# Why does it feel like the world is ending?



## Kope (Jun 10, 2022)

Maybe I doom scroll too much, but the news always seems so bleak these days…


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## Shyy (Jun 10, 2022)

Sadly, this topic tends to descend very rapidly into a swirling toilet bowl, as you get ALL KINDS of responses, mostly off the rails types, has been my experience. Very little factually based comments.

(I have my thoughts, but, most don't like the logic involved, so I tend to be quite)


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 10, 2022)

Because news = clickbait; it wasn't going that bad a few years ago and they were running in circles like decapitated chickens all the same


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## Khafra (Jun 10, 2022)

Because bad news sells, so it's what you're going to see most of the time. Media thrives on getting an emotional response out of the reader.
Good thing is, you can safely throw 90% of it in the trash and put your mind to better things.


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## Kope (Jun 10, 2022)

I just wish I had the power to make the world better


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## Borophagus Metropolis (Jun 10, 2022)

I don’t pay any attention to news. Everything is fine here, in my world. The worst news is my own news.


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## Marius Merganser (Jun 10, 2022)

To butcher the phrase:

When the world seems cold, take my advice.  
Pull down your pants and slide on the ice.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 10, 2022)

Rise of fascism, war, human rights violations, corrupt governments, etc.

Just the cycle of human societies. We have good times and we have bad times. Right now a lot of the world is in a tense place. I know in the USA at least there’s been a rise in fascist movements, government overreach, rollback of our civil rights, and increased corruption. It’s very unfortunate but time’s arrow marches forward. Eventually we will come upon better times.

On a more personal note — I’m a political advocate irl and active in local politics and advocacy groups. It can be hard. It’s hard seeing injustice around us and pushing to make society progress past our old ways. You have to find a balance. It’s important to be up to date on current events… but not so much that it kills your mental health. Due to the internet, we’re in an unprecedented time of interconnectedness. This has its pros and cons. Take care of yourself first and foremost. Take time away from the internet. Find your hobbies and focus on those. It’s all about balance.


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## ben909 (Jun 10, 2022)

plays the "we did not start the fire" sounds to indicate this has happened before


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## Parabellum3 (Jun 10, 2022)

Unfortunately your perception is likely to be correct. There is strong evidence that the inevitable will occur, though we know not on when it will, but such as everything in life. Even the most advanced and civilized of beings crumble at some point as these are simply the laws of nature in this universe. Only thing we can do now is to enjoy what we have.


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## Harpo_K_Aussie (Jun 10, 2022)

Borophagus Metropolis said:


> I don’t pay any attention to news. Everything is fine here, in my world. The worst news is my own news.


My mentality exactly!


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## Nexus Cabler (Jun 10, 2022)

1- Keeping in touch with current events is important, specifically local, but it's imperative that we be mindful of ones that are more interested in pulling hard on our emotional strings than providing facts and findings first.

That can be combated with filtering out disinformation or at least practicing moderation when reading what's going on. It'll save you a lot of trouble.

2- Avoid using major social media so much. People say things online that they would never dream of saying in real life, and exposer to this can damage our perception of the real world and cause anger, depression and hopelessness. As with 1, moderation is essential.

3- Go outside. I'm not implying anyone here doesn't do that at all. But you don't need to look far to find the science to show how exposure to sun and outside activity can greatly improve how we feel overall. I've been doing it a lot more recently. It's worked wonders.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 11, 2022)

Kope said:


> I just wish I had the power to make the world better


As I said in my last message, I’m active in political/advocacy groups irl. I often felt the same as you and I find the most useful thing you could do is get active in what you can control. Go to local charity organizations and volunteer! Soup kitchens, shelters, harm reduction stations, city cleanup, etc. Helping your immediate community does make a difference! There’s tons of people around you who are down on their luck and could use any help that anyone’s willing to offer. Your actions will leave a major impact on them. 

I know it’s not fixing everything but sometimes doing what you can will make you feel a hell of a lot better. We can only control so much, you know?


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## Grimfang (Jun 11, 2022)

Zippy has the right idea.

It's weird to hear recorded programs from decades ago, where people back then knew we were depleting resources and on an incredibly unsustainable path. Even in Ancient Rome, they knew they had to take care of their environment. It's not new, but the effects of it continue to become more severe.

You can compare the current moment with major crisis events in the past, and you know we're living in interesting and precarious times. I've had times where I had to remind myself just that, accept it, and keep doing what I need to do. If things start feeling heavy, I'll give myself more sunlight, spend some time in nature, talk to someone, etc. Interrupt the non-stop media feeds, or avoid them at best.


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## Kope (Jun 11, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> As I said in my last message, I’m active in political/advocacy groups irl. I often felt the same as you and I find the most useful thing you could do is get active in what you can control. Go to local charity organizations and volunteer! Soup kitchens, shelters, harm reduction stations, city cleanup, etc. Helping your immediate community does make a difference! There’s tons of people around you who are down on their luck and could use any help that anyone’s willing to offer. Your actions will leave a major impact on them.
> 
> I know it’s not fixing everything but sometimes doing what you can will make you feel a hell of a lot better. We can only control so much, you know?


