# Society's General Depressive Worldview



## Classist. (Oct 24, 2019)

It seems to me like American society right now has a really negative view of the future. Personally speaking most people I ask don't think that the future will be better than the present, and many think it will be much worse. I've encountered this across nearly the entire political spectrum and it seems the same across different classes, ethnicities, and religions too. Do you think that this pessimistic outlook is realistic? Why should things get better or worse (in your opinion)? Is it different where you live?



Spoiler: Personal opinion



Personally I tend to be unjustifiably optimistic and think that things generally work out for the best. Terrible things happen sure, but so do beautiful and wonderful things. I think that focusing to much on the bad is unhealthy for a culture and can lead to paralysis and paranoia, just like how focusing too much on the good (as I tend to) can lead to blind confidence and arrogance. I hope that things become more balanced as time goes on and that worldviews begin to brighten up.


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## DARKB1KE (Oct 24, 2019)

The collapse is coming.  Take the red pill and you'll see the depressing world we live in.  With the rise of feminism, the family unit is destroyed and people rely on state to provide for them.  We haven't moved past the industrial revolution, schooling systems are outdated and training people simply for slavery and corporate work.  Corporations are running the show now, it's nearly impossible to start your own business.  The 1% get richer while the poor get poorer.  I doubt there will ever be a revolution of our time to make shit change... politicians are all corrupt.  
Have fun...


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 24, 2019)

DARKB1KE said:


> The collapse is coming.  Take the red pill and you'll see the depressing world we live in.  With the rise of feminism, the family unit is destroyed and people rely on state to provide for them.  We haven't moved past the industrial revolution, schooling systems are outdated and training people simply for slavery and corporate work.  Corporations are running the show now, it's nearly impossible to start your own business.  The 1% get richer while the poor get poorer.  I doubt there will ever be a revolution of our time to make shit change... politicians are all corrupt.
> Have fun...


Eventually, the people get poor enough that they decide to make the rich give them what they want.
The funny thing is that for a "redpill" position, the situation you describe is essentially the end of a Marxian historical cycle.


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## DARKB1KE (Oct 24, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> Eventually, the people get poor enough that they decide to make the rich give them what they want.


How?  Violence?


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## Classist. (Oct 24, 2019)

DARKB1KE said:


> How?  Violence?


Possibly, sometimes you just get boring stuff like land or tax reform too. Occasionally someone will see the entire system as no longer functional and write a whole new set of laws like the Napoleonic or Justinian codes, etc.


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## L50LasPak (Oct 24, 2019)

I agree that what we're experiencing now is more or less the fallout of both the Industrial Revolution and how it interacts with the Information Age. Early education is still largely based on producing factory workers, while formal education is based on creating office drones. At no point in the course of this system is a human being really prepared for the arbitrary and restrictive nature of working for a modern corporate entity, nor are they adequately prepared to seek a government job and deal with the reams of red tape and bureaucracy.

I think technology has outpaced the average person's will to live. Everyone would much rather be at home playing videogames or on their phone constantly using Facebook or Twitter. This isn't the fault of that technology, its the end result of how delusional and short-sighted the people in power are. Shareholders, investors and company executives demand ever-increasing returns and ever-higher successes while at the same time refusing to listen to any criticism of the system they've sunk their money into.

Meanwhile the people on the ground reap none of these benefits. Those same people on the ground can then get on their phones and view the conditions in third world countries where life is even shittier and thus feel even more like the whole thing is pointless. Leaders act totally without responsibility and engage in actions that are morally dubious at best and outright villainous at worst. Some people snap completely and flee to ideas like Socialism or Neo-Communism because of their promises of a better world, but for the people who actually look into that kind of thing they find that promise just as empty.

I don't think there's a collapse coming, per se. I do however think society will shortly experience a huge schism that will sharply divide people along ideological lines. I think we'll see a lot more suicides and random acts of violent crime, at lot more chaos and a lot worse behavior on the part of our leaders as they struggle more and more with the reality of the situation. When our current model of economics becomes unsustainable due to mass automation, the leaders and fat cats will start to pick each other off one by one. When their numbers dwindled far enough, they're either going to have to implement reforms of some kind or they're going to double-down and withdraw from society completely.

Its a pretty zero-sum game. Nobody's going to win in the long run. I think we've reached the limits of human cognitive capacity and there appears to be no way of extending that capacity any further. Eventually people's minds just melt from the overload, which is why our leaders seem to be increasingly unhinged and why a lot of otherwise intelligent people are becoming depressed or killing themselves.


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## Classist. (Oct 24, 2019)

L50LasPak said:


> I think technology has outpaced the average person's will to live. Everyone would much rather be at home playing videogames or on their phone constantly using Facebook or Twitter.





L50LasPak said:


> I think we've reached the limits of human cognitive capacity and there appears to be no way of extending that capacity any further.


Although things like the smart phone and the internet have become permanent fixtures of many peoples lives, I think that over time people may move away from these more extreme sorts of lifestyles naturally. As kids who grew up with a phone instead of real parental affection start to mature I could see a pretty powerful push back forming, and I even could see something like the rebirth of hippie communes or perhaps a resurrection of something akin to monastic life. Also, the urbanization the world is experiencing is declining in much of the west, and its likely that the future will be a bit more rural and perhaps less technologically oriented, for good or ill.
TLDR: I think tech is here to stay but I think that the current unhealthy fetisization of it will probably either be dramatically toned down or rejected entirely.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 24, 2019)

L50LasPak said:


> I agree that what we're experiencing now is more or less the fallout of both the Industrial Revolution and how it interacts with the Information Age. Early education is still largely based on producing factory workers, while formal education is based on creating office drones. At no point in the course of this system is a human being really prepared for the arbitrary and restrictive nature of working for a modern corporate entity, nor are they adequately prepared to seek a government job and deal with the reams of red tape and bureaucracy.
> 
> I think technology has outpaced the average person's will to live. Everyone would much rather be at home playing videogames or on their phone constantly using Facebook or Twitter. This isn't the fault of that technology, its the end result of how delusional and short-sighted the people in power are. Shareholders, investors and company executives demand ever-increasing returns and ever-higher successes while at the same time refusing to listen to any criticism of the system they've sunk their money into.
> 
> ...


And how convenient that it is now, at this age and not any further or sooner, that the limit of the human mind has been reached.
This same argument was made about the television, the radio, and the printing press; they defy the natural order, they force the human brain to stretch beyond its natural limits.  Remember what is written upon the walls at Khufu:
"We are living in the final age.  The youth have become evil and violent.  They no longer honor the priests or their elders, and instead spend their time playing _senet _and drinking.  Soon Man shall be destroyed."


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## L50LasPak (Oct 24, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> And how convenient that it is now, at this age and not any further or sooner, that the limit of the human mind has been reached.
> This same argument was made about the television, the radio, and the printing press; they defy the natural order, they force the human brain to stretch beyond its natural limits.  Remember what is written upon the walls at Khufu:
> "We are living in the final age.  The youth have become evil and violent.  They no longer honor the priests or their elders, and instead spend their time playing _senet _and drinking.  Soon Man shall be destroyed."



It seems to be the average leader can barely comprehend the actual complexities of the world let alone the average person. Its not a question of the evils of technology, but of the hardwired biological limits of the human brain. I see it as something akin to dementia. And consistently, a person will often choose to be around technology rather than other people for the simple reason that we're a fundamentally unpleasant and erratic species to deal with.


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## Billy "the Bot" Bobson (Oct 24, 2019)

Depression is en vogue. Give it 5-10 years and the depressives will move on. Doomsaying has always existed and will always exist so long as Steins Law holds true and death exists.


