SO here’s the thing- sure I’m depressed with MY life OFC. But I’m ALSO massively depressed bc of the way the world is run, how everything is rigged by the soulless assholes at the top who control everything. I’m depressed about the inequality, injustice, corruption, economic rigging, political rigging, hell pollution too. Thing is, most ppl don’t care about all this stuff, or if they do, they know it exists but go “eh.” It doesn’t bother most ppl enough to be upset about it for more than a few seconds.
Or they’ll feign anger or whatever emotion they feel like they should outwardly show others, but really they don’t really care.
I feel like I’m an oddball, bc I talk about these issues to ppl IRL and they just don’t care enough as long as THEY’RE doing well.
It must be nice not to give a shit about all the ills of the world and all the corruption, crime, homelessness, unfairness, injustice, inequality, etc. Like most ppl aren’t like me. They don’t think about all these things. They just care what new movie is playing and go along happily, blissfully like “ain’t my problem. ok, time for my show!”
I feel like the odd man out for being one of the few ppl weighed down by all the shit that goes on in the world. And no, shutting the news off isn’t going to help. WHY should I be the few % of ppl who actually feels? I don’t want to feel or care and want to be like everyone else. Maybe everyone else is just a fucking zombie. Feels like it.
WHY do I have to be screwed by having actual feelings and actually being one of the few who CARES about the world, about justice, about fairness, etc. Hell, I don’t care about individual ppl anymore bc most ppl are shit ppl. But like I care that this world is not fucked up. I care that everything is rigged.
Sigh…I kinda wish I was the avg American who doesn’t give a rats ass about anyone else other than themselves.
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I care, but TBH based on this it is likely I probably care less or at least less actively than you and I think what might help is me explaining why. We’ve talked, we see the same things so that’s not the issue. The issue is budget of energy. Mine is incredibly finite. I can account for it hour by hour on an average day
At 6:30 AM my alarm goes off. I lay there in bed until I can convince myself to get up. That takes a lot of energy. I feed my dog, cats, get ready for work, drive to work. At a few minutes to 8 I walk into work. From 8 – 5 with an hour lunch I’m at work. I get a small amount of awareness I can toss outwards, but it’s not much. Lately I’ve been spending it on spanish lessons, because that helps me serve clients. The hour lunch is usually recuperative.
5 PM, drive home. 6 cook dinner. 7-10 these are the hours I have to look at stuff, to feel other stuff. I probably watch my shows for an hour of that. Read stuff/write for one or two hours. So that’s the part where I am able to care about such things. the remaining hour is usually games.
Even weekends, there’s never that much more time. I get a few hours, here and there. But I work for the state. In a few years with some hard work I can move up, I can change things. Maybe not everything, but SOME. Serenity prayer, that’s what I fall back on a lot, what can I do, what impact can I have?
I watched a monologue by John Stewart earlier this year, where he said something along the lines of “neither candidate is going to save the country, it’s going to be a bunch of people working really hard every day. It’ll take that for years” That stuck with me, because that’s the truth.
Politicians love to act like they do stuff, but you know who does? Regular people. They might sign the laws, but the people carrying them out see them through, get no credit. And yeah, there’s a hell of a lot of corruption, and awful stuff in this world. I’ve gotten a really close up look. But I’ve also seen some amazing people. I’ve seen people who care. They are out there, if you look for them. Or, if you don’t look them, if you just go out looking for people to help, you’re going to run into other people who care.
It takes a team to accomplish anything big. Maybe it’s time to start looking for others who feel the same way you do, who want to change things the same as you.
nah, it’s too difficult to change anything in the US. i’m not going to battle Goliath. no health or money or energy for that. Nor am I young and hopeful and believe “anything is possible.” There’s too much corruption, and I can’t fight that, nor do I want to try. 99.99% failure rate.
i tried once when i was younger. i’m no longer young and hopeful and full of energy. and i definitely don’t believe in “hope” and “change” in Washington or in corporate America.
It’s good to care about the world, but you have to be able to contextualize everything and accept that for most of the problems, there’s little that you can do as an individual to change it.
Also in a way there are others trying to make a difference. Think of people who join marches for abortion rights as a tiny example. Or those individuals actually cleaning up our rivers and oceans.
I mean I do what little I can. I’ve given money to the homeless and tried to offer good advice to family/friends or help them with their problems.
But beyond that, it’d take time, money dedication-which I don’t have. I can barely keep my own life going.