I mean I get what you are saying, but it’s kinda like corporations telling everyone to recycle to save the planet. The change has to be systematic to be truly effective and beneficial for humanity long term.


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## ben909 (Jun 11, 2022)

Kope said:


> I mean I get what you are saying, but it’s kinda like corporations telling everyone to recycle to save the planet. The change has to be systematic to be truly effective and beneficial for humanity long term.


it has to be at a system level and a personal level, both sides of this are important (or all sides, probably more then 2)


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## Smityyyy (Jun 11, 2022)

Kope said:


> I mean I get what you are saying, but it’s kinda like corporations telling everyone to recycle to save the planet. The change has to be systematic to be truly effective and beneficial for humanity long term.


Not necessarily. Change can start at the local level. If you want systemic change, get out and vote in local elections. Write to lawmakers. Start canvassing. Join campaign efforts. Get involved in every local political event you can. Join a union. Etc.

Change HAS to start at a local level. It’s much easier to get involved with local politics and when you do you can _actually _make changes. Corporations and the higher ups want you to feel hopeless about this. No offense, but we can’t sit back and talk about how much we want things to change but then do nothing to change it. Only 1/3 of all Americans even bother to vote. Imagine the difference that could be made if we all got active locally?

I am very involved in my local politics and you’d be VERY surprised how much change you can make by working with local advocacy groups. Change is going to take work. I think a lot of people have been very doomer-pilled on all this and kind of just sit back and throw their hands up. Truthfully, we can make meaningful change but we have to accept that it means fighting for it first. Nothing good historically has been won by sitting back and wishing it was a reality.

This isn’t to pressure you or to make you feel like it’s your job to fix our fucked up system. However, the best thing you can do if you want to see systemic change is help to make that happen. That starts locally.


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## Borophagus Metropolis (Jun 11, 2022)

They said systematic…


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## Smityyyy (Jun 11, 2022)

Borophagus Metropolis said:


> They said systematic…


That is not at odds with what I said at all. A systematic approach addresses _systemic _problems. We’re both referencing the same thing. And my post describes a good and effective way to make systematic changes.


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## ben909 (Jun 11, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> That is not at odds with what I said at all. A systematic approach addresses _systemic _problems. We’re both referencing the same thing. And my post describes a good and effective way to make systematic changes.


those words are too close together, make words that are not so easy to mess up
...
...
personal english language  pet peeve


... or are they the same thing


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Jun 11, 2022)

Because of the current climate catastrophe and mass extinction. Even if social media prefers to screech about celebrity drama and pass out "valid" stickers that are worth next to nothing.


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## Kope (Jun 11, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Not necessarily. Change can start at the local level. If you want systemic change, get out and vote in local elections. Write to lawmakers. Start canvassing. Join campaign efforts. Get involved in every local political event you can. Join a union. Etc.
> 
> Change HAS to start at a local level. It’s much easier to get involved with local politics and when you do you can _actually _make changes. Corporations and the higher ups want you to feel hopeless about this. No offense, but we can’t sit back and talk about how much we want things to change but then do nothing to change it. Only 1/3 of all Americans even bother to vote. Imagine the difference that could be made if we all got active locally?
> 
> ...


I guess I don’t know where to start around me then


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## Smityyyy (Jun 12, 2022)

Kope said:


> I guess I don’t know where to start around me then


If you’d like, you can DM me and I might be able to help out. Don’t worry, you don’t need to give me location info but I do have some organization resources if you’d like them


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## Fallowfox (Jun 12, 2022)

OP is not incorrect that we live in times of unprecedented change that will make our future world uniquely challenging to live in. 
It's not ending, but it won't ever be like it was.

Putting aside issues related to human conflict, Kit Rupell is correct that we are probably in a mass extinction event at the moment, and what's amazing is how little many of us notice this- given how disconnected from the natural world our lifestyles are. 

Where I live large numbers of trees are simply dying off.


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## Kope (Jun 12, 2022)

Fallowfox said:


> OP is not incorrect that we live in times of unprecedented change that will make our future world uniquely challenging to live in.
> It's not ending, but it won't ever be like it was.
> 
> Putting aside issues related to human conflict, Kit Rupell is correct that we are probably in a mass extinction event at the moment, and what's amazing is how little many of us notice this- given how disconnected from the natural world our lifestyles are.
> ...


Human beings don’t deserve the power we wield. All it’s causing is all this pain…


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## Borophagus Metropolis (Jun 12, 2022)

Kope said:


> Human beings don’t deserve the power we wield. All it’s causing is all this pain…



Ah, yes.  Greed. Corruption. Indifference….
I am indifferent, only because I would go insane if I worried about everyone’s problems.