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## Tomboy Respecter (Oct 24, 2019)

Billy "the Bot" Bobson said:


> Depression is en vogue. Give it 5-10 years and the depressives will move on. Doomsaying has always existed and will always exist so long as Steins Law holds true and death exists.


IDK, this isn't like the ADHD or celiac disease craze, where you can tell the people that are talking to you about it are just doing it as sort of a fad thing. This is a real malaise that I see in society in general. My opinion is that as society becomes less and less religious, we lose that sense of purpose and community that people always had over the thousands of years humans have always attached to religion and rites of a sort. Also I think the fact that a lost of marraiges are ending in divorce, the destabilization of the nuclear family and fatherless houses are becoming more common place has a lot to do with the general societal problems we see today.


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 24, 2019)

DARKB1KE said:


> The collapse is coming.  Take the red pill and you'll see the depressing world we live in.  With the rise of feminism, the family unit is destroyed and people rely on state to provide for them.  We haven't moved past the industrial revolution, schooling systems are outdated and training people simply for slavery and corporate work.  Corporations are running the show now, it's nearly impossible to start your own business.  The 1% get richer while the poor get poorer.  I doubt there will ever be a revolution of our time to make shit change... politicians are all corrupt.
> Have fun...


Shut up, child.


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## Billy "the Bot" Bobson (Oct 24, 2019)

Coh said:


> IDK, this isn't like the ADHD or celiac disease craze, where you can tell the people that are talking to you about it are just doing it as sort of a fad thing. This is a real malaise that I see in society in general. My opinion is that as society becomes less and less religious, we lose that sense of purpose and community that people always had over the thousands of years humans have always attached to religion and rites of a sort. Also I think the fact that a lost of marraiges are ending in divorce, the destabilization of the nuclear family and fatherless houses are becoming more common place has a lot to do with the general societal problems we see today.


What we are experiencing is the destruction of the American Dream and the popularization of victimhood. Life has always been incredibly miserable; look at Boomer Humor and how much of it is incredibly cynical about the things that are meant to give you meaning in life. Asking "Why?" is nothing new. The rest of the world has always been crushingly cynical and pessimistic compared to the American Enthusiasm. We've had a gradual realization, its not genuine depression. It's so popular now because it is just part of the adjustment process for most of us. Media sees that its en vogue to talk about this, so they ride and perpetuate it to make money and fame. Like a mirror reflecting light into another mirror. 

In other words, its popular because every other topic has been exhausted and it's now cool to be depressed (like it was to be an outsider, a grunge head, and a nu waver in different cliques at different times) this too will likely pass with little to no change.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 24, 2019)

L50LasPak said:


> It seems to be the average leader can barely comprehend the actual complexities of the world let alone the average person. Its not a question of the evils of technology, but of the hardwired biological limits of the human brain. I see it as something akin to dementia. And consistently, a person will often choose to be around technology rather than other people for the simple reason that we're a fundamentally unpleasant and erratic species to deal with.


The error here is thinking that the complexity of the world has grown.  In my eyes, the quality of leaders has gone down.
Personally, I think that we are entering a new era; a dissolution of the centralized world of the Industrial era and a return to the decentralized, connected-village model of the old days.  But this dissolution, in my eyes, is not apocalyptic, but a promise of a future where people can live beside one another without the prison of enforced hierarchy.  Will the transition be smooth?  Most likely not; but the transition from empire to republic wasn't smooth, either.



DARKB1KE said:


> How?  Violence?


If no other option presents itself.  When the peasants did not get bread, they revolted until they did.


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## Shadfan666xxx000 (Oct 24, 2019)

There's no reason overly invest in society anymore. Our wages mean less and less by the year, our white collar skillset dwindles only ever further yet the blue collar has no prestige and is prohibitive at times to get into. Besides this grim economic outlook, our leaders in the corporate and government world are infinitely shallow, religion is becoming a glorified cash cow at best, the law bends over backwards for the elite and academia is turgid and infested with ideologues and on top of all this shit, people barely have friends, often go loveless and have families which are often unstable at best. To be someone who believes in something earnestly in this world above yourself (besides perhaps the divine) is to be a fool and a naked one at that because everyone knows the game is up.


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 24, 2019)

Shadfan666xxx000 said:


> people barely have friends, often go loveless and have families which are often unstable at best.


I think that's just Shadman fans.


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## Clipper (Oct 24, 2019)

This is gonna sound like boomer rhetoric, and it probably is. But personally I think its cause people spend too much time on the internet seeing all the negative shit of the world, life hasn't gotten particularly worse, and the world won't end in 5 years because of climate change. Its the same problem that the news has with only broadcasting the worst the world has to offer.


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## Billy "the Bot" Bobson (Oct 24, 2019)

Shadfan666xxx000 said:


> people barely have friends


Between hyperfocused hobbies, social retardation, and general large-scale alienation, who the fuck would want to make friends in America these days? I'd rather be blissfully ignorant and believe I'm unique and alone than to be angrily aware of how mediocre and common I am.


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## Shadfan666xxx000 (Oct 24, 2019)

Libtard Baby said:


> I think that's just Shadman fans.


We and the zonelings are one of the only true brotherhood's left. I coped only in pity for you.


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 24, 2019)

Shadfan666xxx000 said:


> We and the zonelings are one of the only true brotherhood's left. I coped only in pity for you.


You drink gamer girl piss.


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## L50LasPak (Oct 24, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> The error here is thinking that the complexity of the world has grown.  In my eyes, the quality of leaders has gone down.



While hypothetically the complexity of the world has not grown (I disagree, more technology and more fields of study means more to keep track of, but that's another arguement) the amount of information the average human needs or feels the need to assimilate has undeniably grown. So even if human relations are exactly the same as they were when we were stone-age cavemen, access to such a massive amount of information definitely increases the complexity of day to day life for the average person. I think its pretty obvious that these conditions would have a negative effect on human psychology. Our brains have limits the same way any other organ in our bodies does.


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## DecimatedFerret (Oct 24, 2019)

I'm pretty sure people are always complaining about how everything's going to shit the bed, seems normal to me. Something really bad that really shakes things up for everybody is bound to happen sooner or later, though.


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## Shadfan666xxx000 (Oct 24, 2019)

Libtard Baby said:


> You drink gamer girl piss.


It's only bad if you pay for it.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 24, 2019)

L50LasPak said:


> While hypothetically the complexity of the world has not grown (I disagree, more technology and more fields of study means more to keep track of, but that's another arguement) the amount of information the average human needs or feels the need to assimilate has undeniably grown. So even if human relations are exactly the same as they were when we were stone-age cavemen, access to such a massive amount of information definitely increases the complexity of day to day life for the average person. I think its pretty obvious that these conditions would have a negative effect on human psychology. Our brains have limits the same way any other organ in our bodies does.


A false comparison.  The brain is constantly growing and changing throughout our lives, forming new neural pathways and trimming old ones.  Even as this activity declines comparatively as we age, it still makes the brain far more durable and plastic than any other organ.  I do not think we understand enough about the brain to be making grand statements about the brain's capacities beyond self-evident facts like "the human brain cannot retain all information in the universe with perfect accuracy".
Even if I accepted your premise, you haven't shown the hows and whys.  What do you think is the mechanism for this limit?  Why is it manifesting as depression and not _petit mal_ seizures or some other phenomena that is known to emerge when areas of the brain are overstimulated?  
Without a solid grounding, your statement is just more "we are living in the final age", which, as I've pointed out earlier, is an idea seen in human thought virtually since the concept of age and an eschaton emerged.


