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realsmartfun t1_jbijm9e wrote

Reply to comment by abitofaLuna-tic in [Image] This photo has helped me greatly with my low self esteem and social anxiety by meteoricBolbitis

They look like massive, powerful, impenetrable beasts, but really they’re weak, top-heavy and barely held up under their own weight.

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Zyxyx t1_jbiv7im wrote

Which is simply not true in the slightest. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to topple the average institution. It's why they became an institute in the first place; they endured when other would-be institutions didn't.

Some institutions are stronger than entire nation states, which are institutes themselves.

Even weak institutions are tough and take years to bring down. Do you have an example of an institution that the image applies to?

In fact, I'd say the image has it completely backwards. Some institutions appear fragile on the surface, but in reality are so ingrained into the fabric of their respective society that they're for all intents and purposes invulnerable to a whole generation of people.

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realsmartfun t1_jbjqjap wrote

Lol. Right. Uh.. the medical system. Education. The legal system. Finance. And that’s in America. In developing countries these institutions are 10x more fragile.

You’re taking this too literally. Institutions are hard to topple because they’re required for functioning society and that’s how society has and wants to be organized, but that doesn’t mean they’re tough.

They’re made up mostly of overworked people who are actually running them, they’re often very slow and mired in bureaucracy which means if they’re hit with sudden influxes they will essentially fail, and executives who are corrupt, out of touch, useless and who contribute to their weakening.

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mattsprofile t1_jbmfxya wrote

Sure, a large impact can take out an institution, but it needs to be a large impact. One squirrel biting the institution's leg won't take it down, it would need to be a million squirrels who used to be working for the institution that suddenly decide to work against it. Which isn't an easy thing to achieve if you are interested in taking down any particular institution.

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realsmartfun t1_jbmlf3c wrote

Wrong. One thing can knock out a leg and completely destroy the integrity and function of an institution. Take the example of one sexual assault and abuse case against the Catholic Church - it has never recovered the piety, integrity and trust that existed before that - it is a huge body, standing on very thin, weak legs.

The fact that it still exists isn’t the point, it’s that fact that it’s massive, portrayed as one thing, but is very much not what it seems.

I’m not going to keep explaining this to your or arguing your incorrect interpretations or beliefs. It’s a good metaphor - you just seem to be fawning over institutions and how big and powerful they are - look at education, the economy, healthcare, justice, the family - most of what is spoken about in current events is how EVERY SINGLE ONE is broken.

Bye.

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eetuu t1_jbjjiqi wrote

And why is that either frightening or comforting? Institutions is such a broad term. A lot of positive and negative things could be associated with institutions.

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galactictock t1_jblt68t wrote

I don’t think the author is saying it’s either, just that the illusion is there. To the lone outsider, institutions seem indomitable but to the institution, an individual outsider could pose a significant threat. Institutions can be helpful or harmful, but either way we should bear in mind they are not invulnerable

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Amphy64 t1_jbjzlgk wrote

Right. So, while waiting on the NHS, I should be motivated to...pull it down? Not sure this will help.

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realsmartfun t1_jbjzwah wrote

No one is saying anything about what you should do. This image isn’t telling you to do anything. It’s just making a point about the state of many institutions. If anything, maybe this should motivate you to… help?

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Amphy64 t1_jbk4c8z wrote

The little monster on the leg kind of makes it seem like the image suggests pulling down, to me. I think the artist was probably thinking of institutions in a negative light.

(My ability to help is probably limited to whether being sick on things is helpful...)

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