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## Grimfang (Jun 12, 2022)

We're in an interesting place right now. I do hope younger generations don't just go complete doomer, cus we need them.



Fallowfox said:


> OP is not incorrect that we live in times of unprecedented change that will make our future world uniquely challenging to live in.
> It's not ending, but it won't ever be like it was.
> 
> Putting aside issues related to human conflict, Kit Rupell is correct that we are probably in a mass extinction event at the moment, and what's amazing is how little many of us notice this- given how disconnected from the natural world our lifestyles are.
> ...



We've been seeing large tree die-offs here as well. Local governments and foresters are working to restore native tree populations, or trees that can adapt to the changes over the past decades, but it is not a fast process.


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## Fallowfox (Jun 12, 2022)

Grimfang said:


> We're in an interesting place right now. I do hope younger generations don't just go complete doomer, cus we need them.
> 
> 
> 
> We've been seeing large tree die-offs here as well. Local governments and foresters are working to restore native tree populations, or trees that can adapt to the changes over the past decades, but it is not a fast process.


When you said tree die-off I was about to ask 'oh are you German?'. Your profile confirms it. x3

I'm nearby in England. My local area's having a Dutch Elm disease outbreak at the moment.


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## Grimfang (Jun 12, 2022)

Fallowfox said:


> When you said tree die-off I was about to ask 'oh are you German?'. Your profile confirms it. x3
> 
> I'm nearby in England. My local area's having a Dutch Elm disease outbreak at the moment.



Oh wow, is Germany known for this?
I intuitively feel this is maybe a European problem more than other regions, but I really don't know for sure. I don't know how effected England is with this problem.

I was talking to a forester in the mountains recently, and he was talking about how they even water the trees in the woods because of how bad it gets at times. There's lots of clearings where swathes of trees died. It's encouraging to see that it's a high profile problem that's receiving more resources, but as usual, we're reacting to being a step behind.


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 12, 2022)

We've all been partnered economically with a genocidal communist regime for the last 30+ years and the same ideology is creeping in in many places, who would expect things to get any better?


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## KimberVaile (Jun 12, 2022)

Borophagus Metropolis said:


> Ah, yes.  Greed. Corruption. Indifference….
> I am indifferent, only because I would go insane if I worried about everyone’s problems.


More people should avoid the newscycle if they find themselves becoming depressive. I haven't the slightest clue why this advice is discouraged for people who are struggling.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 12, 2022)

Grimfang said:


> We're in an interesting place right now. I do hope younger generations don't just go complete doomer, cus we need them.
> 
> 
> .



Exactly what I’ve been saying. People need to be less doomer about this. Every period in history had its slumps before its revolutions and uprisings. The worst thing we could do now is decide nothing is worth fighting for. 

What we need is people who are willing to fight for a better future. We need people to care more and to advocate for better. We need better education. We can change things but it will take work.


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## Firuthi Dragovic (Jun 12, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Exactly what I’ve been saying. People need to be less doomer about this. Every period in history had its slumps before its revolutions and uprisings. The worst thing we could do now is decide nothing is worth fighting for.
> 
> What we need is people who are willing to fight for a better future. We need people to care more and to advocate for better. We need better education. We can change things but it will take work.


Unfortunately, far too often when I've seen a group "advocating" or "caring" or "fighting for their future".... they have actually been half-assing it and demanding lockstep.  If someone even hints at a part of the fight that these advocacy groups haven't already screamed a million times about, the group would rather burn that person than actually think fully.

That is not fighting for a better future.  That is fighting for control.  And those voices are drowning out any serious attempts to help anyone or serious ability to reach anyone.


I have had to avoid the newscycle and constant mentions of tragedy because they overload me.  Between that and the above, any advocacy I do absolutely has to be off the beaten path.


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## Kope (Jun 12, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Exactly what I’ve been saying. People need to be less doomer about this. Every period in history had its slumps before its revolutions and uprisings. The worst thing we could do now is decide nothing is worth fighting for.
> 
> What we need is people who are willing to fight for a better future. We need people to care more and to advocate for better. We need better education. We can change things but it will take work.


Hmm at what point do we realize that every peaceful option we try isn’t working and have to take action before the status quo destroys everything though? 

I’m a man of peace, but I fear that the cons of democracy will allow terrible things to happen. Do we continue to work within the system and change it within or revolt? (Fallout New Vegas has some great commentary about this as well btw)


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## Smityyyy (Jun 12, 2022)

Firuthi Dragovic said:


> Unfortunately, far too often when I've seen a group "advocating" or "caring" or "fighting for their future".... they have actually been half-assing it and demanding lockstep.  If someone even hints at a part of the fight that these advocacy groups haven't already screamed a million times about, the group would rather burn that person than actually think fully.
> 
> That is not fighting for a better future.  That is fighting for control.  And those voices are drowning out any serious attempts to help anyone or serious ability to reach anyone.
> 
> ...