It’s all related to money at the end of the day. If you’re a millionaire or billionaire, now you can fund politicians, parties that can make the changes you want to see in your country.
Or you can hire people who can fix whatever problems you see in life that need fixing.
If you can come up with an idea that creates jobs, while it solves a problem, say switching from coal/gas to solar power (not that I’m a fan), then you’re contributing in a positive way.
The world could always be much worse than it is. We live in a democracy with freedom…obviously nothing is perfect, but it’s still better than living in countries like China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, where people have no rights…where innocent people have been picked up off the streets and disappeared.
They end up in secret prisons and I don’t need to go into detail….so I’d say these rotten countries could be better if they had western style freedom.
Also human life is so short…even if you want to make a change, you could spend decades ‘wasting’ your life on a cause…for me that’s not worth it. I need to enjoy my life also…I can’t throw it away on an idea.
I think if we can implement our best ideas, eliminate the bad ‘stuff’…like find a way to stop bad people from pro-creating, future human generations will benefit from that and we’ll become a more civilized, peaceful species.
I know that most or all the problems in the world are something I cannot fix. I’m not trying to fix the world’s problems. Fuck, I can’t even fix my own life. But that IS the problem- that IS why it’s depressing- bc there IS that systemic injustice, and that it’ll be around forever. And that some ppl, especially the poor and minority, will ALWAYS be screwed. And I’m one of those ppl constantly screwed over.
But are you not choosing to look at these things and then making yourself depressed as a result?
For example when I was younger, I’d explore the weird/dark side of the internet…the old “curiosity killed the cat” cliche applies…I ended up seeing things that really stayed with me and I regretted it.
I realized I’m a sensitive person and get affected by the suffering of others and just began not to go down certain rabbit holes.
Similiar to geopolitical, and suffering of poor people around the world, or the poor in our own cities. I just block all of that out.
Now I just focus as much as I can on bettering my current life situation….I’m very far from where I should be so I’m trying to get there…with the little time I have in life.
I get your point about feeling helpless to do anything about the world or your own life which can lead to depression. I’ve experienced it also.
The way I got myself out of it was to realize nobody is going to fix my life, it’s up to me and I also read that leading a normal life, sleep on time, eat on time, getting back into exercise, etc…can all contribute to helping one get out of depression and it worked.
Did that mean I stopped feeling suicidal and sorry for myself for the terrible life I have? Nope…did I stop caring about the problems in the world? Ofc I wish it was a better place but I largely set them aside.
So I still carried the same issues from before but I changed my perspective and was able to function as I needed to finish my degree or I was going to flunk out.
At the end of the day our choice is to keep living a life we didn’t want, try to make the best of it or to “pull the plug.” As there is no simple, easy, surefire way out of this life, most of us keep going till our ticker stops or something takes us out.
For now that’s what I’m doing but I’ve given myself till my 60s…if by then I don’t have a house, a spouse, a decent income or stability…then I’ll seek out Maid.
Retirement in Canada is 65, if I find I have enough to live on with gov’t pension, I might stick around, just for the fun of it and to see how far humanity advances…but if things get worse for me, then ofc I’ll take my leave.
Nope. Even if I shut ALL the news off (which I have done many times in the past)- I’m still depressed and I still know racism and poverty and injustice exists and is rampant. Especially living in America- I see it daily. Doesn’t matter if I shut the news off and “choose” not to see it.
Sorry to hear, it must suck to carry all that baggage with you in your mind, on top of your own life issues.
Yes, I see what you mean about trying to better our lives- but what if we HAVE tried it- time and again and again- only to get screwed over and over- based on our race or income or whatever it is? THAT is what leads to depression- you don’t think I tried fucking HARD my whole life? I even joined the fucking military- doesn’t get harder than that. But everywhere I go, I keep getting screwed. And then I got hit by a car and couldn’t “get up and fight” anymore. And then got sicker bc healthcare is so shitty here and drs actually made me WORSE.
How defeated and depressed would you be if you kept trying and nothing got better- only worse? And constantly seeing roadblocks- like shit drs or lack of meritocracy everywhere you go?
Depression sets in when you DO try, hard AF, and STILL get shit on, over and over. Or if your body is now fucked from the drs so you literally can’t anymore.