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## Takodachi (Oct 24, 2019)

You cant feel sad if there is absolutely anything of importance to lose in your life.
[blackmanthinking.png]


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## L50LasPak (Oct 25, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> Even if I accepted your premise, you haven't shown the hows and whys.  What do you think is the mechanism for this limit?  Why is it manifesting as depression and not _petit mal_ seizures or some other phenomena that is known to emerge when areas of the brain are overstimulated?



Its a pretty common criticism of modern cluture that people expect a brain and a computer to act simlarly when they have fundamentally different mechanics in practice. There are some people out there who's brains seem to act like computers; they are generally the higher-up executives and policy makers who assume the rest of the human population can just be bent over backwards like they are. Besides, you ask why its manifesting as depression and not seizures or other issues? Perhaps it is manifesting as those issues, and depression is merely the most common symptom. Its been noted that schizophrenia occurs more often in large cities than in rural locations, for instance.



Senior Lexmechanic said:


> Without a solid grounding, your statement is just more "we are living in the final age", which, as I've pointed out earlier, is an idea seen in human thought virtually since the concept of age and an eschaton emerged.



And your statement effectively boils down to "There has never been a final age, so therefore there never will be a final age." If I was able to produce proof of a final age, neither of us would logically be present to debate it.

However, I don't think this neccesarily has to be the final age. If we would utilize our technology properly to fix the gaps and issues that human memory and human cognition has had since the beginning, then we could move forward. I don't believe enough interest currently exists in doing so, and i find it unlikely that such interest ever will. Arguements like the one above are what makes me believe people will not take issues like this seriously and will generally dismiss any negativity out of hand, thus being the ultimate cause of why we're fucked in the first place.


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## Classist. (Oct 25, 2019)

Shadfan666xxx000 said:


> To be someone who believes in something earnestly in this world above yourself (besides perhaps the divine) is to be a fool and a naked one at that because everyone knows the game is up.


I don't understand this. Even if we assume that this world is hellish and terrible in nearly every way (and I don't think it is) that wouldn't preclude the possibility of there being other ways of existing or different realms of experience. I'm not religious myself, but I fail to understand how the existence of unpleasantness would prevent spiritual or mental growth. If anything, discomfort seems to facilitate religious experience, for example Jesus on the cross or Buddha under his tree. Even from a biological level, its quite clear that there are different levels of consciousness, an ant isn't as conscious as a mouse which isn't as conscious as a human. I don't see why we can't continue to evolve to be better in this or any other respect.


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## ToroidalBoat (Oct 25, 2019)

9/11 seemed to be a definitive turning point, after which everything seemed to decay into "Current Year."

I think Americans were more optimistic before 9/11.


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## Classist. (Oct 25, 2019)

ToroidalBoat said:


> After 9/11, it seemed things started to get worse. It was a turning point.
> 
> 
> Americans were more optimistic before then, I think.


I would say that the biggest turning point was the fall of the USSR. 9/11 was just the kick in the ass that really nailed in the idea that the world was a very different place after the cold war.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 25, 2019)

L50LasPak said:


> Its a pretty common criticism of modern cluture that people expect a brain and a computer to act simlarly when they have fundamentally different mechanics in practice. There are some people out there who's brains seem to act like computers; they are generally the higher-up executives and policy makers who assume the rest of the human population can just be bent over backwards like they are. Besides, you ask why its manifesting as depression and not seizures or other issues? Perhaps it is manifesting as those issues, and depression is merely the most common symptom. Its been noted that schizophrenia occurs more often in large cities than in rural locations, for instance.


Correlation is not causation.  I have heard arguments that the reason mental illness occurs in cities is because people were never supposed to interact with more than 150 people in their life.




> And your statement effectively boils down to "There has never been a final age, so therefore there never will be a final age." If I was able to produce proof of a final age, neither of us would logically be present to debate it.


I am saying that when 500 men proclaim the end of time for similar reasons, and 499 of them have been wrong, it gives no reason to expect the 500th to be right.



> However, I don't think this necessarily has to be the final age. If we would utilize our technology properly to fix the gaps and issues that human memory and human cognition has had since the beginning, then we could move forward. I don't believe enough interest currently exists in doing so, and i find it unlikely that such interest ever will. Arguements like the one above are what makes me believe people will not take issues like this seriously and will generally dismiss any negativity out of hand, thus being the ultimate cause of why we're fucked in the first place.


If you're talking about the use of in vitro nootropics and soft eugenics to improve memory ability; I think that is a matter of inevitable forces; as the methods cheapen, people will naturally be driven to improving the health of their children.


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## Shadfan666xxx000 (Oct 25, 2019)

Classist. said:


> I don't understand this. Even if we assume that this world is hellish and terrible in nearly every way (and I don't think it is) that wouldn't preclude the possibility of there being other ways of existing or different realms of experience. I'm not religious myself, but I fail to understand how the existence of unpleasantness would prevent spiritual or mental growth. If anything, discomfort seems to facilitate religious experience, for example Jesus on the cross or Buddha under his tree. Even from a biological level, its quite clear that there are different levels of consciousness, an ant isn't as conscious as a mouse which isn't as conscious as a human. I don't see why we can't continue to evolve to be better in this or any other respect.


What I have in mind isn't necessarily the individualists who strive for self betterment or that communal type who just want to help in their small way. I speak of the wide eyed reformer who will swear up and down that the world will become better if we institute a new law or those people who will preach up and down about the sanctity of some vague moral belief in efficiency, tolerance or discipline because of some belief in being "part of something bigger". Such people become either strict enforcers of some order we all know has bullshit under its rug or they conform like nothing else and fold to nothing like the sheepdog and sheep metaphor.


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## L50LasPak (Oct 25, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> Correlation is not causation.  I have heard arguments that the reason mental illness occurs in cities is because people were never supposed to interact with more than 150 people in their life.



I still see no reason to doubt that overloading a person with information leads to problems. Or at least leads to problems in the average person. Like I said, there are some out there who can handle it just fine. I don't believe this applies to the majority of people.



Senior Lexmechanic said:


> I am saying that when 500 men proclaim the end of time for similar reasons, and 499 of them have been wrong, it gives no reason to expect the 500th to be right.



I'm not reading from a prophecy, I'm pointing out that we're in over our heads and potentially too stupid to solve the problem. You might as well argue that human ineptitude can do no lasting damage with that way of thinking.



Senior Lexmechanic said:


> If you're talking about the use of in vitro nootropics and soft eugenics to improve memory ability; I think that is a matter of inevitable forces; as the methods cheapen, people will naturally be driven to improving the health of their children.



There have been various solutions used and proposed over the years. Right now the primary method is to just drug people so they can focus better, which in my opinion is a stopgap. Other things like genetic modification, neural regeneration and computer-brain interfaces remain in the realm of science fiction, but I don't believe we will make it that far without significant support from the population. If we never acknowledge that something is wrong, then nobody will ever identify it or bother with working towards a solution.


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## Classist. (Oct 25, 2019)

Shadfan666xxx000 said:


> What I have in mind isn't necessarily the individualists who strive for self betterment or that communal type who just want to help in their small way. I speak of the wide eyed reformer who will swear up and down that the world will become better if we institute a new law or those people who will preach up and down about the sanctity of some vague moral belief in efficiency, tolerance or discipline because of some belief in being "part of something bigger". Such people become either strict enforcers of some order we all know has bullshit under its rug or they conform like nothing else and fold to nothing like the sheepdog and sheep metaphor.


