3 ms·

I don't dispute the numbers in the article and can't speak to the tragedy of opioid addiction, but whenever I see something like this I am reminded of a friend

I don't dispute the numbers in the article and can't speak to the tragedy of opioid addiction, but whenever I see something like this I am reminded of a friend of mine who never had a job, and never looked, from ages 18-30. He came from an upper-middle class family and his parents basically supported him all those years and he was fine with that. He knows he's lazy and embraced that as long as he could. To outsiders who'd ask why he doesn't have a job, he'd blame it on things like a crummy job market, chronic joint pain, or that he had hearing issues that prevented him from working effectively. He never went on disability though. Finally when his parents' fortune ran low, he had to suck it up and start working and he's doing fine now. So, I always wonder when reading this stuff, what portion of the sample just has "affluenza" and is blaming it on something else to hide the truth (which, by the way, I don't have a problem with - if someone wants to embrace being lazy and has the means to do it, then go ahead).

carlmcqueen 10y ago
I don't doubt you know someone who has affluenza, I'd just advise you to be careful about writing off studies where they go past 'I know a guy who' into sampling and research because you know someone who is lazy. There is massive mental illness stigma in our society at large, there are many hard working people who remain employed who are suffering long before they go unemployed and that suffering is never voiced and is discredited when they drop out of the unemployed market to become 'no longer looking'.
ythl 10y ago
> So, I always wonder when reading this stuff, what portion of the sample just has "affluenza" People don't like being held accountable for their own situation. The blame will always be shifted to society where possible. You see it everywhere. One's circumstances in a given study are rarely, if ever, blamed on the individual. People are generally assumed to be doing everything right but are simply victims of "the system"

carlmcqueen 10y ago

I don't doubt you know someone who has affluenza, I'd just advise you to be careful about writing off studies where they go past 'I know a guy who' into sampling and research because you know someone who is lazy. There is massive mental illness stigma in our society at large, there are many hard working people who remain employed who are suffering long before they go unemployed and that suffering is never voiced and is discredited when they drop out of the unemployed market to become 'no longer looking'.

ythl 10y ago

> So, I always wonder when reading this stuff, what portion of the sample just has "affluenza" People don't like being held accountable for their own situation. The blame will always be shifted to society where possible. You see it everywhere. One's circumstances in a given study are rarely, if ever, blamed on the individual. People are generally assumed to be doing everything right but are simply victims of "the system"