It’s like telling a paraplegic- hey, just focus on the GOOD parts of life. Just shut off all the bad news. Don’t focus on the negative etc. Easy for someone else to say. Doesn’t change the fact that person’s life is going to be fucked up forever and will always have a difficult time. And you can’t blame that person for being depressed- who wouldn’t? So you can’t simply say “just don’t focus on the bad parts of life.”
also- it’s not like I can “choose” to not be depressed. Just like everyone here on SP has a difficult time “shutting it off”.
I can watch as many feel-good puppy or cat videos all I like instead of the news- doesn’t make me any happier. I mean I do watch some of that cuz I like a mix of things on my feed, but choosing to be ignorant and shutting off the news doesn’t make me any happier or less depressed. Not one bit.
So one technique I taught myself is a kind of mental discipline. If I say the word ‘pig’…you can’t help but think about pigs and ideas associated with them.
That’s the way our ‘stream of consciousness works’…whatever we come across, information, ideas, thoughts, movies, yt vids, music, etc. we’ll think about them and dwell on them.
The key is to focus on whatever you feel is relevant and that way you won’t let your mind wander to the other things that add to your depression that you cannot change.
It’s also about parenting onself…like we tell our kids don’t watch this or don’t go there, because we want to keep them out of harm’s way and from suffering needlessly. We have to practice a similar form of parenting on ourselves.
Block yourself from seeing what’s in the world…that could upset you, focus on the here and now.
I think when we’re also suffering directly in our own life, it’s hard to cope and we then also generalize it to problems in the world, which makes us feel even worse.
Ofc it’s not a one-shot deal, it’s a way of re-training one’s mind over time. Back in university I was going through a lot of personal turmoil, which lead to depression and other issues.
And I just learned to be more soldier-like to get through my issues and focus on the goal of studying and finishing my degree.
So now when something has to get done, I put myself in that same mentality and set aside my emotions.
Say you were thinking about the lack of freedom in various nations and were walking in the woods and stepped in a bear trap.
Now you’re suffering real pain and trapped in a horrible situation. You might keep thinking about the freedom problem but you’ll feel even worse now because you’re in this trap.
If you can get yourself out of the trap, then other issues will lose their importance and severity.
In terms of a ‘failed life’ and expectations to go further, you and I are in a very similar boat….but ofc you have serious health issues which makes your situation worse than mine.
No amount of ‘pep talk’ is going to talk you into a healthier body or life. That’s down to biology/medicine or whatever it’ll take to help you get healthy again, assuming that’s possible.
Many of us are in our own individual hell holes that we’d love to be rid of but can’t because the problems are sometimes irreparable or will take a lot of time and effort to change.
The world is cruel and indifferent…we make our lives what they are but sometimes external events happen to mess things up, I’m living through it myself.
I doubt there’s anything I can say to make you feel better about your situation and that’s not really my intent…I think as you may know you’ll only feel better when your life has improved. If it’s in your power to make those changes great, but sometimes it isn’t and we just have to cope as best as we can.
I believe like me you have goals you want to achieve and that’s why (largely) you keep going…and it’s a good motivator to try to improve your present condition.
My sister had a skiing accident which wrecked her knee. She had surgery and spent months in physiotherapy and eventually she got better….but actually she could’ve ended up crippled or unable to use her knee had she given up on the therapy and didn’t suffer through a lot of pain to be able to walk normally again.
I’m presently living in a bad place, I’m trying to make the best of it now, but I know long term I need to gtfo here…but there are other things I’m focused on for the moment, so that’s a mid-term goal…but hopefully I can move before winter this year.
So we all have our own crap to deal with and we do the best we can to put ourselves in a better place.
>>also- it’s not like I can “choose” to not be depressed….
It’s not the lack of freedom, or the suffering in the world, or poverty that is the main cause of your depression. As you’re exposed to that info, your mind chooses to generalize and incorporate it, adding to your current suffering imo.
The real reason you’re depressed is because of the pain/suffering you’ve experienced due to the bad chain of events in your life that’s put you in the current situation.
Same for me, though I’d say I’m maybe ‘mildly depressed’…though some days I’m sadder and more suicidal, depending on what’s been happening at the time.
Ofc you probably already know that and the depression will likely remain so long as your situation stays the same. I think if you were able to get healthier, maybe move out of your current place to a better one, then it’ll help reduce the feelings of depression.
I have difficulty sleeping here because of the ‘neighbors’ as I’ve mentioned before. On some rare days it’s fairly quiet, I get a good night’s sleep and I feel like a totally different person. My mind is clear, I’m happier, stronger, more my cheery self.