I'm not sure if I totally understood, so I'll try my best. Those sorts of people totally exist and are quite common.  I think that most of them are either insecure, naturally socially cohesive, afraid of standing out of the crowd, or some combination of these. I don't think that that they're evil or even wrong it's just that they're conformists. The vast majority of people will do whatever is the popular and 'moral' thing even if those morals flip very fast (Wiemar Germany's transformation into the Third Reich is a textbook example of this). There are several ways to react to this I think. Off the top of my head: You could just go along with the show and have fun with it, see things like you're an actor on a grand stage with your life as a performance. You could live on your own, and to whatever level you realistically can eschew wider society in the pursuit of  self autonomy. Or you could try and build your own system, whether its a religion or a state or even a friend group really doesn't matter, and try something totally new to see how it works out. There are all sorts of other options, what I'm trying to say is that this world we live in has a breathtaking number of ways for people like you or me or practically anyone else to avoid, mitigate, or at least control these negative aspects of society and I don't see how their existence is necessarily all that bad.


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## TV's Adam West (Oct 25, 2019)

DARKB1KE said:


> The collapse is coming.  Take the red pill and you'll see the depressing world we live in.  With the rise of feminism, the family unit is destroyed and people rely on state to provide for them.  We haven't moved past the industrial revolution, schooling systems are outdated and training people simply for slavery and corporate work.  Corporations are running the show now, it's nearly impossible to start your own business.  The 1% get richer while the poor get poorer.  I doubt there will ever be a revolution of our time to make shit change... politicians are all corrupt.
> Have fun...


I remember my first time on /pol/


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## ToroidalBoat (Oct 25, 2019)

I posted this (rather pesssmistic) shitpost awhile back:



ToroidalBoat said:


> What if Current Year never ends?
> 
> Imagine that world in 3020:
> 
> ...


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## Captain Chromosome (Oct 25, 2019)

Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" says it pretty well. Quality of life and societal cohesion drops as a nation/city/town becomes more multicultural.
Capeshit obsessivism, excessive thottery, destruction of the sanctity of marriage, resurgence of sexual deviancy being pushed in the mainstream. Hedonism is manageable in a bottom text society, but only if it isn't the reigning mentality. 
On a larger scale, why would anyone want to bring children into the world when they'll become a minority in their own nation? Might as well live for pleasure and tell at people on the Internet.


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## Whelp_Bai (Oct 25, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> The error here is thinking that the complexity of the world has grown.  In my eyes, the quality of leaders has gone down.
> Personally, I think that we are entering a new era; a dissolution of the centralized world of the Industrial era and a return to the decentralized, connected-village model of the old days.  But this dissolution, in my eyes, is not apocalyptic, but a promise of a future where people can live beside one another without the prison of enforced hierarchy.  Will the transition be smooth?  Most likely not; but the transition from empire to republic wasn't smooth, either.
> 
> 
> If no other option presents itself.  When the peasants did not get bread, they revolted until they did.


Ok but the average poor american is not a starving peasant. The lower and working classes have luxuries an Ottoman sultan would envy. Most hardships the poor face now is reletively new. Student loans, gigantic medical bills etc. I dont know if people are willing to bring out the guillotines over them.


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## Marco Fucko (Oct 25, 2019)

I agree that society has lost its way. We need some kind of external threat to unify the US. Something far off, something brown.


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## Webby's Boyfriend (Oct 25, 2019)

ToroidalBoat said:


> I posted this (rather pesssmistic) shitpost awhile back:


People already thought their current cultural era would never end in the 1940s (WW2 propaganda), 60s (counter culture, hippies), 80s (science fiction flicks) and 2000s (politispergs on the internet) and see where we are now.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 25, 2019)

Whelp_Bai said:


> Ok but the average poor american is not a starving peasant. The lower and working classes have luxuries an Ottoman sultan would envy. Most hardships the poor face now is reletively new. Student loans, gigantic medical bills etc. I dont know if people are willing to bring out the guillotines over them.


They will once the chains of debt-slavery around their wrists begin to chafe.


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## ToroidalBoat (Oct 25, 2019)

Webby's Boyfriend said:


> see where we are now


That's why it wasn't serious: it assumed society would somehow magically get culturally frozen in time, which never happens. Even in the "Dark Ages," there was societal change over time.


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 25, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> They will once the chains of debt-slavery around their wrists begin to chafe.


If Americans revolt because of debt, this place will become a third-world country.


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## Give Her The D (Oct 25, 2019)

A lot of it is shit in the West. The East couldn't give a shit about what we do, since they know idpol is bullshit. 

That's all the depressive ideology is, it's people being tired of the identity politics the mainstream is trying to feed us. They want to do something and not say that they're more special because they're gay/trans/Jewish/Muslim/disabled whatever, labels really don't matter.


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## Shmidty Werbenmanjenson (Oct 25, 2019)

Libtard Baby said:


> If Americans revolt because of debt, this place will become a third-world country.



Why is everything this person says low tier bait and shitty insults? Every post in their history. Even this thread, over multiple days. What's their life like? It's a big thinker.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Oct 25, 2019)

Shmidty Werbenmanjenson said:


> Why is everything this person says low tier bait and shitty insults? Every post in their history. Even this thread, over multiple days. What's their life like? It's a big thinker.


They're a shitposter, my dude.


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## Y2K Baby (Oct 25, 2019)

Shmidty Werbenmanjenson said:


> Why is everything this person says low tier bait and shitty insults? Every post in their history. Even this thread, over multiple days. What's their life like? It's a big thinker.


Who the fuck are you


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## Maggots on a Train v2 (Oct 26, 2019)

The mid-century hype that came after WW2 finally fizzled out completely. The economic prosperity that caused it is long gone. People used to think that increased technology would lead to a marked improvement in everybody's life, but it only got us obnoxious gimmicks.


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## DARKB1KE (Oct 26, 2019)

Libtard Baby said:


> Shut up, child.


Thanks 


Ryotaro Dojima said:


> I remember my first time on /pol/


I don't know what POL is.


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## Classist. (Oct 26, 2019)

DARKB1KE said:


> I don't know what POL is.


Its A&H but even more homosexual


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## Gentle George (Oct 28, 2019)

in the age of nuclear weapons, severe economic inequality, hostile political tensions, climate change, and social isolation, it's hard for a lot of people to stay optimistic when they feel their their basic physical and emotional needs are a hairs width away from being taken away and leaving them stranded. i understand why everyone is so upset all the time but it's still socially detrimental and creates a positive feedback loop of anxiety and despair.


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## Dr. Henry Armitage (Nov 1, 2019)

I personally think a lot of the actual depression we see comes from the unrealistic things we were promised growing up. As a kid I was bright cheery and optimistic. I was promised by my parents and other adults if I went to college and was a generally good person I'd have no trouble finding a great job, a wife who loves me, and loads of friends, and life would be great. Turns out all that is a lie. in fact most of what I was told growing up was a lie. I wasn't prepared for the harsh realities of life and being an adult.  The older I get the more depressed and nihilistic I become. Now I don't know for sure but based on my experiences and the experiences of my friends this seems like a common problem.


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## Manwithn0n0men (Nov 1, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> Eventually, the people get poor enough that they decide to make the rich give them what they want.
> The funny thing is that for a "redpill" position, the situation you describe is essentially the end of a Marxian historical cycle.


And its ultimately A-Historical. If we look at broad metrics from the beginning of recorded history things keep getting better.