Eh I think that’s maybe a broad assumption about advocacy groups. There’s bad apples everywhere. Groups are some of the best chances we have because power comes in numbers. Most advocacy groups I’ve been part of have been perfectly fine. Maybe if all you see is the online Twitter advocacy groups, you’ll see performative screaming. But actual irl action groups tend not to have these issues. At least not in any of the states where I’ve been involved.

I also get avoiding the news cycle. Most of it is looking to farm rage anyhow. You can still advocate just fine without looking at the news. Staying up to date on current events doesn’t necessarily mean watching mainstream news channels and sources. 



Kope said:


> Hmm at what point do we realize that every peaceful option we try isn’t working and have to take action before the status quo destroys everything though?
> 
> I’m a man of peace, but I fear that the cons of democracy will allow terrible things to happen. Do we continue to work within the system and change it within or revolt? (Fallout New Vegas has some great commentary about this as well btw)



Not sure and I think I’m sort of bound by ToS here. I think that historically, progress comes from revolution. However, we’re in different times. We may need revolution or we may not. I think all we can do is try to work within our Democratic system. It’s always smart to prepare for the worst but I wouldn’t get yourself worked up. There’s still lots of potential fixes that don’t include violence.


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## Kope (Jun 13, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Eh I think that’s maybe a broad assumption about advocacy groups. There’s bad apples everywhere. Groups are some of the best chances we have because power comes in numbers. Most advocacy groups I’ve been part of have been perfectly fine. Maybe if all you see is the online Twitter advocacy groups, you’ll see performative screaming. But actual irl action groups tend not to have these issues. At least not in any of the states where I’ve been involved.
> 
> I also get avoiding the news cycle. Most of it is looking to farm rage anyhow. You can still advocate just fine without looking at the news. Staying up to date on current events doesn’t necessarily mean watching mainstream news channels and sources.
> 
> ...


Yeah but as to not delve into anything political I’ll just say that there are certain rights that will/are being taken away with how the status quo is going. 

How much more do poor people have to suffer under this system, before we can prevent harm from coming to them?


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## Smityyyy (Jun 13, 2022)

Kope said:


> Yeah but as to not delve into anything political I’ll just say that there are certain rights that will/are being taken away with how the status quo is going.
> 
> How much more do poor people have to suffer under this system, before we can prevent harm from coming to them?


I completely and totally relate to how you are feeling.


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## One-Way (Jun 13, 2022)

Kope said:


> Maybe I doom scroll too much, but the news always seems so bleak these days…


Your not far off...trust your gut feeling


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 13, 2022)

@Smityyyy what's so funny about genocide?


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## Fallowfox (Jun 13, 2022)

Grimfang said:


> Oh wow, is Germany known for this?
> I intuitively feel this is maybe a European problem more than other regions, but I really don't know for sure. I don't know how effected England is with this problem.
> 
> I was talking to a forester in the mountains recently, and he was talking about how they even water the trees in the woods because of how bad it gets at times. There's lots of clearings where swathes of trees died. It's encouraging to see that it's a high profile problem that's receiving more resources, but as usual, we're reacting to being a step behind.



Yes; there are news reports occasionally about Germany's efforts to redress this problem. 
In my view, this doesn't mean it's a problem unique to Germany- it perhaps shows that Germany has woken up and begun trying to do something. 

I think tree die-offs are a problem in several world regions. E.g. American South-west and African Sahel desertification.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 13, 2022)

Frank Gulotta said:


> @Smityyyy what's so funny about genocide?


What is funny is the misuse of the word “communism” which I see on a near constant basis. There are no communist countries right now. To claim there are is a grotesque misunderstanding of economics.


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 13, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> What is funny is the misuse of the word “communism” which I see on a near constant basis. There are no communist countries right now. To claim there are is a grotesque misunderstanding of economics.


Yeah there's never been a "true" one because it's a fail ideology
But just because they failed doesn't mean they're not communist, it would be like saying that Nazi Germany wasn't true Nazism because it didn't last 1000 years. It just means that communism = abject failure.

It's because of people like you making excuses for it that we'll keep repeating history's biggest most embarrassing mistake again and again


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## Smityyyy (Jun 13, 2022)

Frank Gulotta said:


> Yeah there's never been a "true" one because it's a fail ideology
> But just because they failed doesn't mean they're not communist, it would be like saying that Nazi Germany wasn't true Nazism because it didn't last 1000 years. It just means that communism = abject failure.
> 
> It's because of people like you making excuses for it that we'll keep repeating history's biggest most embarrassing mistake again and again


I would argue the USSR was kind of true communism — or at least the closest attempt to it. But that doesn’t mean, just because countries fail, it’s a horrible ideology. I mean, I can point to the NUMEROUS capitalist countries that are war-torn, committing genocides, and in horrible poverty. That doesn’t necessarily make capitalism terrible. There’s a lot of factors that go into these regimes. You can also poorly implement an economic system.