So I know without a doubt, where I’m living is deeply and negatively impacting my life…but I have no rich friends/family willing to bail me out of this rotten situation so I’m doing what I can to make it better.
Ofc it’s made me angry, sad, bitter but I also know if I can get out of it, I’ll feel a lot better….but as mentioned I’m still very far from the level in life I feel I should be at.
It’s worse now because everything is so expensive…but anyways, as I’m not going to end my life, as much as I might want to, I just have to keep going until I’m out of this hole.
you’ve got it backwards- the reason i watch the news is to distract myself from real life and my real pain. Constant 24-7 agony. No amount of cute kittens or puppies take away the pain. But at least watching the news I can focus and rant on the shit in the world other than the shit in my life/ fucked up body/ constant 24-7 pain. It’s like of like how you have a broken rib but you’re hungry so you focus on the lesser pain- hunger- instead.
Also, I like to stay informed. Does no good to be ignorant. Especially since turning off the news completely doesn’t help me one iota. Bc irregardless of whether I consume the news or not, I already am aware of the corruption and bullshit that goes on on this stupid planet with stupid selfish ppl. So shutting myself off from news doesn’t help. And like I said, I’ve tried that before.
i’m just fucking angry the world has screwed me over, in so many ways, so so many times. “getting back up and fighting” has been done many times. the problem is, i have no fight left in me. but apparently enough to not want to k myself just yet. so i’m stuck in the middle.
I was actually saying much the same thing…your physical suffering is the main sources of your depression…the events in the world add to the depression since it gives a bleak outlook.
But I’m like you, I like to be informed, even if the news is sad and as you said otherwise life is boring.
At the end of the day-for your situation, there has to be a way out of the pain/suffering you’re experiencing.
I know in my cause, while I have some health problems, luckily there’s nothing that’s too debilitating and I can work, change jobs, change my living situation and I’ll be a bit happier than I am now.
If I can get rich, get a gf/wife, get my own home…then I will feel I’ve reached my goals in life. I don’t care much for having kids but I’d consider it if I reach financial stability.
Our lives are pretty different in that regard….in order for you to get to a better place, it’d require becoming healthier and only you would know if that can or will happen.
You know my opinion for myself only….for me I have a few ‘walls’ or redlines, if I hit them then I’m going to do whatever the hell I can to get out of living.
Ofc if my health goes, no chance or hope of recovery and independence, that’s one. If I lose a couple of key family members and my job, that’s another…bottom line if my life goes off a cliff and no hope of having a ‘normal life’ again, that’s the end for me….I wish I could say I had a good run.
What bothers me the most is that I passed up some golden opportunities that fell in my lap and I was too afraid or foolish to take a chance on. Now I look back and wonder how I could’ve been so stupid as to pass them up where most men would’ve thrown themselves hoping to grab it while they could.
I could go on and on about that…but nothing will bring that back from that time in my life…maybe if I got rich I’d get something similar. But ya I’m pretty objective and scientific about this.
I suffered enough…I had some fun too along the way, it wasn’t all doom and gloom….but it was mostly. However so long as none of my redlines are crossed, I’ll keep going. But there’s little tying me to this life…esp. my mom….once she passes away, then I’ll be free to opt for Maid if things get worse for me.
“The world could always be much worse than it is. We live in a democracy with freedom…obviously nothing is perfect, but it’s still better than living in countries like China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, where people have no rights…where innocent people have been picked up off the streets and disappeared.”
>>I hate the “it could always be worse” ideology. That’s like saying, “well you lost both your arms, but hey, it could always be worse- there’s ppl who lost both arms AND legs so you should be grateful and happy you have your legs.”
Well that may be true but it doesn’t help the person who lost both arms to be any better off or happier. Same when it comes to depression. I hear that shit all the time- it could be worse. Yeah but when your life is shit, knowing that OTHER ppl have it worse doesn’t make your life any better or make your depression go away.
>>Also, there’s so much western propaganda- life in the US isn’t necessarily better than living in many other countries if you are poor. You actually live a WORSE life than other supposed “third-world” countries.
First of all, Saudi Arabia is RICH af. Life there is pretty comfortable for most ppl there. They don’t have all the crime, theft, murder, hell, even garbage and dirty streets and trains like they have here. They give free medical, free college. It’s actually a really great place to live- if you’re male. As a female, maybe not. But they DO have less crime, less homelessness, less all the bullshit we have here in the US.