But if we look at the dawn of the Hellenic golden age we keep feeling decline and everything getting worse


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## Whelp_Bai (Nov 1, 2019)

Manwithn0n0men said:


> And its ultimately A-Historical. If we look at broad metrics from the beginning of recorded history things keep getting better.
> 
> But if we look at the dawn of the Hellenic golden age we keep feeling decline and everything getting worse


Rome fell cause Germanic barbarians bred like rabbits and Rome was soft and content...whats gonna fell America? We dont have enemies skirmishing on our borders


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## Syaoran Li (Nov 1, 2019)

ToroidalBoat said:


> 9/11 seemed to be a definitive turning point, after which everything seemed to decay into "Current Year."
> 
> I think Americans were more optimistic before 9/11.



I think it was one of several major turning points. A "beginning of the end" event, with the Great Recession and the rapid rise and fall of Occupy Wall Street being the other major steps that led to Current Year.



Classist. said:


> I would say that the biggest turning point was the fall of the USSR. 9/11 was just the kick in the ass that really nailed in the idea that the world was a very different place after the cold war.



Possibly, but I think the Soviet Union's demise was more of a false hope than the actual turning point.

The 1990's seemed to be a real "Calm Before The Storm" era in America where people genuinely thought things were going to be smooth sailing from here on out.

Columbine and the resulting media circus was probably the earliest "warning sign" that things weren't as easily solved as it appeared and I'd factor the paranoia and wild fears over Y2K around the same time to be another warning sign, but by January 2000, it turned out that Y2K was a false alarm and Columbine was fading from memory.

Then 9/11 happened and gave us all a nasty wake-up call. I'd say 9/11 and the subsequent War On Terror and Patriot Act were the first major turning points that began the transition to the culture of "Current Year" and the Great Recession of the late 2000's alongside the Occupy protests in 2011-2012 were the turning points that completed that transition.

Black Lives Matter and GamerGate were simply the dinging noises that told us that the woke malaise Current Year was ready and waiting for us on the table.

"Current Year" is basically the aftermath of Bush's blunders (and Obama's continuation of them under a new veneer) and I think the woke malaise of Current Year will be dead by the mid-2020's, replaced by a new cultural zeitgeist.

I have no idea what the next cultural zeitgeist will be in the 2020's and 2030's, but nothing lasts forever. 

I have a few thoughts on what the next dominant cultural zeitgeist will be, but I don't want to make any real educated guesses until the 2020 Election is over and done with.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Nov 2, 2019)

Whelp_Bai said:


> *Rome fell cause Germanic barbarians bred like rabbits and Rome was soft and content*...whats gonna fell America? We dont have enemies skirmishing on our borders


This is an immensely simplistic analysis that, I would say, compresses the vast amount of corruption in Rome at the time down to a single point (soft) that isn't even _right_: Rome's problems started in earnest when they became overstretched in their budget and could no longer afford to pay the vast number of militias and armies they had installed across the empire.


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## ToroidalBoat (Nov 2, 2019)

Syaoran Li said:


> I have no idea what the next cultural zeitgeist will be in the 2020's and 2030's, but nothing lasts forever.


Do you think this over-saturation and societal obsession with technology ("smartphone zombies," Internet Of Things fixation, social media addiction, etc) will be toned down in the future?*

*(assuming a cataclysm doesn't do that for us)


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## Syaoran Li (Nov 2, 2019)

ToroidalBoat said:


> Do you think this over-saturation and societal obsession with technology ("smartphone zombies," Internet Of Things fixation, social media addiction, etc) will be toned down in the future*?
> 
> *(assuming a cataclysm doesn't do that for us)



Possibly. Especially if an anti-woke backlash starts throwing shade at social media (Twitter in particular) for propagating the current SJW zeitgeist, similar to how talk shows and televangelists ended up getting a lot of flack from the liberals in the late 90's and early 2000's for their role in the Satanic Panic. 

Social media will likely stay around but probably in a different form and with a different culture surrounding it. Any change in the culture of social media would come from a change in management, whether it be through new people in charge of the current companies, buyouts and mergers, or one of the current big shots making a grave mistake and ending up bankrupt.

Honestly, I think the "Me Too" movement and the furor over incels and the ill-defined "Alt-Right" will probably be looked back in a similar way as we currently look at the Satanic Panic of the 80's and 90's. 

The streaming bubble will probably burst by the end of the 2020's, with Netflix likely becoming for streaming media what MySpace was for social media (the original pioneer that got really popular really fast but ultimately is destroyed by the competition) but I also would not rule out some sort of return of physical media such as CD's, DVD's, game discs, and Blu-Rays in the latter half of the 2020's or the early 2030's. It'll probably return in a similar manner as the revival of vinyl records in this decade.

If fucking vinyl records of all things can make a comeback despite their flaws, then physical media might not go extinct yet. The only physical media of the past that I can't see making a comeback is VHS since it brings nothing to the table aside from nostalgia and there's also the demise of CRT TV's to consider.


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## Bum Driller (Nov 3, 2019)

Syaoran Li said:


> Possibly. Especially if an anti-woke backlash starts throwing shade at social media (Twitter in particular) for propagating the current SJW zeitgeist, similar to how talk shows and televangelists ended up getting a lot of flack from the liberals in the late 90's and early 2000's for their role in the Satanic Panic.
> 
> Social media will likely stay around but probably in a different form and with a different culture surrounding it. Any change in the culture of social media would come from a change in management, whether it be through new people in charge of the current companies, buyouts and mergers, or one of the current big shots making a grave mistake and ending up bankrupt.
> 
> ...




First off, you don't seem to understand at all the nature of vinyl records as compared to other, newer forms of physical media. CD's, DVD's etc. are definitely not "coming back", simply because they don't offer anything that streaming and dowloading services in the internet could not do. Vinyls on the other hand do: they are extremely durable compared to newer disc-types(very few cd's can survive for multiple decades, even if kept really well), and their sound quality is better than in digital media, at least according to music collecting autists, who are the main niche group that buys vinyls. Huge stacks of vinyls are also impressive looking and can be used as stylish decoration element, unlike smaller discs. Vinyls are items you buy to not only get the music, but also the lifestyle that comes with it.

And why would streaming services die? If something they will likely become just bigger, and eventually will come to dominate the entire mainstream media field, as there is really nothing to stop them doing so. Only thing that could really "burst the bubble" is that pirate streaming sites would become so huge that it wouldn't be profitable to run companies like Netflix anymore, but yeah, I'm not seeing that happening.


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## Syaoran Li (Nov 3, 2019)

Bum Driller said:


> First off, you don't seem to understand at all the nature of vinyl records as compared to other, newer forms of physical media. CD's, DVD's etc. are definitely not "coming back", simply because they don't offer anything that streaming and dowloading services in the internet could not do. Vinyls on the other hand do: they are extremely durable compared to newer disc-types(very few cd's can survive for multiple decades, even if kept really well), and their sound quality is better than in digital media, at least according to music collecting autists, who are the main niche group that buys vinyls. Huge stacks of vinyls are also impressive looking and can be used as stylish decoration element, unlike smaller discs. Vinyls are items you buy to not only get the music, but also the lifestyle that comes with it.
> 
> And why would streaming services die? If something they will likely become just bigger, and eventually will come to dominate the entire mainstream media field, as there is really nothing to stop them doing so. Only thing that could really "burst the bubble" is that pirate streaming sites would become so huge that it wouldn't be profitable to run companies like Netflix anymore, but yeah, I'm not seeing that happening.



1. You may be right about CD's, but I wouldn't say that all physical media will go completely extinct. DVD's can make a major comeback (to be honest, DVD never really went away) simply for one major reason, and that reason is the issue of copyright and licensing. The main issue with streaming is the issue of licensing and copyrights being complex and rather byzantine in the 21st Century, especially when it comes to streaming. Part of what is starting to hurt Netflix is the issue of losing their licenses for a lot of titles that were once major draws on their platform, forcing them to rely more on exclusive content.

