{"id":337,"date":"2025-03-22T22:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T05:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/?p=337"},"modified":"2025-06-09T22:49:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T05:49:35","slug":"theres-no-point-in-asking-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/22\/theres-no-point-in-asking-why\/","title":{"rendered":"There&#8217;s no point in asking why"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"338\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/22\/theres-no-point-in-asking-why\/facebook-2025-06-09-22-45-00\/#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Facebook-2025-06-09-22.45.00.tiff\" data-orig-size=\"\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"[]\" data-image-title=\"Facebook 2025-06-09 22.45.00\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Facebook-2025-06-09-22.45.00.tiff\" src=\"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Facebook-2025-06-09-22.45.00.tiff\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-338\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The mindset of the people dismantling our social and environmental protections is the mindset of people who go into National Parks and push over rock formations that took millions of years to form. It is a mindset that is incapable of awe, empathy, self-reflection, or vulnerability; that can only feel something when exercising power or control. There&#8217;s no point in asking why or trying to make sense of their actions\u2013they will say one thing one day and the opposite the next. The only answer is a mindset of greed, hatred, and ignorance.<br><br>We can overcome this mindset in ourselves, through practices that promote awe, empathy, self-reflection, and vulnerability, and so spread these qualities through our interactions.<br><br>One of the things that makes the current crisis so difficult is that this particular class of disruptors as a rule do not mix with people who cultivate awe, empathy, self-reflection, and vulnerability. They would feel quite uncomfortable to find themselves among such people. Once this corrupted mindset takes hold in a government or society, it really takes sustained effort, a grand gesture, to overcome it. What will this grand gesture look like? Will we recognize the moment for action when it arises? Are we capable of such a grand gesture?<br><br>If not in this lifetime, then in the next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The mindset of the people dismantling our social and environmental protections is the mindset of people who go into National Parks and push over rock formations that took millions of years to form. It is a mindset that is incapable of awe, empathy, self-reflection, or vulnerability; that can only feel something when exercising power or &#8230; <a title=\"There&#8217;s no point in asking why\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/22\/theres-no-point-in-asking-why\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about There&#8217;s no point in asking why\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-reflection"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Facebook-2025-06-09-22.45.00.tiff","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paor1p-5r","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":486,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/26\/framing-is-everything\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":0},"title":"framing is everything","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"July 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Neurodiversity is the new (different! better!) cognitive frame. Astrology, Enneagram, Meyers-Briggs, Chinese medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy: having passed through these modalities, none of them made me feel seen in the ways that they were implemented by the particular practitioners who applied them to me. To be fair, I may have met\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;chronicle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"chronicle","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/chronicle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":737,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/31\/on-trans-visibility-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":1},"title":"on trans visibility day","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"March 31, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Perusing reddit today, I noticed someone posted about wanting to start a men\u2019s group and asking for fun ideas. Many of the comments were followed by an enthusiastic \u201cyes!\u201d or other signifiers of feeling seen. Nothing in the post spoke to my identity or special interests. I don't point this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;chronicle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"chronicle","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/chronicle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1188.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1188.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1188.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1188.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1188.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":314,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/02\/the-language-of-inclusion\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":2},"title":"The language of inclusion","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"June 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Neurodiversity, like gender diversity, sexual orientation diversity, racial diversity, is just language to describe the vast territory of human variation. Where once our language was simple, our categories few, and our understanding limited, we now are able to talk about our unique being in the world with recognition, empathy, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;neurodiversity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"neurodiversity","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/neurodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":279,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/13\/asking-for-an-end-to-violence-needs-no-qualification\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":3},"title":"Asking for an end to violence needs no qualification","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"If one recognizes the Palestinian people as equally human to oneself, one will experience no moral dilemma as one simultaneously condemns their slaughter, starvation, and displacement; and desires that Hamas-held hostages be released. On the other hand, if one finds oneself making statements which include clauses such as \"sad, but,\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":271,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/26\/adhd-journey-self-assessment-peer-assessment\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":4},"title":"ADHD Journey: Self-assessment, peer assessment","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"December 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I have gotten my ADHD diagnosis from Kaiser. In talking with other friends about their experiences with this process, it's clear that no two stories are alike. I'll be describing my experiences, but it's probably best to assume that your assessment process will look different should you choose to try\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;neurodiversity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"neurodiversity","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/neurodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":510,"url":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/29\/i-advocate\/","url_meta":{"origin":337,"position":5},"title":"i, advocate","author":"Ryk Groetchen","date":"July 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019ve been following my neurodiversity journey\u2013as I articulate the experience of a person with autism, ADHD, aphantasia, and proprioception hyposensitivity from the inside, along with the other ways i share myself\u2013and you\u2019ve found that the insights I\u2019ve shared connect with your experience, or contextualize something you suspected, realize that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;chronicle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"chronicle","link":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/category\/chronicle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0367.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryk.groetchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}