It’s 100% pure propaganda by corporate America (i know you live in Canada but I’m specifically talking about America bc that is what I know) to convince the American populace to be docile and not complain about shit wages or shit work conditions bc “it could be worse elsewhere!” so count your lucky stars you are here! That’s basically capatilism in a nutshell- scare the crap out of the workforce/populace so they don’t complain. bc hey- it could be worse elsewhere!
>>I hate the “it could always be worse” ideology.
Ofc same here, but I mean it in a real sense. Just imagine living in Iran where an Atheist like me would get arrested, beaten, raped, tortured for years or as long as I live, simply for saying I reject religions because there’s no proof for any of their gods.
Thousands of people are taken as political prisoners for criticizing Islam or their pedo-warlord prophet or whatever they dream up to find an excuse to abuse others.
Women/girls have been picked up off the streets for showing too much hair or showing their ankles and many of them are never heard from again…it’s basically a death sentence at the hands of an insane, brutal group of monsters.
That’s just one evil country, there’s many like them. By the way, the Muslims are bringing that garbage here…so while we’re not that bad yet, if these people get their way it will be.
Does that change our lot in life in this fake democracy esp. in the US where the rich call all the shots? No but at least we can say it isn’t as bad as Iran, where life is far worse.
And yes it won’t make the depression vanish to know we’re slightly better off…but for that it is an individual challenge…one has to try to find their own way out of it.
Additionally if one was rich for example and healthy, it’s still possible to be depressed. One could have a perfect life…sometimes depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain, or genetically based, in that case there’s probably little that can be done to alleviate it, except maybe drugs.
Though I think in most cases, depression is a consequence of one’s suffering in life. When my life was doing well, I was usually positive and happy and vice versa.
As for Saudi Arabia, they’re run by trillionaires who can afford to give their citizens a good life….but it’s got an ugly darkside too….recall what they did to that journalist who was a Muslim himself, Khashoggi…he made the fatal mistake of criticizing MBS and his regime and most of us know what happened to him.
They’re basically a bunch of brutal barbarians stuck in the 7th century, but have access to 21st century technology and wealth, a pretty deadly combo.
As I recall nobody can become a citizen in Saudi Arabia, you can only visit there and not benefit from their system (aside from a good salary). And again as a non-Muslim, they can do anything to you, as we have no rights in their religion.
and…you think it’s any better here for journalists? what about Julian Assange or Edward Snowden? They jailed Julian Assange in the UK and the US is trying it’s hardest to keep him in prison. All bc he’s a journalist. Hell, didn’t even live in the US or UK. He’s Australian. He simply published data that was given to him. You think journalists in the US or Canada can do whatever they want either? Like sure, censorship is harsher in many other countries, but it’s not like we actually have a “freedom of the press” here either. Even though it’s in our American Constitution and freedom of speech is our 1st Amendment. But our “freedom” only goes so far as we don’t piss off the powers that be. What about those truckers? Not only were they jailed, they had their bank accounts frozen. Like how is that even legal? It isn’t but Canada did it anyway.
All states have their secrets…location of nuclear sites and sensitive information, etc. The release of such information could potentially trigger wars.
To put that info out there to the public is dangerous and risky to everyone.
Would you like it if someone got a hold of all your banking info, medical records, criminal records, etc and just published it on wikipedia for example? Doxxing has lead to people getting killed (from SWAT’ing also).
At the same time a part of me sympathizes with Assange for his political persecution…I don’t think there’s an easy answer here.
Regarding the truckers-yes I don’t think gov’t should have any right to freeze anyone’s bank account…you’re attacking people’s ability to survive/buy food, pay rent/mtg, etc..but like you suggested, our freedom is an illusion.
In some very rare cases, say like with a terrorist group, that should be allowed, but otherwise our banking and personal info should be treated as sacred. If you think it’s bad in Canada for such problems, would you think it’d be any better in worse nations?
the fact that it’s worse in other countries makes it even MORE depressing- not less. Also, I live in shithole USA. Things are shit here. Way shittier than Canada. It’s hard to be “happy” about life when life is so shit here.
Maybe I would be happier living in one of the few “good countries” left- like Sweden, Norway etc. But that’s not going to happen IRL unless I marry a Scandinavian.
There’s very few “good” countries left. Certainly it’s not here in the USA, not Canada, not UK- none of the supposed “great” countries.
Can’t argue with you there…we agree on this topic.