DVD's and Blu-Ray have not fully gone away due to the fact that not everyone is comfortable enough with the idea of having to pirate their digital media even if they know where to look. Streaming is very beholden to the license holders in a way that DVD is not.

A lot of beloved titles are not available on streaming platforms but are available on DVD. Even if the DVD's are currently out of print, thanks to the rise of online shopping means it's a lot easier to find secondhand copies from places like eBay and Amazon.

2. I never said that streaming would die out completely. I did say that some of the streaming companies will go under and get bought out. Streaming is here to stay, but I think we're going to see a lot of consolidation within the various platforms.

Unless we see major changes to copyright laws, I doubt streaming media will ever completely kill off DVD and Blu-Ray


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## Never Scored (Nov 3, 2019)

I think increased urbanization is adding a layer of abstraction between society and nature. I think increased use of social media is adding a layer of abstraction between human interaction. I think a lot of people find themselves trapped in this abstract hell that's totally disconnected from reality as a result and I think that's why it seems like everyone is suddenly depressed and anxious.


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## Mewtwo_Rain (Nov 3, 2019)

It's multiple layers that's causing this depression and lack of positivity in current society.

Looking at sexual dynamics: Men and women are having less families and are tied into a corporate "brainwashing" of sorts that has led them astray and made both sides unhappy. In regards to men it is a lack of a family unit or a biological drive or even a fear caused by the likes of the legal system that has become one dimensional. Against their best interest. In regards to women it is the false belief they can be major businessmen (or women) and have a decent family unit, and toomuchchoiceism has left many unsatisfied because they don't know how to properly sttle. This is also happening in Japan, and many western countries and it's not coincidental. For instance studies have shown women are now more unhappy more than ever, and the family unit and reproducting units outside of foreign groups is at all time lows.

Economically: although the West is currently stable to a degree, the people are becoming either nihilistic or ignorant of their own voting processes and end up for instance voting for majorly high taxes which in the long run makes their living conditions a burden and harder to manage, and in regards to rising wages they are getting less work or forced into multiple jobs and due to the amount of people coming in they can be replaced for any reason at any time. This creates an unsafe and risky environment. When you have no safety net, well negative emotions are going to develop. (Without getting too deep into why that is.)

The people such as in the west are watching their culture diminish and become "third worldian" in some areas, or fully awful in others. A great example would be Illinois, California and more just from the US. Crime is prevalent in those places, and there isn't much hope for the future for people living there. It's like a dark hole, once you're in, you don't escape from that place. Not easily.

Politicians in all western countries denying the whims of their citizens and gradually embracing corruption or selling their own people out  leading to some of the above mentioned concepts, also doesn't lead to a positive outcome for the future. Not without violence and destruction, and the problem is reformation will require a lot of effort to fix the issue happening in society. If it ever does.

Technology and the internet: We see that the free bastion of the internet is now facing severe waves of internet censorship and although it hasn't fully been clamped down on it's coming in the near foreseeable future removing another bastion or option for people. Tie that into people are developing into anti-social weirdos some of which is habits developed by this non-sociable society, and it starts to pile on.

The problem isn't that things can't turn around, the problem is looking back throughout history, the solutions are always easily available if people choose to do or take the right actions to fix their societies. The issue, resides in the fact often and repeating they don't. Whether it's because of arrogance, ignorance, or refusal to admit a problem exists when it is quite clear as day.

Division, violence, corruption, ever-growing poverty, competition of hostile "immigrants" (Invaders), lack of biological drive, alienation (technology/anti-social developement) and a slow replacement of our culture, shows a large sense of why people see a depressing future either way. Unless people do turn it around it will either be bleak, filled with strife and hostility and resentment, or  even worse.

In my personal belief, people have to take responsibility as a whole (society) and start holding those responsible accountable, but that's a very hard thing in a society that has given up on being as such. So, I'm not too surprised, and even though I'm sure many people realize the issue, most will complacently sit by and do nothing until the walls close around them, or wait for others to take charge, and that's not very likely either, and thus many sit by watching their faith and optimism dropping. those in good situations won't feel any negativity for a while, until they too are dragged into the same if no a similar situation.


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## ToroidalBoat (Nov 4, 2019)

You know the world is truly messed up if people are starting to think a cataclysm forcing a "reset" is the only way to fix it.


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## Eigengrau (Nov 4, 2019)

Whatever it is that's wrong with society, people will always attribute it to whatever threatens their personal values because it fulfils an emotional need. A religious person will say the problem is people straying away from God, someone who hates brown people (or watches too much Fox News) will it's it's because of immigration, an incel will say it's because feminism has torn the family unit apart, and a leftist will say it's because of capitalism. They're all partially right, but missing the bigger picture.

History is a neverending series of events, each with their own causes and consequences, so it's impossible to isolate a single event and pin it as the downfall of society. Stop trying to place blame for things, history was already written since day one. At best we can ask very specific, particular questions and then try to answer them, but often times a large phenomenon is the cumulative effect of several tiny effects. I can point to the sudden increase in wealth inequality and link it to poverty or crime, but none of that happens in isolation.

Technology only worsens misinformation, soon everyone is going to live in they own private bubble with different facts and nobody is immune to it, not even you, so don't be part of the crowd. Maybe you think the problem is the alt-right or SJWs or whatever, maybe you think everything is fine and people are just exaggerating, but whatever it is it's just a way of coping and feeling superior. Go out there, see what other people think and why they think that, they're probably wrong but so are you.


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## DDBCAE CBAADCBE (Nov 4, 2019)

Okay so hear me out. I have a plan to fix all of this. So here's what we do. We need to round up all of the jews, okay? Then we set 'em up in these swanky camp things. Alright and then finally we kill them all. See now if we do this correctly this SHOULD solve our problem.


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## Shadfan666xxx000 (Nov 6, 2019)

DDBCAE CBAADCBE said:


> Okay so hear me out. I have a plan to fix all of this. So here's what we do. We need to round up all of the jews, okay? Then we set 'em up in these swanky camp things. Alright and then finally we kill them all. See now if we do this correctly this SHOULD solve our problem.


Then they'll be like cartel members in a Mexican jail. That shit's headed nowhere. Jews are nothing if not a suspicious people and many will likely relish the safety.


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## The Great Chandler (Nov 7, 2019)

Mewtwo_Rain said:


> It's multiple layers that's causing this depression and lack of positivity in current society.
> 
> Looking at sexual dynamics: Men and women are having less families and are tied into a corporate "brainwashing" of sorts that has led them astray and made both sides unhappy. In regards to men it is a lack of a family unit or a biological drive or even a fear caused by the likes of the legal system that has become one dimensional. Against their best interest. In regards to women it is the false belief they can be major businessmen (or women) and have a decent family unit, and toomuchchoiceism has left many unsatisfied because they don't know how to properly sttle. This is also happening in Japan, and many western countries and it's not coincidental. For instance studies have shown women are now more unhappy more than ever, and the family unit and reproducting units outside of foreign groups is at all time lows.
> 
> ...


This sound like an anti-villain's motive, but I don't blame them.


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## Botchy Galoop (Nov 7, 2019)

We are, after all, just animals. Fairly smart animals, but animals none the less. As such, our biological imperative is survival and breeding, Our smarts have reduced world poverty exponentially, providing health and wealth to a degree so that we are no longer consumed with mere survival. This has provided us with leisure time in abundance and we have become self-absorbed and weak. Less of the herd is being culled by nature, and this has allowed the weak ones to breed and survive. All it would take is one good pandemic or EMP and the balance would be restored. People would no longer have the time to be depressed and negative.
Just download my consciousness now please. I would prefer not to be around for the thinning of the herd.