I am not a communist but if you take the time to learn history and understand the ideology instead of going off of the typical fear-mongering from the media you’d realize it’s a little more complicated than “everything I dislike is communism”

Out of curiosity because I always get the best results from asking this — can you define for me what “communism” means?


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 13, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> I would argue the USSR was kind of true communism — or at least the closest attempt to it. But that doesn’t mean, just because countries fail, it’s a horrible ideology. I mean, I can point to the NUMEROUS capitalist countries that are war-torn, committing genocides, and in horrible poverty. That doesn’t necessarily make capitalism terrible. There’s a lot of factors that go into these regimes. You can also poorly implement an economic system.
> 
> I am not a communist but if you take the time to learn history and understand the ideology instead of going off of the typical fear-mongering from the media you’d realize it’s a little more complicated than “everything I dislike is communism”



There's many examples of successful capitalism and it has all but eradicated hunger in many parts of the world while communism has done NOTHING but fail and manufacture starvation

It's not hard to see why it systematically goes for totalitarian style too : in order to maybe obtain muh utopia in a million years it needs to control everything, because strangely enough not everyone agrees. Ergo it needs a police state like a fly needs garbage. Nobody is too stupid to understand this simple fact.

Seriously how many times does the exact same atrocity need to result from the same ideological sewage before you get a grip


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## Smityyyy (Jun 13, 2022)

Frank Gulotta said:


> There's many examples of successful capitalism and it has all but eradicated hunger in many parts of the world while communism has done NOTHING but fail and manufacture starvation
> 
> It's not hard to see why it systematically goes for totalitarian style too : in order to maybe obtain muh utopia in a million years it needs to control everything, because strangely enough not everyone agrees. Ergo it needs a police state like a fly needs garbage. Nobody is too stupid to understand this simple fact.
> 
> Seriously how many times does the exact same atrocity need to result from the same ideological sewage before you get a grip



What is the definition of communism?


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 13, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> What is the definition of communism?


I don't care what it pretends to do, I care about what it actually does, which is trash

If someone who's never as much as boiled an egg pretends to write the recipe for the best cake in the world, but then every chef who tries to cook it ends up poisoning half the guests, at what point do you stop just blaming the chefs (even tho every single one of them sucks) and start looking at the recipe and think "maybe this belongs in the trash"?


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## Smityyyy (Jun 13, 2022)

Frank Gulotta said:


> I don't care what it pretends to do, I care about what it actually does, which is trash
> 
> If someone who's never as much as boiled an egg pretends to write the recipe for the best cake in the world, but then every chef who tries to cook it ends up poisoning half the guests, at what point do you stop just blaming the chefs (even tho every single one of them sucks) and start looking at the recipe and think "maybe this belongs in the trash"?


Aw man… and here I thought I was talking to a person who actually knew the definition and understood how the system functions. Oh well, just another person screaming because some pundits told them everything they dislike is communism. I can’t imagine feigning so much outrage at a system while not grasping what it is in the slightest.

Have a great day.


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## Kope (Jun 13, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Aw man… and here I thought I was talking to a person who actually knew the definition and understood how the system functions. Oh well, just another person screaming because some pundits told them everything they dislike is communism. I can’t imagine feigning so much outrage at a system while not grasping what it is in the slightest.
> 
> Have a great day.


I wouldn't start with frank as it quickly leads to tos violations due to his more..... "unique" perspective.


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## Firuthi Dragovic (Jun 14, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Aw man… and here I thought I was talking to a person who actually knew the definition and understood how the system functions. Oh well, just another person screaming because some pundits told them everything they dislike is communism. I can’t imagine feigning so much outrage at a system while not grasping what it is in the slightest.
> 
> Have a great day.


Yeah... definitely don't start with Frank.

I'll give the first definition I can pull up of communism - "a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs."

I won't start with Marx or the class war thing for ToS reasons, but I already see two places where my mind immediately rejects this system.

"All property is publicly owned".... if you've ever been a maintenance person, you already know why this statement is an unmitigated disaster.

"Paid according to abilities and needs"... problem is almost no one in this country understands the definition of "needs", and I'd argue with modern advertising that almost no one in the _world_ understands the definition of "needs" anymore.

Yeah, sorry, still gotta shoot down the whole 'communism' thing on a matter of practicality.


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## Kope (Jun 14, 2022)

Firuthi Dragovic said:


> Yeah... definitely don't start with Frank.
> 
> I'll give the first definition I can pull up of communism - "a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs."
> 
> ...


It is idealistic for a reason, but what I take from it is to advocate to help the working class as best as you can in whatever position you hold. It's an endpoint where no one has to worry about possessions and the like if that makes sense.