Also, do we really have “freedom”? We don’t. We just have the ILLUSION of freedom- we are propagandized to believe we are “free” when we are not. Just try to protest- you’ll get arrested and have your bank accounts frozen. Didn’t Canada arrest those truckers? Do you really have freedom of speech?
You do something the government (or the corporations that control the govt) doesn’t like, and you get shut down. We do not have freedom, nor freedom of speech. We are not free- especially in America. Corporate America owns us.
All true..it’s an illusion, but at least their power is limited and people can organize and overthrow their gov’t…it’s easier to do in Canada then Iran for example.
However the US is a different story because of the powerful military and who they decide to throw their weight behind….still you have a fairly robust democratic system which can allow one to take power.
For instance the Democrats used to be more centrist and sane but have veered to the far-left because of radical infiltrators…that just proves that these parties can be manipulated and coopted.
Say we had a lot of ‘socialist’ types who wanted to make the US goverment more like Canada’s, I think it’s possible to do but obviously it’d take decades of hard work.
Change isn’t easy, except for those at the top of the power pyramid…bottom up is much harder.
That’s why most of us ‘ants’ just focus on getting wealthy or financially stable so we’re not subject to the whims of a mindless market/economy.
There’s going to be a comment with a link that’s going to go into moderation- but do check that link out.
Yup I saw it…I think it’s just propaganda. Being the source of Islam, and if not for the ocean of oil they sit on, they’d be having tribal violence like they had for thousands of years.
Next to Communism, Islam creates the absolute worse societies for humanity imaginable…for those who are unaware, I’d recommend doing some research, esp. its history.
and…western imperialism is much better? how did that go for the natives? or black ppl? or africa? or latin america? or hell, everywhere where western countries have purposely destabilized the countries. you do realize that the democratically leader of iran was ousted by americans and a dictator was purposely put in iran right? lybia, syria, iran, afghanistan- ALL have had their countries destabilized due to US/UK led military coups.
anyway, i’m not defending islam- i find the whole patriarchy horrible- but it’s not like the Christian religion was much better. You have heard of the holy wars right? How many ppl were slaughtered by Christians and Catholics?
Anyhow, like i said, seeing other countries doing worse shit than America doesn’t make America a great place. it only makes it that much MORE depressing. Bc America is still a shithole. 50% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. 75% of Americans do not have $500 in emergency savings. We do not have healthcare. We are #1 in mass shootings. We are #1 in incarcerations. We are #367 or whatever it is in education.
But sure, we have our “freedoms.” (don’t dare protest or speak out against corporations or the corrupt govt lest they put you in prison). But yes, that’s our “freedom.”
if you speak out against our dear corporations, like being a boeing whistleblower, you magically get disappeared. if you speak out against the DAPL pipeline being built on Native land, you get cracked in the head and thrown in jail. and shot at with riot gas. we don’t have freedom of speech, let alone regular freedom, if you can be thrown in jail for simply protesting.
It’d take a lot of time to go through point by point by western civilization is superior to theocratic dictatorships…but I mean the low hanging fruit is easy point out.
I touched on it earlier, here you can’t be arrested/killed for thought crimes, Islam is essentially a death cult…if you’re gay, a kafir/non-muslim, ex-muslim, a woman who gets raped or is accused of infidelity, that’s a death sentence.
In the West nobody’s going to kill you for burning a ‘holy book’….but they do in Islamic countries.
People use that as a means to take out their neighbors or Christians in Pakistan for instance, they get accused of blasphemy and either have to go into hiding, leave the country or they’re murdered.
At least in the West we don’t kill people over idiotic petty things like that….note where is this god and why doesn’t he/she/it do its own punishing?
As for Americans toppling regimes and rulers, I agree with you, should’ve never happened…but they don’t understand Islam and they had no idea a much worse ideology would take over Iran for example.
Given the choice, which countries would you rather choose to live in? Most of us prefer western nations because they’re safe, peaceful, civilized, wealthier and they’re not run by insane dictators and theocrats.
I’d still rather live in the US with all its faults than Iran or Saudi Arabia as a non-Muslims where Muslims can kill me over nothing.
and in the US, you get killed over a pair of sneakers instead of a bible. it’s not that great here. just bc it may be worse in some other places does NOT make USA good. it just makes life that much MORE depressing that THIS is considered “good.”
i don’t think you understand my thought process. The reason why life is so depressing is bc it’s shit in MOST countries around the world, bc most humans and most governments are shitty.
it’s like this- just bc you aren’t a slave in some other country, does this make life good in the USA where the avg person makes shit wages and literally lives paycheck to paycheck? No. This makes it a shit world. That it’s bad in most places around the world.