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## Idiotron (Nov 7, 2019)

Before the internet, our perspectives were different.
Sure, things were bad over here but way over there, things were probably great.
Nowadays, we have access to information from all over the world and we know that it's shit everywhere.

Millenials and Gen Z have been born into a dying world.
The environment is polluted, the resources wasted, everything has been bought and sold a million times, there's nothing left to explore and we don't send human beings to space anymore for any other reason than fixing satellites.

Some people laugh at those who want to dismantle the current way we live but that's a very restrictive way of life and it doesn't fit everyone.
I'm not talking about left wing-right wing garbage, that's a false dichotomy.

For example, if you're somebody who doesn't like the concept of money, what can you do?
You can't just start living in the wild off the grid, you'll get arrested or chased out.
You can't live by your own rules, you have to adopt a set of rules invented by other people, usually very scummy people.
You can't establish your own nation, nobody will give you the land to do so.
Our future was determined by others before we were born, that's not a pleasant perspective.

How do you stay positive with knowing all of that?
I'm so happy that my gf is the most optimistic positive person I've ever met, a one of a kind gem that I can always count on.
As cheesy as this sounds (especially on this website), she makes me want to keep on living.
However, most people don't have that and never will. Hell, I might lose it at any moment.


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## DDBCAE CBAADCBE (Nov 7, 2019)

I think it's important to point out that many people no longer value those kind and virtuous qualities that we upheld as children to be the pinnacle of righteousness. We have become a society that values self preservation and instant gratification above seemingly all else, creating our own little insular bubbles of reality upon which we can project our insecurities. To my peers and even their forefathers the truth has lost any meaning or currency it once held. The world I was promised as a boy was a lie and the dream of happiness among my fellow good natured countrymen is dead. 

My father never told me there would be so much suffering. He always said to treat others the way I would want to be treated, but of course I learned very quickly that life doesn't work that way. He always said "Not everyone is like that." but every day I find that sentiment harder to believe. All I've ever known is cruelty and pain amid a few tiny interspersed sprinkles of genuine kindness and comradery. Of course everyone wants to pretend to be virtuous, everyone wants to believe that their worldview is the correct one but the fact is that we're all wrong. There was never any hope, not for any single one of us. We were all destined for failure and death from the start. The difference is that some of us are more aware of that fact than others. Some of us still cling to that dream and those ideals we had as children even though we know we can never live up to them. We'll bear that burden and it will be our curse because we were loved. I can't blame my father, he only wanted me to be happy and blissfully ignorant of the reality and story set out before me. However, this hell is our inheritance.


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## ToroidalBoat (Nov 7, 2019)

Idiotron said:


> The environment is polluted, the resources wasted, everything has been bought and sold a million times, there's nothing left to explore and we don't send human beings to space anymore for any other reason than fixing satellites.


That part is especially depressing.

In the future, either easy space travel becomes available, or after a horrible cataclysm a few survivors get to explore the wild world again (when not fighting disease or starvation). Otherwise it seems we have an increasingly technological and dystopic nanny state to look forward to. Or extinction.


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## The Great Chandler (Nov 7, 2019)

Idiotron said:


> Before the internet, our perspectives were different.
> Sure, things were bad over here but way over there, things were probably great.
> Nowadays, we have access to information from all over the world and we know that it's shit everywhere.
> 
> ...


I don't adhere or least try adhere to this cynical point of view. Regarding the environment, most of the first world has done a good job on maintaining it lately. There's even some promise in parts the third world (not so sure about China and India). Space travel is still a possibility, especially with that gig with us still wanting to go to Mars. I don't see us slowing down anytime soon.

Call me naive.


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## ArnoldPalmer (Nov 7, 2019)

The moment I see solid evidence against being pessimistic towards the future, I'll change my mind. Until then, it's nothing but doom and gloom.

As I said in the 2020 predictions thread, Technology is only going to get better, but in the most terrible ways that directly mock concepts such as human rights and free agency. The second that an AI comes online with the rough brainpower of a human being, it's over. It's ALL over. ALL media, propaganda, and cardinal "truths" will be tailor-made to the individual and sold to them directly. People are painfully easy to manipulate, and with all of the bulk data that has been collected on every single human being living today, it's going to be the easiest thing in the world to keep them sedentary, complacent, and just smart enough to be functional workers, but too stupid to see the world for what it is.

I absolutely fucking despise the people who say that "Life's never been better cuz I gotta iphone", or "things have never been this good because of cheap mass-produced plastic goods from China". Absolutely FUCKING NOTHING we are currently doing in society is sustainable. The economy isn't sustainable, the current social movements are never-ending moral crusades, our wars are never-ending economic crusades, we're gonna run out of fossil fuels eventually, and have absolutely no way of getting more, or finding a replacement, tech is slowly consuming the human race, third-worlders are making too many kids, when first-worlders aren't making enough, and all of this is so disgusting to me that I can't look people in the eyes anymore without my first impulse being to hate them. I understand that's the wrong way to be, but that's the way it is.

We aren't going anywhere when we die. We already live in Hell.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Nov 7, 2019)

ArnoldPalmer said:


> The moment I see solid evidence against being pessimistic towards the future, I'll change my mind. Until then, it's nothing but doom and gloom.
> 
> As I said in the 2020 predictions thread, Technology is only going to get better, but in the most terrible ways that directly mock concepts such as human rights and free agency. The second that an AI comes online with the rough brainpower of a human being, it's over. It's ALL over. ALL media, propaganda, and cardinal "truths" will be tailor-made to the individual and sold to them directly. People are painfully easy to manipulate, and with all of the bulk data that has been collected on every single human being living today, it's going to be the easiest thing in the world to keep them sedentary, complacent, and just smart enough to be functional workers, but too stupid to see the world for what it is.
> 
> ...


1. Consider therapy.  Seriously, hating the entire human race on sight isn't mentally healthy for you, and will likely end poorly for yourself, others, and any loved ones you may have.
2. I'll ask the question I always ask people like you: if you think the future is an endless Hellscape full of suffering, and you despise not only your life, but all possible lives you can realistically achieve here and now; why live?  You choose this world for yourself whenever you choose to continue living.
This isn't me saying "kys" like some edgelord, I'm actually interested in hearing your response.


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## ArnoldPalmer (Nov 7, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> 1. Consider therapy.  Seriously, hating the entire human race on sight isn't mentally healthy for you, and will likely end poorly for yourself, others, and any loved ones you may have.


Nah, therapy is pointless when you can list the reasons why you're upset. It's not going to make the downfall of western society any more fun, or make it go away. This is just something everyone has to deal with now. It's also pointless to try and not think about it for longer than a weekend, because it's something we all have to come back to. No cope is necessary when you can't do anything to improve the world.



Senior Lexmechanic said:


> 2. I'll ask the question I always ask people like you: if you think the future is an endless Hellscape full of suffering, and you despise not only your life, but all possible lives you can realistically achieve here and now; why live?  You choose this world for yourself whenever you choose to continue living.
> This isn't me saying "kys" like some edgelord, I'm actually interested in hearing your response.


I guess hate's a strong word. I don't truly hate everyone, it's more disdain for normies than hatred. Not unlike the disdain felt when working retail. As for killing myself, I don't see the utility. We all did something to deserve this. Whether that be in the past, something our ancestors did, or something we haven't even done yet, this is a form of natural punishment, and I doubt killing myself is a reasonable escape route. Sins of the Father may be unfair, but I'll be god damned if the natural order of things keeps it from being real to some degree.