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## Frank Gulotta (Jun 14, 2022)

Smityyyy said:


> Aw man… and here I thought I was talking to a person who actually knew the definition and understood how the system functions. Oh well, just another person screaming because some pundits told them everything they dislike is communism. I can’t imagine feigning so much outrage at a system while not grasping what it is in the slightest.
> 
> Have a great day.


Just find it telling that you'd call ANYTHING "fear-mongering" WHILE fear-mongering about an ideology that's not been in power anywhere in the world (contrary to... apparently you favorite, genocidal ideology) for decades


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## Kope (Jun 14, 2022)

Frank Gulotta said:


> Just find it telling that you'd call ANYTHING "fear-mongering" WHILE fear-mongering about an ideology that's not been in power anywhere in the world (contrary to... apparently you favorite, genocidal ideology) for decades


Alright frank just chill no more talk of communism and more talk about how we can help people in real life please. I don't want this thread derailing into TOS territory


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## Smityyyy (Jun 14, 2022)

God people on this site are hilarious.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 14, 2022)

Firuthi Dragovic said:


> Yeah... definitely don't start with Frank.
> 
> I'll give the first definition I can pull up of communism - "a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs."
> 
> ...


I’m not a communist so my willingness to defend the ideology ends at simply clarifying that most of the people (like some interesting individuals in this thread) have no idea what it is at all.

Communism is something that takes many years to implement and would heavily rely on technology and automation of jobs. It would also rely on public ownership and deconstruction of conglomerates and power structures.

The theory is a little more complex than a simple google search can explain, and I don’t think this is the place for me to clarify some of your questions. Although, I too have my concerns on the practicality of this ideology. It takes a little more of an in-depth understanding to sort out some of the parts that jump out as puzzling. It certainly does not help that the language used is both old and not in layman’s terms.

But my main point, I suppose, is that there’s no communist regimes currently and authoritarian/police states are completely antithetical to the core ideology. All in all, you summed it up MUCH better than some certain people here.


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## Kope (Jun 14, 2022)

So voluntary soup kitchen and mutual aid will save the world right?


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## YAYBANANA (Jun 15, 2022)

Just wanted to say that it's not all doom and gloom. Coal is facing a decline and despite the efforts of corporate lobbyists, governments are going to eventually face the facts that renewables are simply cheaper as well (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/cos...to-renewables-has-plunged-transitionzero.html). There's also the fact that the rocketing fuel prices from the war on Ukraine have pushed countries to rethink their dependency on oil and speed up the deployment on renewables (https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03...g-discussion-about-energy-pricing-renewables/). The world is definitely making efforts to go greener, the only question is whether it's going fast enough.


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## Smityyyy (Jun 15, 2022)

YAYBANANA said:


> Just wanted to say that it's not all doom and gloom. Coal is facing a decline and despite the efforts of corporate lobbyists, governments are going to eventually face the facts that renewables are simply cheaper as well (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/cos...to-renewables-has-plunged-transitionzero.html). There's also the fact that the rocketing fuel prices from the war on Ukraine have pushed countries to rethink their dependency on oil and speed up the deployment on renewables (https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03...g-discussion-about-energy-pricing-renewables/). The world is definitely making efforts to go greener, the only question is whether it's going fast enough.


I think there’s a tendency to over-report negatives. There’s actually been a lot of really positive environmental news lately, contrary to what you’d expect.

Outrage sells better than cautious optimism. It’s so important not to be too doomer because there’s stuff we can do. For every negative news article a person reads, they should go and find a positive one too.


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## Mike Lobo (Jun 15, 2022)

I don't think too much about it, tbh. If the world does actually end it's not like there was anything I could do about it anyway. So might as well keep on keepin' on.


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## Fallowfox (Jun 16, 2022)

Mike Lobo said:


> I don't think too much about it, tbh. If the world does actually end it's not like there was anything I could do about it anyway. So might as well keep on keepin' on.


The world's not ending.

It does face challenges though, and we definitely can take actions that help address them.


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## Kope (Jun 16, 2022)

Fallowfox said:


> The world's not ending.
> 
> It does face challenges though, and we definitely can take actions that help address them.


Climate change, dangerous forever chemicals in our water that will affect us in unknowable ways, Fascism taking over and turning back human rights, wealth inequality, nuclear weapons being threatened, Russian invading Ukraine, slavery rates higher than ever, child labor that keeps costs low for consumers, suicide rates on the rise, and the most egregious of them all: I have to go to work today.  : (


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 16, 2022)

All those things like recycling and shit is pointless, we’re only prolonging the inevitable
Also, no matter how bad the world seems right now, we should all remember that Yellowstone could erupt at _*any*_ second……..


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## Kope (Jun 16, 2022)

Satsuki15 said:


> All those things like recycling and shit is pointless, we’re only prolonging the inevitable
> Also, no matter how bad the world seems right now, we should all remember that Yellowstone could erupt at _*any*_ second……..