“Most of us prefer western nations because they’re safe, peaceful, civilized, wealthier and they’re not run by insane dictators and theocrats.”
>Is it safe here in the USA? Not really. And not especially if you’re not rich enough to live in a nice zip code.
>Is it peaceful in the USA? That’s debatable. If you live ass to ass next to a million ppl in a tiny apt that cost your whole paycheck, is it “peaceful”?
>USA has TONS of Karens and Kens. You encounter them every day. Hell, even the avg person is rude af. Is it “peaceful”? No. I don’t think so. Americans in general are rude af.
>There’s always been this stereotype in America where we see Canadians as being so nice and polite. Like every American who visits Canada (back in the day, not so much now) comes back shocked- just shocked that ppl in Canada are actually NICE. That’s not something we see here. They come back and it’s back to being around shitty asshole Americans.
>Civilized- Are Americans really civilized? We go to Walmart and get trampled during Black Friday. We get rocks thrown at us if we’re not white. This has happened to me my whole life- racism is rampant in the USA.
>Wealthier- are we really wealthier? The rich hoard ALL the money and resources and land. The avg person is NOT wealthy. 50% of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck and is one illness away from being bankrupt. 75% do not have $500 in savings for an emergency. Does that sound “wealthy” to you?
Hey, I admit things are better in Canada- my view is shaped and colored by the shit I see in America, and what I’ve personally experienced here, in America. And it’s NOT good here. You might have the same view I have if you grew up here instead of Canada. What if you couldn’t get treated or seen for your back/knee/health issues? What if you needed to go the ER? One ride in an ambulance costs several hundred dollars- AFTER insurance. One ER visit cost me $2000- AFTER insurance. Is life in USA good? I don’t fucking think so.
And if you are the “wrong” ethnicity or color, you can get beat up, simply for being a minority. And no, I don’t mean just black. Other minorities get harassed and beat up too, simply for not being “white.” Is this any better than in your so called “uncivilized” Middle East?
Also, this sounds pretty racist-
“Most of us prefer western nations because they’re safe, peaceful, civilized, wealthier and they’re not run by insane dictators and theocrats.”
Look at Asian countries. Japan, S Korea, Singapore, Malaysia- VERY safe. And very CIVILIZED. I’m sure it was just bad wording on your part, but it sounded like only western countries are “civilized.” And no, I can’t afford to live there either so that’s not an option.
“if not for the ocean of oil they sit on, they’d be having tribal violence like they had for thousands of years.”
and we are sitting on land Americans and Canadians stole from the Natives.
To you post above on corporations, true…as well as for politicians….the Clintons are famous for knocking people off that they don’t like.
As for stolen land…firstly it’s a bit of a non sequitur since it doesn’t change the fact that the Saudis would be barbaric, because of their religion (not race).
Secondly if the Europeans didn’t colonize NAmercia, you can bet the Chinese or Russians or the Ottoman Empire would’ve taken that land.
Additionally, if the natives were not strong enough to repel the invaders, than ofc we’d have our present situation.
I respect Native American culture, they have beautiful art and music…but sadly if you don’t have an industrious culture, then you’ll get taken over.
Would I prefer to live in a world of teepees and hunting buffaloes, or a world with laptops and running water/electricity? It should be obvious…that’s not to say our lives are so much better….given all the suffering we talked about earlier…but I’d like the basics of life to be met…for all of us.
If the Natives invented electricity and capitalism, I’d say good for them…I think it was inevitable advanced nations would take over weaker ones.
I’m not saying Saudia Arabia is great- I don’t live there so idk. But that quick 30s from that American guy who moved to Saudi Arabia shows us just HOW much we are propagandized- we are constantly told by media- media controlled by the oligarchs- just HOW bad it is everywhere else. And we believe it.
And fyi- things in China are not that bad either. Hell, life for many Chinese is better than most Americans here. In the US, 50%- yes 50% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. We have homeless ppl living under every bridge and street. We have no free healthcare. The #1 cause of bankruptcies is medical debt. We have extremely high murder rates, we can’t even walk or take trains without getting assaulted (see the news on girls in NYC getting randomly punched).
Things aren’t great here. And don’t be fooled by propaganda (pushed by rich elites) that bash every non-white country.