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## ToroidalBoat (Nov 7, 2019)

ArnoldPalmer said:


> We all did something to deserve this.


I hope you’re wrong about that. Although it does take some pretty _exceptional_ luck to be born on Earth now. There’s about 100 billion galaxies (at least in the _observable_ universe), there’s about 100 billion solar systems in each galaxy (on average), and there’s at least trillions of years of life-supporting conditions left in the universe. Yet each of us are here -- and just in time for Current Year.

A big reason why this world sucks so bad is because assholes get positions of power and ruin it for others. That’s been going on ever since agriculture was invented and people settled into societies.


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## Mewtwo_Rain (Nov 7, 2019)

ArnoldPalmer said:


> Nah, therapy is pointless when you can list the reasons why you're upset. It's not going to make the downfall of western society any more fun, or make it go away. This is just something everyone has to deal with now. It's also pointless to try and not think about it for longer than a weekend, because it's something we all have to come back to. No cope is necessary when you can't do anything to improve the world.
> 
> 
> I guess hate's a strong word. I don't truly hate everyone, it's more disdain for normies than hatred. Not unlike the disdain felt when working retail. As for killing myself, I don't see the utility. We all did something to deserve this. Whether that be in the past, something our ancestors did, or something we haven't even done yet, this is a form of natural punishment, and I doubt killing myself is a reasonable escape route. Sins of the Father may be unfair, but I'll be god damned if the natural order of things keeps it from being real to some degree.



Personally, I believe it's better to acknowledge what's coming but not be too worried. One keeps your mind on edge the other just creates fatigue and stress.

Nah, it's not natural order, what happened was our forefathers showed mercy, and today's group of people (their descendents: and normies) want to be tolerant to intolerance, until it boils over nothing will change and the issues in society won't be resolved, but that won't be a good day for any one group.

Irresponsibility is the cause of it, and  a failure to accept reality no matter what conclusions of reality those are is what's leading to this  shitshow.


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## A Pox (Nov 7, 2019)

Who could've guessed that replacing god, community and a culture of self-reliance with consumerism, globalism and a culture of planned obsolescence creates a populace of brokebrain nihilist faggots? 

The positive side of the situation is that the logic behind this latest globohomo push is crumbling. 

The negative side is that this societal rot always mutates and reappears in a new form somewhere down the line.


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## The Great Chandler (Nov 8, 2019)

One question, how many good people really are there?


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## ConfederateIrishman (Nov 8, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> 1. Consider therapy.  Seriously, hating the entire human race on sight isn't mentally healthy for you, and will likely end poorly for yourself, others, and any loved ones you may have.
> 2. I'll ask the question I always ask people like you: if you think the future is an endless Hellscape full of suffering, and you despise not only your life, but all possible lives you can realistically achieve here and now; why live?  You choose this world for yourself whenever you choose to continue living.
> This isn't me saying "kys" like some edgelord, I'm actually interested in hearing your response.


Because people have more responsibilities than just themselves such as their families; And honestly many people's bodies have a drive on their own, even if they logicially conclude suicide would be the optimal outcome at this point.



The Great Chandler said:


> One question, how many good people really are there?


Probably more than you would expect tbh


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## Exigent Circumcisions (Nov 8, 2019)

The Great Chandler said:


> One question, how many good people really are there?


I'd say that on balance, more people lean towards being good (or neutral) than evil. Society does keep ticking along, after all. The problem is that one rotten apple spoils the bunch; one violent psychopath is going to cause untold damage to many people. 

It's easy to fall into feeling as if most people are shit but that's one of those comforting lies we tell ourselves to justify our own shortcomings.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Nov 8, 2019)

ArnoldPalmer said:


> Nah, therapy is pointless when you can list the reasons why you're upset. It's not going to make the downfall of western society any more fun, or make it go away. This is just something everyone has to deal with now. It's also pointless to try and not think about it for longer than a weekend, because it's something we all have to come back to. No cope is necessary when you can't do anything to improve the world.
> 
> 
> I guess hate's a strong word. I don't truly hate everyone, it's more disdain for normies than hatred. Not unlike the disdain felt when working retail. As for killing myself, I don't see the utility. We all did something to deserve this. Whether that be in the past, something our ancestors did, or something we haven't even done yet, this is a form of natural punishment, and I doubt killing myself is a reasonable escape route. Sins of the Father may be unfair, but I'll be god damned if the natural order of things keeps it from being real to some degree.


I appreciate the emotional honesty needed to say that a sense of self-hatred or infinite resignation keeps you here.


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## Billy "the Bot" Bobson (Nov 9, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> I appreciate the emotional honesty needed to say that a sense of self-hatred or infinite resignation keeps you here.


You just haven't hit that level of desperation yet. It's not out of a sense of honesty that you admit something like that.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Nov 9, 2019)

Billy "the Bot" Bobson said:


> You just haven't hit that level of desperation yet. It's not out of a sense of honesty that you admit something like that.


On the contrary, I have.  That's why I recommended they seek help: it worked for me.


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## ToroidalBoat (Mar 23, 2020)

ToroidalBoat said:


> I posted this (rather pesssmistic) shitpost awhile back:


Update to the story:



> In the dark, broken, hopeless world of 3020 where Current Year never ended, conducting business and interacting in person has more or less become a relic of the past. Public events such as concerts and festivals are as ancient as trade caravans. All restaurants are take-out only. Kids normally no longer attend school in person. Pretty much all interactions are done through screens and virtual reality -- all of it regulated and censored by big tech. "Social distancing" is now as natural as handshakes were before the endless era of Current Year.
> 
> All that was because of repeated pandemic scares over the past 1000 years, starting with the Coronavirus panic of 2020. Eventually, government decided the safest approach was permanent lockdown.
> 
> Oh yeah, and toilet paper is worth its' weight in gold.


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## Classist. (Mar 23, 2020)

ToroidalBoat said:


> Update to the story:



Bro that's uncanny, is current week just peak current year?


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## ToroidalBoat (Mar 23, 2020)

Classist. said:


> is current week just peak current year?


For now. Who knows what blunders wonders the 2020s will bring?


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## Webby's Boyfriend (Mar 24, 2020)

ToroidalBoat said:


> For now. Who knows what blunders wonders the 2020s will bring?


Total economic collapse and World War 3. We are in for one heck of a ride.


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## Pepsi-Cola (Mar 25, 2020)

DARKB1KE said:


> The collapse is coming.  Take the red pill and you'll see the depressing world we live in.  With the rise of feminism, the family unit is destroyed and people rely on state to provide for them.  We haven't moved past the industrial revolution, schooling systems are outdated and training people simply for slavery and corporate work.  Corporations are running the show now, it's nearly impossible to start your own business.  The 1% get richer while the poor get poorer.  I doubt there will ever be a revolution of our time to make shit change... politicians are all corrupt.
> Have fun...


take the redpill and realize you're not living in some war-torn African shithole where you go to sleep at night wondering if you'll be able to eat tomorrow. If you spend all of your time inside playing video games and posting on the internet the world will seem really depressing and dystopian no matter where you live. Go to a club and get some pussy. Go outside. Do something with your life. If these are your main concerns irl then you're doing something very wrong.


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## ToroidalBoat (Mar 25, 2020)

ToroidalBoat said:


> Update to the story:


crap I meant it as satire

Anyway I hope @Syaoran Li and @Classist. are right and this is just "peak Current Year" before it finally ends.


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