Eh I’ve heard that was fake news


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 16, 2022)

Kope said:


> Eh I’ve heard that was fake news


It’s supposed to erupt once about every 600,000,000 years, and we’re overdue


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## Kope (Jun 16, 2022)

Satsuki15 said:


> It’s supposed to erupt once about every 600,000,000 years, and we’re overdue


As long as it’s with and painless I’m down for it


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## Mike Lobo (Jun 16, 2022)

Fallowfox said:


> The world's not ending.
> 
> It does face challenges though, and we definitely can take actions that help address them.


I guess the point of my post is that it's best to focus on what you can control. Worrying about things you can't to ma point of thinking the world might be ending, like Russia invading Ukraine, pandemics, or climate change (individuals can't solve this one unfortunately) for examples, isn't going to do anything. Do what you can, but understand that there are things out of our control. Just do the best you can. That's all anyone can do, really.

I don't actually think the world is ending lol. That wasn't the takeaway I intended there. My B if I came across that way.


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## Kope (Jun 16, 2022)

Mike Lobo said:


> I guess the point of my post is that it's best to focus on what you can control. Worrying about things you can't to ma point of thinking the world might be ending, like Russia invading Ukraine, pandemics, or climate change (individuals can't solve this one unfortunately) for examples, isn't going to do anything. Do what you can, but understand that there are things out of our control. Just do the best you can. That's all anyone can do, really.
> 
> I don't actually think the world is ending lol. That wasn't the takeaway I intended there. My B if I came across that way.


Sorry, but I’m mentally ill and addicted to Twitter so I’ll probably always worry about the world and not just my personal problems unfortunately ( I might use it as a distraction actually now that I think about it)


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## Smityyyy (Jun 16, 2022)

I always tend to concern myself (as much as I can in a healthy way) with the problems of my country and the communities in my country.

I’ve known what years of poverty feels like. I’ve known what discrimination as a minority feels like. I’ve known what lack of care for my people’s lives feels like. Even if I’m out of the bad situation, I’m still going to advocate because disadvantaged groups _need _people to care, to a degree.

I don’t mean this as an insult to those who don’t, obviously you know your life and what is a healthy boundary for you. However, it does depress me at times that people simply shrug and don’t give a shit. Especially because there are legitimate ways to make the world a better place for the poor and disadvantaged. It’s somewhat of a privilege to be able to check out of politics and current events — a privilege that many minorities and impoverished peoples simply do not have. That is a daily reality for many. If more people cared just a little, it could make a lot of impact. 

I notice in the current age, people seem to have less care and compassion for others. It’s a shame because humanity always does best when we work together. We have the tools to fix things but people are all too quick to set them aside and say it’s pointless. This attitude is why we don’t see change. Of course no single individual can change the world, but a lot of individuals together _can. _It starts small and it’s hard, but it’s worthwhile. Doomer mentality is super damaging and objectively incorrect. There’s still a lot that can be done. People just don’t like the idea that things can be done still _and _they’re choosing not to do them because it’s hard. 

For those who don’t care at all, although I can’t change your mind or criticize you — I urge you to try to think of those around you who _have _to care because lack of advocacy makes politics and world problems their reality. Of course we can’t control everyone everywhere but advocating for policy within your town, city, state/province, and country is within control. Especially when certain disadvantaged groups are asking for help. Every little bit helps even if it’s just spreading the word.


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## Khafra (Jun 16, 2022)

Kope said:


> Sorry, but I’m mentally ill and addicted to Twitter so I’ll probably always worry about the world and not just my personal problems unfortunately ( I might use it as a distraction actually now that I think about it)


I'd say work on that Twitter thing before tackling bigger problems


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## Parabellum3 (Jun 17, 2022)

My other hypothesis for this is that the reason you feel like the world is ending is because in reality, your own world is indeed ending.


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## Kope (Jun 17, 2022)

Parabellum3 said:


> My other hypothesis for this is that the reason you feel like the world is ending is because in reality, your own world is indeed ending


 are we in alternative universes?


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## Parabellum3 (Jun 17, 2022)

Kope said:


> are we in alternative universes?


Possibly, it does kinda feel like it.


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## Kope (Jun 17, 2022)

Parabellum3 said:


> Possibly, it does kinda feel like it.


How so?


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## Parabellum3 (Jun 17, 2022)

Kope said:


> How so?


An example is that you can’t prove to me that you exist outside my physical realm.


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## Kope (Jun 17, 2022)

Parabellum3 said:


> An example is that you can’t prove to me that you exist outside my physical realm.


I meant why do you feel like the world you live in is not falling apart at the seams?


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## Borophagus Metropolis (Jun 17, 2022)

I’m hung over. The world is shit.


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 17, 2022)

Borophagus Metropolis said:


> I’m hung over. The world is shit.


You ever felt that way after being high? It’s different, dude.