Sure, we might not be able to criticize the govt like we can here in the US and Canada, but so what? Would you rather be poor af and live paycheck to paycheck? How great is that life? I’d rather live in Saudi Arabia or China and have “less freedom” than be constantly sick bc healthcare is unaffordable or shit here in the USA, or be constantly poor af bc the economy is rigged by rich assholes keeping the poor extremely poor. I mean if I were male. I’m not sure how much freedom a woman has there, but idk what is propaganda and what is actually real.
Also, btw- life in China IS pretty damn good nowadays. After the one-child policy in 1980, income and GDP and quality of life rose massively in China. Sure the tradeoff is not being allowed to have more than 1 child, but fuck children. I hate those little bastards anyway. Here in the US, I get to have neighbors who have FIVE fucking screaming children and TWO giant dogs outside ALL fucking day. Screaming children in restaurants, in theaters, kicking my seat on the airplanes, etc. Yeah, you have less so-called “freedom” in China but many Chinese ppl have good middle income or upper middle income lives there. It’s not like we have “freedom” here either.
I’m obviously not saying life is amazing China or Saudi Arabia- just saying the propaganda we are being fed are all lies. Talk to American (or Canadian) expats in China or Saudi Arabia- most say things are great there. LOTS of American and CAnadian expats in China. If things were as bad as we’re being fed in the fake media we have here, then WHY would so many westerners expat to China? Or Mexico? Or Latin America? there’s SO much propaganda here- especially here by the media in the USA. We are being lied to my friend.
Do you know how many Americans expat to Mexico? Millions of Americans flock to Mexico yet we are told how third world and backwards it is. And Africa? OMG they ALWAYS show AFricans living in huts, walking around half naked, and having ZERO technology. Are there places in AFrica like that? Sure. But the image they project to Americans is starvation. Elon Musk is from South Africa. I mean granted, most of Africa is pretty fucked due to western imperialism- but that doesn’t mean ALL Africans are walking around naked and living in huts and have never seen a computer.
I read you post and concur, you raise fair point. I guess every nation has their share of problems.
Life might seem better in China, but at any moment they can pick citizens off the streets or their homes and throw them into prisons and concentration camps.
There’s the illusion of freedom…here at least you can get lawyers and you’re granted rights.
As for the horrific criminality in some US cities, that’s due to the disparity of rich/poor…most because of Conservative azzholes not want to pay taxes, taking away much needed social programs to keep the poor and mentally ill off the streets, while allowing criminal gangs to thrive.
These are fixable problems, but you need the right govt’s in power. I think we the citizens need to take back all the power for ourselves. Have a layer of gov’t that keeps the leaders in line so noboby can be bought off.
I mean we can make a near utopia on Earth for ourselves, if we can get rid of the rotten scum that are stopping us from doing that.
As for other nations…they’re facing the same human issues we are in the West but they’re just a lot poorer.
Sorry I type fast and forget to proof-read…excuse the typos/errors.
“These are fixable problems, but you need the right govt’s in power. ”
>Which America will NEVER have. THAT is the problem. There’s so much corruption here. Not only is it not getting fixed, it gets worse and worse. We have it “so much better here” and it’s a shithole here. THAT is the depressing thing.
When your health recovers, I’d suggest moving…tbh I’m starting to dislike Canada, but everything convenient for me here so that’s why I probably won’t relocate to say the Netherlands where I could have a better life.
I even considered the UK but they have a lot of problems right now and it’s probably best to avoid it.
I’m sure there are decent countries/cities where life is good…but they’re probably rare, maybe like Switzerland, but you’d need a lot of money.
it’s bad for the poor and sick everywhere. i don’t think there’s any place that’s “good” for the poor or sick. maybe less bad is all.
Well if you’re in a nation with free health care, then at least they can help the sick (most of them) get better and you don’t have to go bankrupt like in the US.
But ya poverty is the worst thing in the world…I think the idea of a UBI (universal basic income) makes sense…and is probably doable.
Most people want to work, but if they lose their job, they shouldn’t end up homeless.
key word “IF”
do you know how hard it is to immigrate to a nice first world country that has universal healthcare?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ytlUg-ZGMFk
“the events in the world add to the depression since it gives a bleak outlook.”
>nah, living in america and growing up here my whole life is what gives me depression and a bleak outlook. there’s always shitty things that happen around the world, but that doesn’t get me down anywhere near as much as what happens HERE, in the US, bc THAT affects me.