 5 to 1. Maybe you actually have valid arguments, but I guess you aren't quite able to explain them properly—and honestly, even those folks over in that Small town think they have a point too.

But look, if you truly believe you have the power to harass someone just because they don't agree with you, then an appropriate countermeasure has to be applied to limit that influence of yours. And now, by that logic, does it mean Satan is evil??!🤣

gentlehound15 said:slymaker9
What even is power?

Power is what happens when you’re losing an argument and simply run out of things to say.
Then, you and your little buddy—the moderator—just decide to put the whole topic under Lockdown.

That’s how you flex. That’s the real display of power.
slymaker9 and dustyskipper3. You two are quite the pair, aren't you? Like two peas in a pod. Honestly, you should just get married and have a dozen kids. Raise them without TVs, without video games, and definitely without electricity or running water.

That way, they might actually grow up to be "true believers," just like the both of you.

Yes, I would agree if that actually constituted power..

However, what you have presented here isn't a fact; it is merely your perception of facts, heavily colored by emotion. ☕

If you check the records, you will see that I personally wrote nine posts on your thread. They weren't aimed at chasing the specific point you raised, nor were they directed at arguing with you. Instead, they were intended to foster an understanding of believers—how they experience faith and God, and how significant those elements are in their lives.
Furthermore, dustyskipper3 contributed many posts to your thread as well; I will check the exact number and edit this post accordingly. He was indeed engaging with you and contributed significantly to ensuring the discussion didn't lean too far in one direction.
People generally enjoy debating various topics. The reality is that, unlike you, he introduced new perspectives to the conversation and kept it fresh, while you simply repeated the same points over and over.
As for me, since your thesis regarding a non-functioning brain had already crossed the line—and because I had wanted to respond very sharply at the time—I assumed
that others might feel the same way. That is why I suggested a Lockdown, to prevent others from getting caught up in the fray or facing bans. Personally, I am certain that others likely requested even harsher sanctions from the moderators, and I cannot say for sure whether the thread would have been locked if I hadn't sent a private message containing the same content I posted publicly. Perhaps it would have been, perhaps not.

The section I highlighted in your post illustrates exactly how you present your "arguments" in what you claim is a debate.
Honestly, these "debates" and "arguments" belong in a preschool.
In principle, they are nothing more than uncontrolled, aggressive emotional outbursts.

Here is the leaderboard showing who has posted the most on the thread regarding God and Hitler:
locutos 154
Father Peter 58
52 Valerija St, 79 42 Jopa, 36 Articles of Faith 52
Valerija79 42
Jopa_od 36
Articles of Faith 16
barba marin 15
brisktiger56 13
slymaker9 9

Consider this the evidence.