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## HistoricalyIncorrect (Jun 17, 2022)

It is ending every 100-120 years, history already proved it. We will go through torment so our kids may have it easy, they will have it so easy that their kids will turn into spoiled brats which in return will create crisis for their kids which will have to go through torment.

Plagues, wars, personality cults, revolts and uprisings. You know what they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

It is only matter of time until something snaps. Then hard reset and we start again.

Such is our blasted fate i am afraid.


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 17, 2022)

HistoricalyIncorrect said:


> It is ending every 100-120 years, history already proved it. We will go through torment so our kids may have it easy, they will have it so easy that their kids will turn into spoiled brats which in return will create crisis for their kids which will have to go through torment.
> 
> Plagues, wars, personality cults, revolts and uprisings. You know what they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
> 
> ...


Once again, proving my theory that shit like recycling is only prolonging the inevitable 
True peace will never be achieved, the closest we have come to it are lies between dreams


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## ben909 (Jun 17, 2022)

"build the deathstar, blow it up, wait for gravity to pull it back together and try again"-evil mushroom


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 17, 2022)

1720s: has a plague
1820s: has a plague
1920s: has another plague
2020s: you could make a religion out of this


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## ben909 (Jun 17, 2022)

Satsuki15 said:


> 1720s: has a plague
> 1820s: has a plague
> 1920s: has another plague
> 2020s: you could make a religion out of this


... but 2021 had vaccines but people decided to let 2022 have the plage


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## Sodasats20 (Jun 17, 2022)

Hmmm…


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## Kope (Jun 17, 2022)

Satsuki15 said:


> 1720s: has a plague
> 1820s: has a plague
> 1920s: has another plague
> 2020s: you could make a religion out of this


Hmm I guess the game was rigged from the start *gets shot by a man in a checkered suit in the desert*


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## ben909 (Jun 17, 2022)

the mushrooms scream and try to find medkits


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## Parabellum3 (Jun 17, 2022)

Kope said:


> I meant why do you feel like the world you live in is not falling apart at the seams?


I never said that my world ain’t falling apart either. I feel like it is as well, which is why we tend to focus more on the negative aspects of life as a way to put the blame on external problems, problems that may not actually contribute to our failings.


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## Baron Tredegar (Jun 17, 2022)




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## Borophagus Metropolis (Jun 17, 2022)

Satsuki15 said:


> You ever felt that way after being high? It’s different, dude.



No. Only alcohol gives me hangovers.


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## Fallowfox (Jun 19, 2022)

HistoricalyIncorrect said:


> It is ending every 100-120 years, history already proved it. We will go through torment so our kids may have it easy, they will have it so easy that their kids will turn into spoiled brats which in return will create crisis for their kids which will have to go through torment.
> 
> Plagues, wars, personality cults, revolts and uprisings. You know what they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
> 
> ...



I think this cyclic view of history is trite- and I am not sure there evidence it is true?

'Malthusianism' is probably a better explanation for cyclic  oscillations in population well being in western Europe before the industrial revolution.

Evidence shows that western Europeans enjoyed better health following disruptive events in their history, such as the collapse of Rome, or after the Black Death in the 1340's.
Was this better health because 'hard times' caused by social disintegration forged a brave new generation that was simply better than the spoiled generations that came before?Probably not. The peasants tilling the land in England in the 1340's can hardly be said to have had a lavish lazy life style.
It was almost certainly because significant declines in population reduced competition for food, and temporarily prevented disease from spreading effectively.
Malthusian population crashes often follow large social upheaval such as conquest and war, because these events help diseases to spread. Perhaps this creates the illusion that the hardship of war is _itself_ the cause of the better health generations afterwards tend to enjoy- but the opposite is probably true. Children who grow up in hardship are _more _likely to develop both physical and mental health problems as adults, not less.

Since the 20th century human health and economic growth has tended to disobey Malthusian cycles because of science, mechanisation, and social changes. People no longer have large numbers of children in the hope that one or two survive smallpox, because modern science _destroyed smallpox_.

With continued scientific development and problem solving, we can avoid a future of Malthusian population crashes.



Satsuki15 said:


> Once again, proving my theory that shit like recycling is only prolonging the inevitable
> True peace will never be achieved, the closest we have come to it are lies between dreams



We should recycle what we can because nobody likes landfills full of rubbish. 
I am sure Historicallyincorrect did not seek to convince you that we should accept more litter and trash because the world is doomed.


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## Kope (Jun 19, 2022)

Fallowfox said:


> I think this cyclic view of history is trite- and I am not sure there evidence it is true?
> 
> 'Malthusianism' is probably a better explanation for cyclic  oscillations in population well being in western Europe before the industrial revolution.
> 
> ...


Well shit you're very knowledgeable for a fox :0


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## Fallowfox (Jun 19, 2022)

Kope said:


> Well shit you're very knowledgeable for a fox :0



This is an insight I got from
@KimberVaile because he discussed this question with me and directed me towards the right literature to read about it.


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