i know this might be hard to hear and it might sound cruel, but if that’s the case the only thing that will force him to become aware of his need for help is, in fact, deteriorating conditions to the point where there is no other option but for him to become more self-aware. your job is not to tell him what he needs (people always have to help themselves first and foremost), but to support him as much as you can through that process. at best you can slightly nudge someone in the right direction. truly, best of luck to you

imo, i think one of the most vital aspects of understanding the class composition of the US is that, because of its settler-colonial nature, those who are hyperexploited constitute a qualitatively different class than those who are not. and, i think those that live under the constant fear of becoming hyperexploited also belong to this class, sort of in the same way that the proletariat lives under constant fear of becoming unemployed and homeless. the three classes that i see that fit this definition are:

• the indigenous, who often live in the worst conditions and have limited to no sovereignty. the reservation system continues to be a product of settler-colonialism
• black people, with particular reference to the effectively forced labor systems in prisons. slavery is still technically legal according to the constitution, with the stipulation that slavery can be applied to prisoners. their status as prisoner gives them next to no legal rights or means to bargain with their employer, and they are paid a pittance as a result if anything at all
• foreign and/or hispanic people and their families, with particular reference to undocumented immigrants. there are many strong incentives for white capital to hyperexploit these people: because they have no documents, usually have little education and often have a strong language barrier, they also have next to no bargaining power with respect to their employer. this results in the most horrible of working conditions: slums on company property, extra-long work days with considerably less pay than those who are documented, child labor, etc.

the irony here is that, because of their undocumented status, they are in fact much less likely to commit crime than the general populace, because it risks losing access to their family, their job, and their means of life. structures like ICE typically have existed in order to strike fear into those who are at risk, similar to gangs of whites being given arms in order to combat or dissuade slave revolts in early american history (which was the derivation of the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms).

but, now that ICE is actively deporting and killing the undocumented and anyone who has anything to do with them, it’s literally self-defeating because settler-colonialist structures rely on hyperexploitation to keep the wheels turning, especially as it relates to much of the menial labor in the core. not to mention that its different and more prominent use of force is obviously having the effect of making people more class conscious as well.

i mean, we all have identities related to our experiences: with production, with consumption, and with interacting with other humans. i think there are two primary ways that liberalism mangles the concept of identity:

• liberalism encourages identities to be primarily based on consumption at the expense of production. think someone whose entire identity is disney, but their job is office work. the latter is not glamorized, and is in fact encouraged by liberalism to be seen as some sort of failure, in contrast to the apparent success of the bourgeoisie under capitalism. consumption is often used an escape from the bulk of people’s lives, they productive work. this is one way that class consciousness is discouraged

• in the instances where liberalism embraces identity, it does so at the expense of the material conditions that led to the identity in the first place. in fact, it sometimes proposes that identity is not only dominant over material conditions, but is self-reinforcing, pretending that there is not a fundamental relationship between the two. think how right-wing liberals claim that being trans is “just in your head,” but when left liberals are asked to define gender the word “patriarchy” will never even occur to them. this is another way that class consciousness is discouraged

in each dialectic, productive identities are primary over consumptive ones, and material conditions are primary over the identities that they foster. neglect of this fact results in deep, deep alienation.

sounds like you already have a lot of ideas on how to improve, and that’s great! seems like it was a fruitful experience after all. i’m no math whiz, but whenever practicing anything i always try to remember the adage “if you practice like you play, then you’ll play like you practice.” try to simulate the form, content and experience of the exam as much as possible when practicing, while also changing those variables up often enough to keep yourself on your toes. that way no matter what happens or how you feel, you’ll likely feel more prepared. hope that helps!

sorry to hear that, comrade. failure and setbacks can definitely be discouraging sometimes, but there is no success without failure and vice versa. revolutionary optimism applies to the self, too.

in this case failure just seems to indicate a weakness in your strategy/tactics rather than a lack of effort. may i ask how you studied?

yeah, obviously there’s no real substitute for a teacher but it’s often outside of people’s means because it can get expensive. i haven’t looked at apps like pianote before, but what you really want is some sort of structure for exactly how and what to practice. if you’re not getting that from pianote, i would suggest looking into beginner books made for adults, you might even be able to find one on anna’s archive. and, if there’s content missing from the book that you’d like to learn or are curious about maybe pianote could still be good as a secondary resource

don’t worry too much about doing everything absolutely correctly, because we all make mistakes and develop bad habits sometimes. i still have issues with posture haha. but, we always correct others better than we correct ourselves, and one way to help build that dynamic for yourself is by recording yourself, either with video or even just audio. that way you can fully assess yourself without having to assess yourself in the moment. you can get a definitive answer to “is my back actually straight?” for example.

yup, any question and i’m all ears. good luck!

hey, no shame in that! everybody’s gotta start somewhere. are you using a book or any study materials to help give you some structure?

if you (or anyone reading this) ever have any questions in your musical journey, whether it be related to music theory, piano technique or otherwise feel free to shoot me a DM.

that’s really cool! what kinds of thing do you like to play/learn?

生日快乐!

you really struck a chord with me with mention of that liberal mentality. liberalism encourages us to derive our identity as much from consumption rather than production, because identity based on production leads to class consciousness